OUR armed forces demoralized, hundreds of soldiers leaving every month and the relentless pursuit of alleged war crimes that are leaving those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan wondering why they bothered.
In an increasingly dangerous world, where the UK has a pivotal role to play, this is a disgraceful state of affairs.
As I have said consistently, not only are we failing in our primary duty to protect our country and dependents, but we are failing our servicemen and women as well.
Today, we can no longer field even the minimal, 82,000 trained regular soldiers stipulated in the 2010 defence review.
MOD figures show a shortfall of over 2,000, with further falls expected.
The Army Reserve, which is supposed to plug any manning gaps, remains below the 30,000 required, despite frantic recruitment.
Of concern, 400 soldiers left the army every month in the 12 months to April 2016 - a full six percent of the force.
Almost 8,000 personnel left the combined services over the same period.
Soldiers and senior commanders cite loss of morale, and a recent MOD survey shows only 46 per cent are satisfied with service life.
Partly to blame are the continuing investigations into alleged war crimes in Iraq and Aghanistan.
The Iraq Historic Allegations Team still has 1500 cases on its books and the lesser-known Operation Northmoor is examining 550 more in Afghanistan.
Each ‘suspect’ faces multiple interviews over many years.
Only this week, former head of the Army, Lord Bramall, former head of the SAS, General Sir Michael Rose, and former Nato commander General Sir Richard Shirreff, described the long-term effects on our armed forces as “disastrous”.
Enough, they say, and I concur.
We need another defence review, and fast.