I lost one son in Bosnia and my youngest son was disabled in Afghanistan, I blame myself for not doing enough to warn them what a bunch of crooks they were working for. Every war in my lifetime has been for someone's commercial interest, and corrupt politicians ego's.

The whole idea of having an army is to protect your country and defend it, not to be transported to other countries for billionaires to loot the country’s resources and soldiers get no support when they are off duty.

This is so simple. Why would young men fight for a country and culture that actively hates them?

Just listen to soldiers talk about Iraq. Why would you risk your life for an oil war for the benefit of some old billonaire men, that would not wee on you if you were on fire.

Why fight for your country when the politicians are giving it away

Make it so only the rich kids sign up. Wars would stop over night..

Many army veterans are homeless and cold right now on our streets, they are told they are not a priority. Why on earth would anybody put thier life on the line for thier country when it treats veterans like this

My husband served for 9 yrs, when he left he got no help to acclimate to civilian life, we couldn’t even get on a housing list because he wasn’t considered to be eligible where he was stationed or where he grew up. The attitude was thanks for your service don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Who will benefit from a war . . . bankers, arms dealers and manufacturers, politicians. Definately not the troops, their families or anybody else.

the young have worked out that they wouldnt be fighting for their country but fighting for the rich in the country

The sight of homeless veterans is a powerful indictment on the heartless, callous attitude of the system towards these individuals, and a powerful disincentive to join the services.

If Britains politicians didn’t poke there nose into other people’s business and started to look after the people in this country we wouldn’t need to increase our armed forces and our children wouldn’t have to give there lives

Because they don't want to fight and die or end up crippled and homeless on the streets, after their service to their country, now do they?

I would never fight for a country whose government has shown its people such utter contempt.

Privatised recruitment by Capita was a terrible idea

An issue with recruitment is that it is done by a private company that gets paid hundreds of millions and it seems have no repercussions for constantly failing to meet targets.

Generals don’t fight and die in our wars so he is the wrong person to ask. I would ask, what have we got, as a country, that any other country would want. The USA make money from constant wars and we are their pet poodle.

I don’t own anything. What am I fighting for? My landlord?

If you keep cutting the number of troops/nurses/doctors/police eventually you run out - Duh!

The young have seen how this country treat its veterans and are therefore not prepared to put their lives on the line for this Country.

I'm more afraid of Rishi than I am of Putin.

Fighting to defend UK makes sense. Fighting in places like Afghanistan and Iraq was Completely bs. Weren't out wars. More and more people have seen how troops are treated after coming back and have woken up.

We used to manufacture weapons to fight wars ,We now manufacture wars to sell weapons

I served 9 years in the British Army. I have twice been homeless but not now. At 64 I receive £239 pension a month which includes 4 years working for Northumbria Police as a civilian. Recently, when working on a loading bay, my Indian colleague told me that he was from a military family. He said that nobody in India who has served needs to work after retirement as they are well looked after. Surely we can afford to look after our own in the UK better?

Retention attitudes may be different if the army hadn't been used for decades now in pointless foreign adventures that were more about stoking politicians egos than defending the country

I'm ex army and agree they don't care about family when you are serving. As a veteran the pension is poor and no aftercare. Once you leave you are discarded, a case of this one's broken get me another.

The way we fund and treat our military falls well short of what Governments have expected from the military. The most egregious fact is the way we treat our military when they are injured (physically or psychologically) with insufficient funding. If we ask our military to go into harm’s way we have a moral obligation to care for them for the rest of their lives. If we are not prepared to do that don’t put them in harms way!

I'm a forces brat my dad spent 25 years in the army and I believe we have the best armed forces in the world, however I wouldn't go abroad to fight as our politicians are corrupt and only out for their own interests, but on the flip side I would fight in my country for my country

Tories have wrecked the Armed forces

We should have a genuine military whose sole role is to defend the British people, not an attack dog of the most corrupt entities in creation!.

This guy is a warmonger

Why would people want to join the military to be sent over sea to fight for Britain and then when they get back there are Lawers waiting to have them prosecuted for something the government sent them to do

Ask yourself if The POWERFUL ELITE would have their children in the army! People, wake up!!

I served 4 years. Served in Iraq and got out a few months after that. I try and talk as many people out of joining the army. Its nothing like they would have you believe and they care nothing about you at the end of the day.

Wasn't there a poll conducted that found that the majority of people asked said they wouldn't fight for the country if required. The UK is not the same country it was 30 years ago.

