Guardian : Wives claim husbands' service in Iraq and Afghanistan damaging family life

Wives claim husbands' service in Iraq and Afghanistan damaging family life

Richard Norton-Taylor | The Guardian | October 31, 2007

The disruption to family life caused by serving in Iraq and Afghanistan is illustrated in a survey of wives and husbands published by the Ministry of Defence yesterday - the first time such information has been released.

More than two fifths of soldiers' partners and more than a third of army officers' partners said their loved one's behaviour had changed as a result of their experiences.

The survey also found that more than half of the spouses of soldiers believe that operational tours are too long and that the length of time spent away from home has had a negative effect on their married life.

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The majority of those questioned said being married to or in a civil partnership with soldiers and officers has had a serious affect on their own career prospects, and that army life, with frequent house moves, had a negative effect on their children's education.

More than 70% of officers' spouses, and more than 60% of soldiers' spouses, also reported that the rank of their partner affects how they are treated.

But the response to questions about changes in their spouse's behaviour could have special significance in light of the Guardian's recent disclosure that the MoD has launched a major study into mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in soldiers returning from operations.

Combat Stress, the British Legion and other charities, have also reported an increase in psychological problems.

Over 40% of soldiers' spouses, and over 30% of officers', said the behaviour of their partner had changed as a result of their experiences on military operations over the past two years. Some 70% said it had had a negative, or very negative, impact on their family but the vast majority had not sought help.

Nearly 6,000 questionnaires were sent out last year and there were nearly 2,000 responses in the survey, which also says that a majority of spouses in all three services were satisfied with the standard of their family accommodation and, despite the length of operational tours, with the amount of service leave.

The defence minister, Derek Twigg, said yesterday that the MoD was was looking at ways to minimise the impact on a child's education and access to NHS services of military families moving.

Separately yesterday, the government published strict guidelines covering Iraqi interpreters and other locally employed staff who worked for British troops and officials whose circumstances had been "uniquely difficult". The measures, announced in a written Commons statement by David Miliband, the foreign secretary, follows pressure from British military commanders concerned about violence and intimidation meted out to Iraqis who have helped them.

Eligible staff - those who are working, or who have worked, for at least 12 months continuously for the British since 2005 - will be able to apply for a one-off lump sum payment of up to 12 months' salary or exceptional leave to enter the UK outside the immigration rules, or a refugee resettlement package in Britain for those who have been forced to flee Iraq.

Officials said the measures could cover about 1,000 people.

The announcement was condemned by the Liberal Democrats' international development spokeswoman, Lynne Featherstone, who said many staff would be unable to benefit.

She said: "To exclude those who worked for British authorities before 2005 and for less than a year is unforgivable. The basis for asylum should be one of assessed risk, not length of service."