Young soldiers ‘more likely 
to be violent’

Of around 3,000 military men under the age of 30, more than a fifth had a conviction for violent offences, compared with 6.7 per cent of their civvie street peers.

There were strong links between combat experience, post-deployment alcohol misuse, traumatic stress and violence. Men who had seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan were 53 per cent more likely to commit a violent offence than comrades given non-combat roles. Those with multiple experiences of combat had a 70 per cent to 80 per cent greater risk of committing acts of violence.

In the biggest study of its kind, researchers were given access to police records on almost 14,000 randomly selected men and women who were active or former members of the armed forces. Participants provided information about their experiences before and after joining the military and underwent psychological tests.