07.03.08

Winning the battle for hearts and minds?

Posted in In the news... at 5:15 am by nikforsyth

As the death toll of soldiers killed serving in Afghanistan passes 100 and claims its first female victim, the media have rallied round with pages of support, anger and emotion.

So positive stories are back on the agenda for ‘our boys’, our ‘heroes’, as many of us were met with poignant images of Union Jack draped coffins making their final journey home in the papers this week. Lets not forget this is the same tabloid media that whipped us all into a frenzy before and during the conflict, encouraging mass demonstrations and petitions. Delivering an almighty blow to morale, the churning of negative stories did nothing but feed racial hatred not to mention put troops at more risk.

So why the sudden change of hearts and minds? A £2 million PR and marketing drive by the MOD could be a start…

With You Gov surveys showing bolstering support for troops (if not the conflicts themselves), scheduled appearances at various sporting events and a proposed national forces day, it certainly seems to be money well spent.

But the issue here is how did we get into a such a state in the first place? What is going so wrong that the MOD has to fork out £2 million of its rather under funded budget to get the public to support and appreciate the soldiers that risk life and limb for them in the first place?

03.21.08

Losing the battle?

Posted in In the news... at 8:33 pm by nikforsyth

As we enter the fifth anniversary of the US/ British invasion of Iraq, it seems morale is at an all time low and public opinion is dwindling.

Is this damaging the reputation of our British armed forces? Recent reports of members of the public abusing forces personnel led to an RAF commander banning recruits at its Wittering base wearing their uniform in the city.

Although this caused outrage among many including the media and politicians (the Sun with continued committment to its ’Help for Heroes’ campaign and Lord Goldsmith’s proposals to strenthen British citizenship) is it enough?

Has conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan damaged the reputation of the British armed forces? What about other possible contributory factors – the media, Government, alligence with the USA and alleged abuse? 

I’m currently researching public opinion on the British armed forces and would love to hear your comments…