(UK) Troops in Afghanistan face defeat at home

[unhappycamper]

Troops in Afghanistan face defeat at home
February 28, 2010
Richard Kemp

OUR troops are up for the fight in Helmand. They know their mission is vital. And they are beating the Taliban in engagement after engagement, which brings to a soldier’s morale a quality all of its own. We can be proud and grateful that there is no shortage of courageous young volunteers to take up this fight.

But General Sir David Richards’s warning bell to the defence board could not be clearer: The Ministry of Defence’s spending priorities risk damaging the morale of our soldiers in a way that could undermine the long-term sustainability of the campaign. And his concerns could not be more serious: Morale is by far the most important factor in war.

This is no hypothetical argument: The chief of the defence staff has declared that our forces will be in Afghanistan at least for the next five years. Battalions are sustaining casualties at a rate of one in five on a six-month tour of duty. Teenage soldiers are fighting and dying in the most horrendous conditions and witnessing violence and depredations that most of us will be forever spared.

These brave men and women need to know that they are properly supported in battle, of course; but also that the government values them and their families enough to provide funds for a decent quality of life between tours.

General Richards is right to be worried. In July last year, while its troops were engaged in fighting more ferocious than at any time since Korea, the army was forced to make savings measures totalling £43m to help the MoD keep within budget. In October, a further £54m cut was announced, so that remaining resources could be focused on the war in Afghanistan. That may sound reasonable, but it is not. It demonstrates within the MoD and Treasury a breath-taking lack of understanding of the challenges inherent in running a long-term military campaign.


Rest of article at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7043954.ece

[howard112211]

1. I was once told that morale essentially depends on the following factors:

Confidence in the leadership. Confidence in the own equipment and abilities. A well defined mission with goals that seem attainable. An overall sense that the cause is just.

I was told that "support at home" plays a minor role.

[vadawg]

2. yup but the support they need is in equipment and supplies, the only actual support from the home

front that counts is the family and the local community that the battalions are raised from and the troops can pretty much bet on that being there...