Soldiers' families should get more help with healthcare and schooling and better accommodation, a commission set up by the Tories is set to recommend.
The head of a Conservative commission set up to review UK armed forces policy says there is not enough money to ensure troops have the right equipment.
Author Frederick Forsyth said up to 60 servicemen have died in Afghanistan and Iraq because the government failed to provide them with adequate kit.
He spoke out at the launch of the interim report of the Military Covenant Commission set up by David Cameron.
It warned of a "breakdown of respect" between ministers and the armed forces.
The commission looked at ways of restoring the "military covenant", the government's duty of care to soldiers, which the Tories say has been "broken".
The commission looked at ways of restoring the "military covenant", the government's duty of care to soldiers, which the Tories say has been "broken".
Many personnel are thought to quit due to hardships faced by their families.
'Litanies of waste'
The Tories are likely to accept most of the proposals. The government unveils its own plans in the next few weeks.
Armed forces personnel are not allowed to form trade unions or go on strike - but in return the covenant sets out the treatment they are entitled to receive for the sacrifices they make.
The commission, chaired by the author Frederick Forsyth, was announced in March by Tory leader David Cameron, who said the military covenant had been "well and truly broken".
Those of us who looked fairly carefully have been shocked by the inadequacy of some of the equipment Frederick Forsyth
NHS waiting list
However, the Tory report said the covenant was "under serious and unprecedented strain" because of complaints over issues ranging from accommodation, healthcare, leave to military overstretch.
The covenant says that members of the armed forces receive special care from society in return for the sacrifices they make.
Mr Forsyth claimed there were "deplorable litanies of waste" within the Ministry of Defence which means there is not enough cash to ensure troops have the equipment they need.
Among recommendations in its interim report will be that the covenant is officially written into the rules of all three armed services - currently it only officially applies to the Army.
"Those of us who looked fairly carefully have been shocked by the inadequacy of some of the equipment," he said.
Everybody seems to just take it for granted that they can make cuts where the military are concerned and then just rely on them to do their job Simon WestonFalklands veteran
"Not enough of it, obsolete helicopters, a man spending five hours lying in agony with terminal wounds because there wasn't a case vac helicopter - we had to eventually borrow one from the Americans - that's not good enough.
Proposals will include help with maintaining military families' NHS waiting list places when they move around and improving their accommodation.
"What has angered me is to see fine young men coming home in boxes draped in a flag who should never have died at all and died because they were required to go in harm's way with crap equipment.
Families of service personnel would be able take their waiting list position with them to a new area, and would be guaranteed access to an NHS dentist.
"If you add them all together, you are looking at 50 to 60 young men. That angers me because we have the money in this country."
Military families would also attract additional funding for their children's schooling.
'Second rate healthcare'
'Live in squalor'
Mr Forsyth said there had been "the most unbelievable frittering away of billions on schemes that never work" by Gordon Brown when he was chancellor, who "repeatedly refused to recognise that with two vicious wars going on, we need extra funds".
Falklands veteran Simon Weston, who contributed to the Commission's inquiry, said successive government had reduced the armed forces' budget.
The commission, which includes Falklands veteran Simon Weston, discovered that military overstretch was having a big impact on service families' life, with gaps between tours of duty frequently shorter than they should be.
"Everybody seems to just take it for granted that they can make cuts where the military are concerned and then just rely on them to do their job," he said.
"You can't just keep doing this to people who are risking their lives and then paying them a pittance, then expecting them to live in squalor, expecting them to use substandard equipment then expecting them to have second-rate health care when they come back," said Mr Weston.
Nobody within military circles has said the military covenant is broken Ministry of Defence spokesman
Many personnel are thought to quit due to hardships faced by their loved ones, with forces families losing out in terms of health care because they were moved to the bottom of the NHS waiting lists every time they were relocated to a new base.
"You can't just keep doing this to people who are risking their lives and then paying them a pittance, then expecting them to live in squalor, expecting them to use substandard equipment then expecting them to have second-rate health care when they come back."
The commission's final recommendations are due in September, although Mr Cameron will not be bound to include them in the Conservatives' next general election manifesto.
Last year the Royal British Legion began its own "Honour the Covenant" campaign to highlight the problems faced by troops.
Compensation
In March, when the commission was launched, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "Nobody within military circles has said the military covenant is broken, including the Royal British Legion.
The Commission proposes that the military covenant is officially written into the rules of all three armed services - currently it only officially applies to the Army.
"That does not mean that the government cannot do better. We strive constantly to ensure the armed forces have the best possible package of care. In the past few years we have made some significant improvements."
NHS Trusts should be required to hold places on waiting lists for medical and dental treatment for service families moving between postings, it adds.
And there should be additional funding for children of forces personnel, who tend to do less well at school than their peers.
The commission also proposed a review of the potential of the Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport to provide healthcare for injured troops in the future.
There should be improvements in the compensation offered to those hurt in action, which compared unfavourably with civilian schemes for injures at work, the report says.
Public awareness
And services accommodation should be brought up to an acceptable standard "as soon as possible".
Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox welcomed the report but said the Conservatives would need to look at details of the public finances before they could say how quickly the issues it raises can be addressed.
"There is growing public awareness of issues relating to the welfare of our serving personnel, their families and veterans, he said.
Many of the ideas from the commission are believed to be similar to those being considered by the government.
Many of the ideas from the commission are believed to be similar to those being considered by the government.
Its plans to improve the welfare of the armed services are set to be unveiled in the next few weeks.
Its plans to improve the welfare of the armed services are set to be unveiled in the next few weeks.
Have you been affected by the issues in this story? Do you work in the military? Have you had problems with access to education and healthcare? What do you think of the plan? Send us your comments using the form below.
Have you been affected by the issues in this story? Do you work in the military? Have you had problems with access to education and healthcare? What do you think of the plan? Send us your comments using the form below.
