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Your support makes all the difference.The Ministry of Defence is expanding a special unit set up to deal with inquests of servicemen killed in action, after the backlog of cases grew to almost 100.
Of the 370 members of the armed forces to die in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, more than a quarter - 97 individuals - have yet to receive an inquest, the MoD confirmed.
Numbers of grieving families waiting to hear how their loved ones died have increased by as much as a third over the past three months, largely because of the spike in fatalities during the Operation Panther's Claw offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
In one case, a family was forced to wait for two years for the inquest into a British serviceman killed while on board a US helicopter, due to delays caused by the need to liaise with American authorities.
But an MoD spokesman said that most inquests are completed within nine to 12 months of the death, and some are now reaching a conclusion within seven months. The Defence Inquests Unit set up last year within the MoD is now being increased in size, said the spokesman.
Armed forces minister Bill Rammell told The Times: "The MoD places the highest priority on supporting the families of those who have given their lives for their country -- before, during and after inquests.
"Families want as much information as possible about the events that led to the loss of their loved ones. Inquests are therefore thorough and complex investigations."
Some of the inquests are delayed because of the need to conduct thorough military police investigations in the theatre of conflict before setting out the facts before a coroner in the UK.
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