British Army Reputation Tracking: Summer 2008

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 public�s top suggestion for boosting the numbers wanting to join the British Army. Following the much publicised release of �The Nation�s Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans� just over a third of respondents are aware of the Government�s 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 Government�s planned improvements

27. Familiarity TAs

28. The Territorial Army today