Tri-Service
"A Dangerous Gamble": A Quarter Of Soldiers Unfit For Combat
According to figures released by the MoD, almost 20,000 British soldiers are unfit for combat.
The legacy from operations has left its mark as government data shows 20,000 troops are too injured from fighting or training to take part in future ops.
Over the past three years the number of soldiers who have been classed as unfit for combat stands at more than 50,000.
Around 5,000 Navy personnel, including Marines, and almost 5,000 RAF staff have also been medically downgraded.
Colonel Richard Kemp, a former British commander in Afghanistan, said: “These injuries effectively mean the Army has been reduced to just 62,000 soldiers.
"This is a dangerous gamble with our national defence.”
The MoD figures show that currently over 8,000 soldiers are classed as “medically non-deployable” - meaning they cannot go to war.
Many of those medically downgraded will never be able to serve in combat again.
They have been wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, hurt in accidents or have mental health problems.
Corporal Tom Neathway is one such example, he became Britain's first ever surviving triple amputee in 2008 and now works in non-combat posts.
Corporal Neathway's injuries were so severe that he had to be resuscitated three times on the operating table.
He now helps with recruit training at RAF Brize Norton, as well as serving as a role model for fellow injured servicemen and women.
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