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Nearly half of UK troops think of quitting

by Dave Keating | July 10, 2008 at 05:46 am | 94 views | add comment

A new survey showed that nearly half of British troops think about quiting regularly.The biggest concerns the respondents voiced which make them have such thoughts were the frequency of tours, levels of pay and the quality of equipment and housing. 9,000 troops were involved in the curvey.

Almost half of the members of Britain's armed forces regularly think about quitting, a Ministry of Defence survey showed on Thursday, reflecting the hardship of fighting wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The snapshot of service morale also pinpointed concerns about the quality of equipment, complaints over pay and anxiety about the frequency of tours.

The ministry, revealing details of the survey of 9,000 service personnel, said it had uncovered "areas of concern" but insisted that conditions were being improved.

The survey showed that 47 percent of soldiers and sailors regularly felt like leaving.

Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, himself an ex-officer, told the BBC "I think the tempo of operations has produced such a level of stress on the families that it is no wonder so many are thinking of leaving."