This year's Continuous Attitude Survey was published some days ago, but due to competing armed forces stories has received unusually little media attention. BritishForcesNews reported on the same day as the report was made available on this website for logged-in BAFF Members and BAFF Military Supporters. Now today's Mirror has a story about the survey.

A BAFF spokesman was asked about morale in three recent radio interviews about the tranche 1 redundancy notifications. Talk of "low morale" in the armed forces can be easily misunderstood, so our man made it clear that people generally were "not going about with long faces", and that service personnel were getting on with their jobs as they always do. But

On the last day for posting parcels to Camp Bastion, BritishForcesNews reports (02 Dec) that with comedy home movies posted on the internet having become something of a seasonal tradition, first out with their camcorders this year are the men and women of the Royal Logistic Corps's Eighty Postal Courier Squadron bracing themselves for a busy time ahead... Related links below.

The British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF) has been quoted again in Parliament.

The British Armed Forces Federation takes the view that the Baha Mousa Inquiry chaired by Sir William Gage has made a fair and thorough job of a difficult and painful investigation. In addition to the fullest possible implementation of the recommendations, BAFF regards it as a further test of our system that any further investigation, prosecution or administrative action be conducted fairly, and not in the atmosphere of a witch-hunt or for reasons of political expediency.

While there can be no excuses for the criminal or undisciplined mistreatment of anyone in the custody of British forces, comparatively junior individuals must not be left to take all the blame after what the Inquiry found to be a clear “corporate failure” by the MoD to adopt a proper and consistent doctrine for detainee holding and questioning. Failures to plan and provide adequate resources for the occupation also played their part.

According to a story in the Telegraph (09 Sep), "Nineteen soldiers could face criminal charges for their role in the death of an innocent Iraqi man after a public inquiry found he was the victim of “appalling and cowardly” violence while in British custody":

The Report of the Baha Mousa Inquiry can be accessed from the Inquiry's site at the link below, but some may have difficulty accessing the pages, via Google Docs. Our immediate reaction is that the Chairman's statement was impressive, but we will be examining the report in more detail and would welcome comments from logged-in BAFF members and BAFF military supporters.

The report of the Baha Mousa inquiry will be released later today, Thursday 08 Sep 2011. The Chairman of the Inquiry will make a short statement at 11.00am "to mark the laying of the Inquiry Report before Parliament later in the day". BBC News reports:

A survey carried out on behalf of leading charity Combat Stress has revealed that 49 per cent of GPs are familiar with guidelines on PTSD from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on PTSD. Only 42 per cent were familiar with the guidelines. The Daily Telegraph reports that:

Half of doctors are unaware of official guidelines on how to diagnose mental health trauma because of battle scars from the frontline, a survey has found.

The news will lead to fears that thousands of veterans are not being diagnosed early enough to prevent the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A survey carried out by independent pollster ComRes found that just 42 per cent of GPs are familiar with guidelines on PTSD from National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on PTSD.

Forty-nine per cent said they were not familiar with them at all. ComRes, which was commissioned by veterans mental health charity Combat Stress, surveyed 1,006 GPs across the UK in July 2011.

The guidelines set out clinical best practice on how medical professional should manage and deal with PTSD sufferers, as well offering ways of treating the mental illness.

Combat Stress, the veterans’ mental health charity which is raising money through its 'Enemy Within' appeal to deal with the problem, said its figures showed that too few doctors were diagnosing PTSD among veterans.

It found that over the past 12 months just 5 per cent of the 1,426 veterans it helped were referred to it by GPs.

Failing to diagnose PTSD early, and take medical action, can lead to the onset of much more serious problems, such as alcoholism and depression.

Walter Busuttil, Combat Stress's medical services director, said: “Our clinical audits tell us that 80 per cent of veterans who come to Combat Stress for clinical treatment have first tried to get help from either their GP or other specialist services, but have not received the support and treatment that they needed.

“This has led to around half the veterans who come to Combat Stress each year essentially self-referring.”

Dr Clare Gerada, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, admitted that “inequalities persist surrounding the care of military personnel when they return to the UK”, adding that the college has produced guidance “to help GPs better understand veterans’ particular needs”.

She added: “Veterans pose a unique challenge for GPs, but the role the generalist can play in identifying post traumatic stress disorder, or indeed any other mental health problems that may manifest as a result of the often difficult and dangerous situations that veterans work in around the world, is invaluable.”

More than 180,000 British troops have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003.

... Last year, Combat Stress launched its “Enemy Within” appeal, supported by The Daily Telegraph, to raise funds for the network of psychiatric nurses to treat veterans.

To contribute to Combat Stress's Enemy Within appeal, send a cheque payable to "Combat Stress" to the charity at Tyrwhitt House, Oaklawn Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 0BX.

Or go to www.combatstress.org.uk/tele to donate online.

• Full story, by Christopher Hope Whitehall Editor, The Daily Telegraph
• NICE clinical guideli on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Defence Select Committee Inquiry into Medical Care for the Armed Forces - Written evidence from the British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF)
• Combat stress: 44 calls every week to Government helpline to discuss mental health problems

According to The Sunday Telegraph (04 Sep), Church of England Bishops are set to warn ministers that plans to care for the armed forces do not go far enough:

Portsmouth News reports that the ban on women serving in Royal Navy submarines is "set to be lifted" after medical experts told the Ministry of Defence that female sailors face no greater hazard on boats than their male colleagues. This news is in line with earlier predictions. The News' story continues:

The Chairman of the Baha Mousa Inquiry has announced that he intends to publish his report on 8 September 2011. The Sunday Telegraph says that the three-year inquiry into how Mr Baha Mousa died while in British custody in Iraq "will clear the Army of operating a systematic regime of torture". There is no room for complacency, because according to the newspaper, the inquiry will instead criticise individual soldiers and failings in the chain of command which led to his mistreatment: