You'll have no one to shoot on civvy street: Cruel jibes aimed at war veterans looking for work

Servicemen are ruled out by ignorance of prospective employers

Thousands face life on the dole queue, according to new report

Firms fear soldiers are 'aggressive, institutionalised and unable to adapt to a civilian workplace'



Soldiers seeking jobs after leaving the Armed Forces have been rejected by employers because they ‘won’t need to shoot guns on civvy street’, a report has warned.

Military personnel who risked their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan have repeatedly endured cruel put-downs while trying to find work outside the military.

Lord Ashcroft, the Tory peer commissioned by Downing Street to review troops’ transition to civilian life, found thousands risked being left in the dole queue.

His 200-page report said nine out of ten members of the public thought servicemen and women had been ‘damaged’ by their careers.

Soldiers are struggling against misconceptions among potential employers. One soldier was told: 'Unless you plan on shooting people in civvy street, you're not a lot of use to us'

Some companies baulked at hiring ex-troops because they assumed they would be ‘aggressive, institutionalised, incapable of thinking for themselves, or unable to adapt to a civilian workplace’, the study found.

One Royal Welsh Regiment soldier told the inquiry that he was told by a prospective employer: ‘Unless you plan on shooting people in civvy street, you’re not a lot of use to us.’

And a warrant officer who commanded 40 men on a nuclear- powered submarine said: ‘All the questions in my interview were about how I would deal with conflict because they thought I was bound to blow a fuse.’

A warrant officer who commanded 40 men on a nuclear- powered submarine said: 'All the questions in my interview were about how I would deal with conflict because they thought I was bound to blow a fuse'

Lord Ashcroft said the Ministry of Defence and military top brass had to do more to change misconceptions of service leavers.

He said it was a ‘myth’ that veterans were plagued by problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, homelessness and alcoholism – but it hindered their ability to find a job.

He added: ‘Though most succeed, it remains the case that for many service leavers, transition is more of a struggle than it should be, and that others find it harder than they should to achieve their potential.’

Lord Ashcroft’s Veterans’ Transition Review found a staggering 73 per cent of service personnel believed it would be difficult to find a job when they left the Forces.

More needed to be done for those who leave the military after short careers, the report said. Only half find a job within six months.

Currently, those serving four years or less receive only basic careers advice – even if they have been deployed on gruelling operational tours of Afghanistan.

In a series of more than 50 recommendations, Lord Ashcroft said everyone who completed basic training should get the full resettlement package available to long-serving personnel.

He said the MoD should set up a work placement scheme in partnership with industry so veterans could have practical experience of the civilian workplace.

Veterans minister Anna Soubry said: ‘We will continue to work closely with service charities, employers, other government departments and local government to consider how best to take these recommendations forward.’

David Murray, chief executive of military charity SSAFA, gave the report a cautious welcome.

He said: ‘It does not adequately acknowledge the fact that, in many cases, it is the whole family which is making the move into civilian life and that the impact is often as great, if not greater, when it comes to key issues such as housing, education and employment.'



Philippa Tuckman, military injuries specialist at Bolt Burdon Kemp solicitors, said: ‘There is a particular problem for soldiers leaving the armed forces after completing the minimum length of service.

‘They leave the army with fewer skills, often at a lower rank than those who have served for longer, and are not receiving the support they need to help them make the transition back into civilian life.

‘We must not allow the MoD to slip back into bad old ways by disregarding PTSD, for example, on the basis that it only affects a “relatively small” group of individuals.

