The British Army were sent into Ulster in 1969 (Image: -)
There are many causes of this crisis.
But here's a thought.
If the message sent by the Government to existing and former service personnel is that, decades later, you will be prosecuted because it wants to make a political point, why would anyone sign up?
According to seemingly well-sourced leaks, on March 14, four Army veterans will be charged over the deaths of protesters on "Bloody Sunday" in Londonderry on January 30, 1972, when 14 people died and 13 were injured.
The inquiry set up in 1998 by then prime minister Tony Blair under Lord Saville into Bloody Sunday took 12 years and cost £200million.
When it finally reported in 2010 it concluded the paratroopers "lost control".
Marchers carry signs for deceased on the one-year anniversary of Bloody Sunday (Image: Getty)
It said none of those who they shot were "posing any threat of causing death or serious injury".
The police have since investigated 18 paratroopers from Support Company, 1 Para (although one is now dead).
It seems four of the paratroopers will be charged with offences including murder, attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and perjury over their evidence to the Saville Inquiry.
The fact that Bloody Sunday was 47 years ago is, of itself, no reason not to prosecute.
And Lord Saville's inquiry was so detailed it would be foolish to contradict its findings of fact.
But there is a far bigger picture that needs to be considered.
As Lord Dannatt, the ex-Chief of the General Staff, has said: "The Saville inquiry concluded quite rightly the events of January 1972 were a black stain on the British Army and people did what they should not have, which led David Cameron to apologise in the House of Commons. That apology was accepted and welcomed in the Bogside and as far as most people were concerned that drew a line under the matter."
Fourteen people died as a result of Bloody Sunday (Image: -)
Those final four words are key.
Because in any case there is a fundamental question
