By Mark Mackay

TRANSPARENCY AND a public inquiry are the only way the army will recover its tarnished reputation, the parents of a Perth teenager who died at the Deepcut army barracks in Surrey said yesterday.

Yvonne Collinson (pictured with a photo of her son) spoke out after a leaked document warned senior officers that the army’s ability to do its job is being threatened by mounting allegations of abuse and bullying.

Her 17-year-old son James died at Deepcut in 2002—one of four recruits to have died between 1995 and 2002. Their families have always rejected suggestions the deaths were suicides.

The leaked briefing from Major General Bill Rollo, assistant chief of the defence staff, outlines concerns about morale following a series of high-profile cases where UK troops were accused of mistreating Iraqis.

Bullying rituals closer to home also came to light last month as a video—allegedly filmed in secret by a marine—captured a brutal initiation ceremony at 42 Commando’s base in Bickleigh Barracks, near Plymouth, in May.

The classified paper, sent to senior and retired officers last month, addresses what General Rollo described as the “difficult and critical subject of reputation.”

Mrs Collinson said there was only one way for the army to recover its reputation.

“I have heard it said before that Deepcut is the issue—that it is to blame—but really it is the fact that little action has been taken since that is the problem,” she said.

“The fact that little seems to have been done causes suspicion amongst the public and the families of soldiers. You ask yourself, ‘What are they hiding?’ The only way to improve things is with transparency. That means a public inquiry.”

Despite only “little changes” since she began campaigning for a public inquiry, Mrs Collinson hopes the bigger picture of the deaths and the alleged bullying culture in the army would be addressed.

“We really need that public inquiry to let us know once and for all what happened to our children and to help the army get back to what it was,” she said. “There is always a glimmer of hope that this will happen.”

In the leaked document General Rollo said the armed forces faced unprecedented media and judicial scrutiny, and described recent cases as “extremely emotive.”

“It has been painful so far, but there is more to come,” he warns in the pocket brief. With 4000 soldiers due to deploy to Afghanistan in May, 2006 will be “a particularly demanding year for the army.”

Iraq and the controversial amalgamation of infantry units are also listed as major issues. However, the briefing is reportedly dominated by publicity surrounding court cases, prompted in part by the lack of understanding of the legal process even among senior officers.

Military police, army lawyers and prosecuting authorities have been criticised for their handling of cases involving UK soldiers accused of abusing Iraqis.

The general adds, “I am clear that the key to our operational success remains our reputation, but our reputation has to be founded on our demonstrable duty to operate within the law.”