Nearly half of UK troops think of quitting

LONDON (Reuters) - Almost half of the members of Britain's armed forces regularly think about quitting, a Ministry of Defence survey showed on Thursday, reflecting the hardship of fighting wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The snapshot of service morale also pinpointed concerns about the quality of equipment, complaints over pay and anxiety about the frequency of tours.

The ministry, revealing details of the survey of 9,000 service personnel, said it had uncovered "areas of concern" but insisted that conditions were being improved.

The survey showed that 47 percent of soldiers and sailors regularly felt like leaving.

Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, himself an ex-officer, told the BBC "I think the tempo of operations has produced such a level of stress on the families that it is no wonder so many are thinking of leaving."

In the survey, 72 percent of Royal Air Force personnel rated morale to be low or very low.

In the Royal Marines, 57 percent felt dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the standard of their equipment.

Last month, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the government would do "everything it could" to help members of the armed forces after army chief Richard Dannatt complained that troops were paid less than traffic wardens.

Defence Minister Derek Twigg, pointing to recent pay rises and extra expenditure on accommodation, said: "Since the survey was conducted, we have already implemented a number of important changes."

The British contingent in Afghanistan has been growing steadily and will reach 8,000 by the end of the year.

Britain cut back its force in Iraq almost in half to about 4,000 last year but has delayed further reductions.

Army chiefs are seriously concerned over whether such a level of commitment in Iraq and Afghanistan can be maintained.

Last month Chief of the Defence Staff Jock Stirrup warned the government: "We are not structured to do two of these things on this scale on an enduring basis but we have been doing it on an enduring basis for years.

"Until we get to the stage when one of them comes down to small-scale, we will be stretched beyond the capabilities we have."