British Military Stretched to the Limits

The US military is not the only one that has been pushed to its limits by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Only history will determine if it has all been worth it.

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BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Pressures 'driving UK troops out'

The pressures faced by the armed forces are driving away experienced personnel and damaging morale, MPs have warned.

The strain of operating at full capacity in Afghanistan and Iraq has left the services "deteriorating", a defence select committee report says.

Personnel do not get enough rest time, and budgets are spiralling out of control, its annual MoD report adds.

Defence minister Bob Ainsworth said the forces were achieving "our highest priority - success on operations".

'Heavily committed'

The committee's annual report on the Ministry of Defence warns that neither the Army nor the RAF are likely to make their personnel targets for 2008 because of problems with recruitment.

The forces have been operating at or above the level of resources they have been given for seven of the last eight years, including every year since 2002, it says.

As a result, the MPs conclude, personnel appear to be leaving in growing numbers.