No one is prepared to fight for our corrupted country

I was in the Armed forces 25 years ago, and retention was poor then. We need to pay them well, and look after them. Keep up the great work Carol, you're a brilliant addition to the LBC team👍

usa and uk are the busiest armies in the world, they have invaded more countries then all the the countries combined

Englishmen who cannot defend their homes and families with firearms should absolutely refuse to fight foreign wars with firearms.

Armed forces are at the mercy of Corporation's not the government anymore.

Why should our sons and daughters die fighting pointless wars,

I have served in both the armed services and the Met police and I can say that today I would not sign up for either , this country has been given away and no longer deserves to be defended , not a problem for me as I don't have long to go but the young seriously need to think about what is important to them.

Any veteran in any country should be treated better than any politician, they served courageously for their countries, whilst politicians are raking in all the benefits and leaving them homeless and sometime without families

I am going to guess people don't want to die for our governments sins.

Cos no body wants to die in senseless wars

What is the point of being in the army when we only do whatever the USA tells us to do

I remember when Carol was a great science communicator for us kids in the 80s. Now she's sunk her teeth into the Tory swine. Love to see it.

What is Britain not running out of? Its run out of the taxpayers money that should have been there for the tax payers.

Im not fighting for these muppets. Putin will only bother me if he trys to cross the channel

Send the politicians and their children..My father lied about his age and joined at 17 and got a bullet in his face.He told me about a soldier who had to walk miles with a bullet in his foot.I really feel for our vets ..Bless them all.❤

What part of invading sovereign countries for Corporate plunder keeps us safe? Genuinely interested in this line of thought....

Israel needs you.

Lets not forget that they tried to prosecute an old veteran who served in Northern Ireland, many years after he served, while the IRA were given amnesty against prosecution. Other vets have also been hauled across the coals for making split second decisions, in extremely stressful conditions, under appealing circumstances. Why would anyone want to expose themselves to this kind of scrutiny and pressure?

It’s beyond insane that you can serve 25 years and not be given a decent flat/house with a pension. Joke this country is.

My father served for 12yrs in the Fleet Air Arm. Fought in the Borneo campaign (1962-65) and not one UK Prime Minister would allow Malaysian Govt to issue them with a medal for fighting until 2015. My father doesn't get an armed forces pension because he served for 12yrs and not 15yrs and yet today everyone gets a pension. They took the Government to court and won but the UK Govt took it to the high court and lost and still they wouldn't give the ex servicemen a pension. So the ex servicement took the UK court to the ECHR and the UK Govt lost. Since they the Govt's delaying tactics have meant that most of the ex servicemen have died so they will never get their pension. This is how the British Governments treat their armed forces.

Why would anyone want to volunteer to defend the country then get told it's not your job but you can defend other countries

War is a Racket

In my time it was just as bad, terrible expensive accomodation, poor pay, poor equipment. If folk think PPE scandal was bad just as well no one looks at military procurment contracts .

Middle management Shapps is wielding a small stick, while picking a fight with whoever the US points the UK's military at.

Politicians like mega rich boy Sunak should lead by example and get his family and young relatives to sign up and fight?

I dont want to fight proxy wars for a corporate owned government. That simple. Cant blame the youth for thinking the same

Yeah no. My generation aren’t fighting no war

Gary Linker will defend us with his tolerant and caring nature

I was the Design Consutant contracted to design recruiting displays, posters and brochures and the Armed Forces Recruiting Offices from 1967 till 2000. During those years we were required to keep the Army strength at 120,000. Now it is 80,000. The Armed Forces was a secure career until the Government brought in redundancies. Stupidly they made the experienced soldiers redundant. Also the Recruiting Offices were closed in favour of online recruiting. Finally many young people are physically unfit and not prepared for the discipline needed.

What would they be fighting for?

I would never recommend anyone join the armed forces and go to war for a bunch of stuck up MP’s who couldn’t even throw a punch.

Had many friends in the Army over the years, and myself was a Sergeant in the British Army due to my involvement in the Army Cadet Force as an adult instructor - I've seen plenty of accommodations on base that were quite simply not suitable for any kind of habitation being used as accommodation. The fact that the biggest challenge my friends faced was their return to civvy street - where their skills and experience were not valued by society at large - and that it was a driving force for them to return to military service if it was possible for them, despite the poor conditions they contended with, speaks volumes. Quite simply, there isn't enough 'joined up thinking' with regards to any of our national services from our political bodies, and it's dragging everyone down into a quagmire.

