Troubling

If true, this is one of the most disturbing reports we have read yet on the state of the Royal Navy, and in the context of reading the news the last few years that is really saying something.

Questioned about morale within their service as a whole, 59% of the Army rated levels as "low" or "very low". In the Royal Navy that was 64%, and the Royal Marines 38%. Within the RAF, 72% said morale across the service was low...

As many as 64% of Royal Navy officers said they had job satisfaction, but only 48% of other ranks agreed that they were satisfied with their jobs.

Asked if they felt valued within their service, 49% of ratings in the Navy said they did not, along with 44% of soldiers and 53% of airmen.

It is a lot easier for a politician to fix a material issue than a personnel issue. The military can screw up a lot of equipment decisions, but once you start screwing your people, and let morale drop, it gets very difficult to turn things around.

Expect Iraq to get the blame here, because it is much easier to blame Iraq than to address the real problems. Even without Iraq, it is hard to believe things would be any different.