Millions of Brits believe the nation’s war heroes are ‘forgotten about’ once they return home from service, a study has found.
Despite the ongoing sacrifices made by heroic men and women, more than three quarters of people feel British soldiers and veterans are often neglected after returning from duty or leaving the armed forces.
And eight in ten UK adults think British soldiers and veterans should have more support when they come back from service.
The study, commissioned by the military charity Help for Heroes, also found that many believe just 55,000 troops served in Afghanistan, when the real number is more like 139,000 deployed during the course of the conflict.
And almost 150,000 troops served as part of UK military operations in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 – three times the 41,000 most adults thought were deployed.
The research also showed we significantly underestimate current deployments with the average adult believing UK troops are currently deployed to 19 countries.
In fact the Armed Forces are currently deployed to over 80 countries.
David Richmond, Head of Recovery at Help for Heroes, said: “The results suggest people in the UK understand very little about recent conflicts involving our Armed Forces.
“This makes it incredibly difficult for veterans and those still serving to get the specialist support they sometimes need.
“We know that over 66,090 people who have served will need our support, either now or in the future.
“Wounded, injured and sick servicemen and veterans especially need the public to understand the challenges they face and what we can do to support them.
“Without a better understanding among the public of the dangers facing our armed forces, servicemen and women face a much greater challenge getting the support they might need.”
The survey, of 2,000 adults, also revealed a lack of knowledge when it comes to the country’s war efforts, with almost two thirds of people surveyed by the research saying they don’t really know what Britain’s war efforts have been in aid of since 1945.
Thousands of British troops have died in conflict since the end of World War II – including around 500 fatalities in Afghanistan since 2002.
Yet the study found that six in 10 respondents said they didn’t know the reason for the war in Afghanistan.
Nearly a quarter of respondents believe the UK originally went to war in Afghanistan to prevent weapons of mass destruction being used, while more than one in 10 think the UK entered the conflict in Afghanistan to remove Saddam Hussein from power.
While four in 10 couldn’t name Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad – despite Britain launching air strikes against ISIS targets in the country last December.
According to the research, nine in 10 people admit they haven’t heard of Operation Herrick, while over eight in 10 people didn’t know that Operation Telic was the codename for UK military operations in Iraq.
A third of those polled had no idea the Falklands War ended in 1982 and over 20 per cent didn’t realise that the UK went to war with Argentina during the conflict.
Richmond said “Despite the end of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, British troops continue to deploy around the world.
“The public clearly think that more needs to be done to support our Armed Forces. It’s so important that the men and women who give so much remain in the public consciousness and aren’t forgotten.”
