Being ex-Army (24 years) I too agree that the minority let both sides down. Military police, both RMP and Shore Patrol, attend on duty in support of the Met but mostly inside the stadium. It does appear that they have been less 'vigorous' in later years compared to earlier no nonsense responses, possibly due to complaints from non-serving personnel getting caught up? Before the event serving personnel are warned any arrested will be on Courts Martial so I do wonder if it is ex-members causing a lot of the trouble? Also many serving will arrive on coaches and never leave the stadium confines. Food for thought.
I'm also ex RN (24 years served) and am also appalled by the behaviour of some people attending this game as it has got bigger
I have attended many times on coach trips from ships and shore bases and stayed in the confines of the ground so have been unaware of the carnage in town. Unfortunately in recent years the behaviour of some of the coach parties at Fleet services leaves a lot to be desired especially service units coming from the West Country
A lot of pubs and clubs in the Portsmouth area run trips now and many people use it as an excuse to get hammered first thing in the morning instead of a beer with breakfast and then a couple of sociable drinks on the trip up and then trawl the car park looking for old shipmates (in my case very old!!)
One good aspect of the game is the passion with which the National Anthem is sung