Soldiers returning from active duty are three times more likely to commit a violent crime, with young men particularly at risk, new research has found.
Researcher Kimberlie Dean from the University of NSW says while links between combat duty and post-traumatic stress and aggression are already well documented, this is the first time a study has linked a group of soldiers or returning personnel to criminal records.
“What we found was there was an impact of combat experience and experiencing trauma on deployment for military personnel, increasing their risk of violent offending on return and that mental health problems were a significant likely reason for that increase,” she said.
The study found more than one in five soldiers under the age of 30 were violent offenders, compared with 6.7 per cent of the general population.
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Those who had a direct combat role or experienced traumatic events while deployed appear to be more closely linked with violent offending, Ms Dean said.
"We also found that problems with alcohol misuse on return, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and self-reporting aggressive behaviour on return were also associated with violent offending."
While the study was conducted in the UK, Ms Dean says she believes it is also relevant to Australian soldiers.
“There are a lot of similarities between Australia and the UK in terms of the way the military is structured [and] the kinds of deployments they've been on to Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years."
“So I think it's a potential problem for returning soldiers to Australia.”
Defence Minister Stephen Smith announced yesterday hundreds of soldiers would return home by the end of the year, as Australia's role in Afghanistan draws to an end.
The announcement came less than two weeks after Defence Force Chief General David Hurley called for soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to come forward and seek help.
He warned those who didn't seek help despite suffering from the after effects of combat risked putting their colleagues in danger.
“Hiding illness and putting your subordinates at risk is just as big a sin as me not providing you with the right support,” he said.
