£100m toll of adapting to civvy street

The study by the Forces in Mind Trust, which campaigns to help ex-military personnel cope with civilian life, said “poor transition” took its toll in alcohol abuse, mental illness and family breakdown.

It estimates the cost to the UK in 2012 – when 19,950 personnel left the forces – was £113.8m, with the figure set to rise to £122m this year as the number of leavers rises under a redundancy programme.

Alcohol misuse had the biggest effect, accounting for £35m in 2012, followed by mental health (£26m), unemployment (£21m) and family breakdown (£16m).

Homelessness accounted for £5.5m while the “relatively small” number who ended up in prison cost £4.4m. The report said the costings were “conservative”.

While the report accepted most ex-military personnel did make a successful transition, it said the process was “uneven” with many under-estimating the change.

It could be eased, it said, if more was done to ensure personnel had skills and qualifications appropriate to outside the military.

The report called for more to be done to build up habits of independence, with placements in civilian workplaces before they leave the forces and increasing financial awareness.

More also needed to be done to help families who faced a similar set of challenges making the adjustment away from the military.