Almost half of the members of Britain's armed forces regularly think about quitting, a Ministry of Defence survey showed 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.

Opposition Conservative parliamentarian Patrick Mercer, himself an ex-officer, said 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 for Britain's 186,440 service personnel, 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 strong by the end of the year. 110 British troops have died there.

Britain cut back its force in Iraq almost in half to about 4,000 last year but has delayed further reductions. 176 UK troops have been killed there.

HEYET Net- Al- Arab Online