‘Forgotten’ Forces veterans feel let down by country, says charity

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A ‘ FORGOTTEN generation’ of former servicemen has been discovered as a report shows more than half of working-age veterans struggle to afford essential items.

Research by the Armed Forces charity SSAFA into younger veterans aged 16-64 found a “forgotten generation” of former servicemen and women were living in fear of debt and felt let down by the country.

As well as the 54 per cent of people who said they did not have enough money to buy basics, the report also highlighted that 75 per cent of veterans suffered from long-term physical or mental health conditions.

The organisation surveyed nearly 1,000 people it had helped, and found 50 per cent were economically inac-tive.

Many respondents were unable to work because of ill health, while 40 per cent thought they were disadvantaged by their military service in relation to housing and employment.

The charity is calling for potentially vulnerable servicemen and women to have welfare screening before they leave the forces, as well as a Govern- ment-funded mentoring scheme to support vulnerable veterans in the first year after they leave service.

They are also calling for the Ministry of Defence to improve discharge processes to ensure that veterans’ service records are shared with health and welfare professionals.

Air Vice-Marshal David Murray, SSA- FA’s chief executive, said that the plight of veterans living in “desperate circumstances” was “too easily ignored”.

He added: “Disappointingly, something that comes across loud and clear from our report is that many of the veterans helped by SSAFA do not feel valued.

“They have served our country – sometimes suffered for our country – and yet they feel forgotten.

“SSAFA knows that the transition period is a pivotal time for those taking their first steps back into wider society. We must identify vulnerable service leavers before they walk out of the barracks for the last time.”

In a foreword to the report, former Chief of the Defence Staff, Field Marshal the Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, said the research identified veterans who felt “undervalued and underappreciated” when society could prevent them from “slipping through the net”.

He said: “We simply must do better for those who have served our nation.”