Army has 'overly-sexualised' heavy drinking culture, Chief of General Staff admits

Ben Farmer, defence correspondent 
14 JUNE 2016 
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The Army must rein in its heavy drinking ethos and tackle its “overly-sexualised culture”, the Chief of the General Staff has admitted to MPs.

Gen Sir Nick Carter said he would use his time as head of the service to "fundamentally change" Army culture, to ensure parents felt able to entrust their sons and daughters to a career as soldiers.

Sir Nick spoke days after an inquest into the death of Pte Cheryl James at Deepcut barracks criticised the sexual atmosphere and binge drinking at the notorious Surrey base.

Cheryl James

Twenty years after her death, he is determined to show the Army is a “caring employer”, he said.

He told the Commons defence committee: “We recognise that we have an overly sexualised culture and alcohol is a two-edged tool and I am determined to do something about alcohol. It is a very difficult issue.

"On the one hand it can be very positive in terms of culture and bonding people together and providing the relaxation that people need and on the other it is difficult.

"One of the challenges of the young today is, I suspect unlike our generation, they drink to get drunk rather than drink to enjoy themselves. That means some of their behaviour becomes quite extraordinary."

I will fundamentally change the culture in my next two-and-a-half years as Chief of the General StaffGeneral Sir Nick Carter

The Army is currently trying to encourage more young women to join up, as well as recruits from ethnic minorities.

Sir Nick said: “What I need to do as head of this institution is to make people understand that we are changing the culture and as we change that culture so we become a more inclusive organisation and one that mums and dads can send their children to," he said.

"I feel passionately about this as head of this institution and I will fundamentally change the culture in my next two-and-a-half years as Chief of the General Staff."

The Army is trying to encourage more young women to join up, but an internal Army survey last year found almost half of female soldiers said they had suffered some form of sexual harassment.

Deepcut Barracks

Sir Nick also said he wanted to change the leadership culture to ensure soldiers felt they could complain about their own commanders if they felt they had been subject to abuse or harassment.

He told MPs: "Certainly if you look back over the last five or 10 years I don't think enough people have been held to account when they have stepped out of line in terms of unacceptable behaviour," he said.

"I am certain that through forcing my leaders to look themselves in the mirror, through making sure they behave themselves in the way that I insist I behave, there is a reasonable chance that actually we change the culture."