The strength of the British Army has been markedly depleted by sickness and injury, the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday.
Figures obtained by the Daily Telegraph from the Ministry of Defence showed that of the 10 battalions recently deployed to, or are currently in, Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 400 soldiers were left behind because they were "unfit to deploy."
That works out to around one in every 14 of the soldiers that were sent to the two countries.
The report comes after a parliamentary committee warned a week ago that pressure on Britain's military to meet its commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq has battered morale and spurred experienced officers to leave.
There are currently 7,700 British troops in Afghanistan and 4,500 in Iraq.
The Telegraph said that among the battalions that had to leave soldiers behind were the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, now in Afghanistan's restive southern Helmand Province, which had 50 long-term sick troops.
The 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery also had to leave behind nearly a tenth of its 388 soldiers.
The report said that because of the troop shortages, six battalions will have to be deployed to Afghanistan later this year to do the work of four battalions.
In response, a spokesman for the defence ministry said: "The use of elements from a number of battalions is not new and the current deployment of 52 Brigade contains forces from four infantry battalions and two other battalions."
"Details of individual units programmed to deploy will be announced shortly. Battle casualty replacements are provided as and when required by the chain of command," he said.
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