Armed forces 'short of personnel'

The armed forces now have 180,690 full-time personnel

The UK's armed forces are nearly 3% short of their required strength, according to defence statistics.

In July 2006, the full-time trained strength of the UK armed forces was 180,690, against a target of 185,870.

BBC world affairs correspondent Jonathan Charles said the personnel shortages made it harder for the armed forces to fulfil overseas deployments.

Shortages were being partly blamed on the prospect of having to serve in war zones and frequent tours of duty.

The proportion of women in the forces rose 0.4 percentage points to 11.4% for officers and 0.1 percentage points to 8.8% of other ranks since July 2005.

Personnel from ethnic minorities rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.6%.

Recruitment campaign

Our correspondent said the lack of personnel was making it harder for the UK's armed forces to fulfil its overseas deployments.

The Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy were now about 3% under strength, compared with some 2% a year ago.

ARMED FORCES STRENGTH 180,690 - 5190 under strength 11.4% of officers and 8.8% of other ranks are female - a rise of .04 and 0.1 percentage points respectively Personnel from ethnic minorities rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.6% The armed forces lost 7.6% of officers and 11.4% of other ranks in the 12 months up to 30 June Source: Defence Analytical Services Agency

The number of men and women leaving the services was also 7.9% greater than the previous year, he said.

The amount of natural wastage in the 12-month period ending 30 June was equivalent to 7.6% of the officer strength and 11.4% of other ranks - compared with 6.7% and 10.3% a year before.

The drop in strength comes despite a successful recruitment campaign in recent months, which saw the number of recruits rise by more than 9%.

HAVE YOUR SAY The answer is more boots on the ground and as always, war in Afghanistan is being fought on the cheap. Chapman, Sycamore Send us your comments

Our correspondent said there was anecdotal evidence the thought of having to serve in war zones such as Iraq and the increasingly frequent tours of duty away from home were putting people off from joining or staying in the armed forces.

The figures were part of a regular monthly review of armed forces strength by the Defence Analytical Services Agency.