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1. British Army Reputation Tracking: Summer 2008 August 2008
3. Key findings
5. Key findings Familiarity with the British Army is fairly high, although only a minority of respondents know at least a fair amount about it. Knowledge of the Army increases with age, not least because older respondents are more likely to have served or to know somebody who has served in the Army
The Army is held in high regard by the general public, across all regions, age brackets and social grades. Four fifths are favourable towards it and, as if often the case, familiarity breeds favourability those more familiar with the Army are more positively disposed towards it
Reflecting the strong levels of favourability, advocacy is also high, with nearly two thirds of respondents claiming that they would speak positively of the Army. As one would expect, advocacy is significantly higher amongst those who have had personal experiences of the Army. In particular, the research highlights the fact that those with serving friends or relatives tend to be both more informed and more positive about the Armed Forces than average. This group is far more inclined to trust what they hear about the Army from serving friends/families than from other sources such as print or TV media.
Most people obtain information about the British Army from television which is also the most trusted of media source. Respondents also exhibit a fairly high level of trust in official information from the MOD.
There are a number of areas where public perceptions are broadly positive:
Doing a good job in Afghanistan (78%) and Iraq (74%): younger age groups are less inclined to agree, as are those with no experience of the British Army (i.e. who have not served or do not know anyone in the Army). Similarly, respondents less familiar with the Army are less likely to view these operations as successful
Maintaining standards of excellence (71%)
6. Key findings However, there are a few areas of concern where a large proportion of respondents have a expressed negative views:
Only around a quarter agree that British soldiers have the right equipment to do the job required of them
Just over half of respondents agree that the British Army looks after its soldiers. People aged 16-24 are most likely to say that this is the case, while those aged 55+are far less certain (64% versus 46% agree). Perceptions in the area of duty of care appear intertwined with views on equipment, as those who agree that soldiers are properly equipped are far more likely to also believe that the Army looks after its personnel
Less than a third of respondents agree that soldiers are housed properly
Increasing the salaries on offer is, unsurprisingly, the publics top suggestion for boosting the numbers wanting to join the British Army. Following the much publicised release of The Nations Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans just over a third of respondents are aware of the Governments plans to improve conditions for soldiers and their families. Of those aware, nearly three fifths cite housing as an area of focus
Familiarity with the TAs is consistent findings from the Spring 2008 MOD Reputation Tracker, as almost two thirds claim to have some knowledge of it. The general public tend to associate the TA with providing support and back up for the Army, and with helping out in emergencies
7. Charts
8. Familiarity
9. Favourability
10. Familiarity vs. Favourability
11. Familiarity breeds favourability
12. Advocacy
13. Advocates
14. Critics
15. Advocacy (Q5) Verbatims
16. Trusted Sources
17. Sources of Information
18. Perceptions of the British Army
19. The British Army looks after its soldiers
20. The British Army looks after its soldiers
21. British soldiers are given the right equipment to do the job required of them
22. British soldiers are given the right equipment to do the job required of them
23. The British Army is maintaining its standards of excellence
24. The British Army is maintaining its standards of excellence
25. Improving Recruitment levels
26. Knowledge of the Governments planned improvements
27. Familiarity TAs
28. The Territorial Army today