UP to 30,000 British service personnel are unfit to serve in front-line combat units or can manage only light duties.
More than one in ten of the Army’s 74,300 personnel — or 7,652 soldiers — would not be able to fight, figures released to the Commons show.
A further 10,624 could be deployed with medical issues preventing them from having combat roles.
Figures for the Navy and RAF from 2025 show a further 11,413 are either non-deployable or could be sent overseas but with medical issues.
Most have broken limbs or back injuries.
But some have been downgraded with mental health or alcohol problems.
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Former intelligence officer Col Philip Ingram called the figures “staggering”.
He added: “Serious questions must be asked about who is responsible for this failure of leadership.”
The Ministry of Defence said: “We are committed to providing world-class medical treatment.”