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Morale in British armed forces at new low
More than half of all officers and 43 per cent of other ranks, believe the armed forces is suffering from low morale following a year of pay freezes, cuts and redundancies. Satisfaction with life in the services has fallen, along with levels of pride and feelings of being valued. In the RAF, only two per cent of officers many of whom are taking part in operations in Afghanistan and over Libya believe morale is high and 70 per cent state it is low. The figures are the worst since the Armed Forces Continuous Attitudes Survey began four years ago. Both officers and other ranks felt dissatisfied with pay, allowances, feeling valued and with the impact service life was having on their families. The annual report looks at all aspects of military life from pay and allowances, to accommodation, personal life, leave, deployments, separation, fairness and leadership. Just under 27,000 surveys were distributed to the armed services between February and May this year. Of those, 12,600 were returned completed, providing a response rate of 45 per cent. The report stated that there was "prevalent dissatisfaction" with the effect of service life on spouses and partners, with 47 per cent dissatisfied and the effect of service life on children's education which had a finding 35 per cent dissatisfied. There was also "prevailing dissatisfaction" with the amount of separation from family and friends, with 26 per cent satisfied and 37 per cent dissatisfied, a not unsurprising condition given that the armed services have been on continuous operations for the past eight years, three years longer that the Second World War. But of all the findings contained within the 300 page report, it will be the poor levels of morale amongst both officer and men which will worry senior commanders. Posted by: lotp 2011-09-11 |
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