Understanding the impact of serving within the British Armed Forces for ethnic minority Veterans and their families

Abstract: In April 2022, service personnel who were classified as ethnic minorities represented 9.6% (N=14,110) of the British Armed Forces, and up until now, there has been little research conducted with this group. This study set out to help address that imbalance, with the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) funding this project to explore the experiences of military veterans from ethnic minority backgrounds. This two-year programme had a broad remit, and aimed to identify what motivated people from ethnic minorities to join the British Armed Forces, what enticed them to stay, what factors influenced their decision to leave, and how they have fared since departing. Information was gathered through interviews with 36 ethnic minority veterans and a survey comparison study completed by 179 ethnic minority veterans and 274 UK white veterans. The data was collected between May 2022 and September 2023. From the outset, representing the participants’ voices was a key part of associate working, and participants were welcomed as equal partners, and co-production was a key feature of this research design, with considerable contributions from peer researchers to conduct the qualitative interviews and actively engage and assist throughout the course of the programme.

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