Troops will no longer be told to simply ‘man up’ by top brass when they ask for help, the defence secretary declared today.
Sir Michael Fallon pledged to tackle the ‘hidden scars’ of mental illness in the Armed Forces, saying warfare was not just about ‘battles of the body’, but about ‘battles of the mind’.
Veterans minister Tobias Ellwood, a former Army captain, admitted there was a problem in the military of soldiers being told to ‘suck it up’ when they were unwell and this needed to change.
The ministers made the comments at an event at the Ministry of Defence to mark the launch of a joint venture to tackle mental health in the Armed Forces with Prince Harry.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, pictured with Prince Harry and Keith Mills, chairman of the Royal Foundation, at the launch of today’s mental health venture in central London. Sir Michael pledged to tackle the hidden scars of metal health at the event
Prince Harry, a former Army captain who spent 10 years in the forces, said a slashing of troop numbers had meant those ones left were ‘prized assets’ who needed to be invested in.
Speaking at the MoD in London, he said: ‘As the overall numbers of active duty personnel have reduced, we are naturally placing a premium on every individual being fighting fit and deployable.
‘Quite simply these men and woman are prized assets, which need to be continually invested in.’
He said they should be thought of as high-performance athletes carrying their kit and a rifle.
‘Crucially, fighting fitness is not just about physical fitness. It is just as much about mental fitness too’, he said.
The 33-year-old, who served twice in Afghanistan, said that by supporting troops with their mental health, this would create ‘better’ and ‘ultimately (a) more combat ready military’.
Sir Michael added: ‘Warfare’s often seen in terms of battles of the body. Today we recognise it’s also about battles of the mind.
‘Today, after 21st century conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, where a lack of safe zones was compounded by the constant threat of roadside IEDs, we no longer expect people to simply “man up”.
He said ‘complacency is not an option’ and that the MoD’s sole focus could not be on the frontline to ‘the exclusion of those who don’t always venture beyond the wire’.
Prince Harry, pictured at the launch of the mental health event in London today, said troops are prized assets who must be cared for properly by the authorities
Mr Ellwood said when he was serving soldiers used to be told to put their ‘man suit’ on if they said they were unwell and this was still a problem.
He said: ‘We put them in situations that most people will never see and they need to cope with that environment.
‘This is to show that there is absolutely a demand to change culturally the attitude, to open up that conversation to say for any soldier, the mind is as important as the body.’
He added: ‘At the moment, you have a problem you are just told to suck it up. I remember being shouted out. “Oh Grab a man suit” was the favourite phrase in order to say just get on with it, just deal with it.’
The partnership is the latest in a series of royal efforts to promote greater understanding and openness around mental health through the work of the Foundation’s Heads Together campaign, launched in May last year.
The MoD said the move will build upon a recently launched Government strategy aimed at improving mental health in current military workers, civilian staff, their families and veterans.
The Foundation will now offer advice and resources to improve training, education and information sharing for the whole of the armed forces.