'spent money on other things...', most given to banks to bail them out.

What Mike is saying about accomodation is very true, one of my friends, an army wife and her 2 children, were left in awful accomodation also with asbestos and mold, and when they finally were going to deal with it, they were told to stay in there while the asbestos was removed, I mean seriously, with 2 children, one only a few months old.

MAYBE , JUST MAYBE that our youth and others do not wish to go killing other humans for commodities .??? . MAYBE, JUST MAYBE that our society , all walks of life, wealthy poor or powerful should learn about the word= humanity = for all..

Look how ex service members are treated when they are surplus to requirements..

So they will lead the world into a situation where war is inevitable and say look we need to fight a war You manufactured the situation for war

Too many dodgy wars. Nobody wants to fight and watch friends die for a questionable purpose.

When we first went into Afghanistan I worked at Millets. Soldiers were coming in to buy walking boot socks as the ones the Army supplied were non-existent or sub-standard. If they can't supply the basics then something is very wrong.

Maybe if 'we' (by we I mean MPs) didn't go bouncing around the world involving ourselves in every wiff of trouble going, we wouldn't be in this mess now.

Grant Shapps, Liz Truss, Gavin Williamson.....I rest my case.

Don't just boost the spend on numbers but also deal with the problems with infrastructure as well. Clive barracks Shropshire the troops were barracked in shipping containers as the 1950's buildings not up to code?

The country is not in danger as long as you have nuclear weapons. The only reason to build up the armed forces is to project power abroad which means getting involved in foreign adventures. Oh and to keep the arms companies earning big fat juicy government contracts.

The absolute chaos that these Tories have created...I fear we will never recover.

Why fight for a country when the politicians are letting every other country in.

When I joined the Parachute Regiment in 1974 one of the first things we were told to buy was a peter storm jacket because water proof coats were not issued just ponchos. So things have always been the same.

Which values he is talking about?did he forget what we and the American done to itaq and Libya

Hopefully young people are more aware that it's big business running things so Who in their right minds would give their lives for, unemployed, food banks,lack of housing whilst big business subsided By the UK moving steel workers jobs off shore

My friend has a son in the navy,, i cant believe how they live! There rooms are full of mould the buildings are falling down! The food they are given i wouldnt give my dog!!!!! Its disgusting,, you have criminals in prison living better!!!!!!!!! Shame on you UK

Why would you join when they let you down after using you

If the political class gives the country away, in many ways, repeatedly, why should the people commit to its defence?

War between great powers aren't won, they are only lost in a nuclear Armageddon.

And yet they spend money on unnecessary wars that is none of their business. Misplaced priorities.

War is money 💰 🤑 💸

We have lots of troops in hotels around the county unfortunately they are hostile. 🇬🇧

As a recruit you don't even get minimum wage, taking into account the number of hours worked or on call and you have to pay for substandard food and accommodation .

Blair - was the Iraq invasion illegal?

We should prepare to defend our own country from direct foreign threats. If the illegal migrant issue has done one useful thing it has shown the UK population just how useless our political leadership is and how poorly used our armed services are. The Royal Navy has done nothing to stop the invading army of rubber boats so please explain what they can do to stop a determined and aggressive nation from inflicting their wishes on us.

My Nephew currently serving as a ‘Stoker’ was working at HMAS Cairns last October, an Australian contractor was offering A$180k+A$50k golden hello+ subsidised housing, makes you wonder why theses such a turnover of personnel.Also you keep focusing on the Army, the two aircraft carriers can’t go to sea as there are not enough personnel to man them also there is only one RFA ship able to supply them seaworthy

Look at how they are treated after they serve ?? Thousands are homeless whilst animals are given four star hotel rooms.

Oil wars don't go down well.

With the economy in the state it is in, a 2.5% of GDP is still a decrease in money as the GDP of the country is lower

Currently serving and signing off. Retention is shocking. We're bored, unchallenged and treated poorly. I spend my day sweeping a hangar floor instead of doing my job. I'm treated like a child when im 30yrs old. I dont get to see my family often and have missed key family occasions when im not deployed etc.

War mongers war hawking as usual ... But Britain talking about people will come to rally to the defense of King and Country is absolutely hysterical :)))

All the military spending goes on equipment to make a huge profit for the Arms Industry on the stock market. The Stock market rules the UK.