Armed forces weakened by Iraq, Afghan wars - UK admits

Britain's armed forces are under increasing strain due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and its ability to continue fighting at present levels is "unlikely to be met," the Ministry of Defense has admitted for the first time.

In its latest quarterly performance paper presented to parliament, the the ministry reported that more than 40 percent of all military units had "serious or critical weaknesses" in their ability to switch from peacetime readiness to a state when they could go on operations.

More than one in 10 soldiers are not getting the rest between operations the ministry says they need, with the infantry, Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers suffering in particular, it said.

With the armed forces' some 6,000 troops already under strength, commanders were reported to be worried about assembling a replacement of 8,000-strong brigade for Afghanistan next year.

Due to the wars on two fronts, Britain's infantry on average has only had 15 months' rest between operations rather than the recommended two years. Some 10 percent of soldiers were also exceeding 415 days away from home in a 30-month period.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph Wednesday, head of the British armed forces also confirmed that poor accommodation and too little time between missions was putting the country's military under "enormous pressure" when they return from the front line.

"They come back to relatively short periods at home, they don't get to spend enough time with their families, they don't get enough time to spend training and all of that creates an enormous amount of pressure for them back home." Chief of the Defense Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said.

He also renewed calls for more appreciation of the returning troops, saying that soldiers were "concerned the British public does not appreciate or understand what they do. We need to express that a bit more visibly." His comments come after the head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, warned a lack of public appreciation was in danger of "sapping" the willingness of troops to serve on dangerous operations.