In a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Gen Dannatt warned the current struggle against "extremism" - both in Britain and abroad - was likely to continue for "quite some time".
At the same time however, he said the Army needed to undergo a costly rebuilding process in case it was called on to fight a conventional war between states.
Lack of public appreciation for Britain's military effort in Iraq and Afghanistan is in danger of "sapping" the willingness of troops to serve on such dangerous operations, the head of the Army warned yesterday.
In a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Gen Dannatt warned the current struggle against "extremism" - both in Britain and abroad - was likely to continue for "quite some time".
At the same time however, he said the Army needed to undergo a costly rebuilding process in case it was called on to fight a conventional war between states.
Gen Dannatt, who has previously warned that the Army was in danger of being "broken" in Iraq, said soldiers were not "supermen" and they wanted to be "understood and respected" by the wider public for their efforts.
"When a young soldier has been fighting in Basra or Helmand, he wants to know that the people in their local pub know and understand what he has been doing and why," he said.
"Soldiers are genuinely concerned when they come back from Iraq to hear the population that sent them being occasionally dismissive or indifferent about their achievements, because if they ever did, they now no longer approve of the campaign - and of Afghanistan, they do not understand the campaign.
"We are in danger of sapping at our volunteer army's willingness to serve in such an atmosphere again."
He contrasted the situation in Britain - where people seemed "immune" to the plight of damaged former soldiers - with the "outstanding" support in the US.
