DEATHS from "friendly fire", a lack of mental health and NHS care for war veterans, over-stretched troops and a lack of equipment - including life-saving body armour.

These are just some of the concerns raised in the four years since Operation TELIC began in Iraq in March 2003.

Ministers have now been accused of breaking the historic "military covenant", which guarantees fair treatment for soldiers in return for their willingness to lay down their lives for their country.

With stories such as these becoming commonplace in today's news it begs the question - who would be a soldier in 2007?

We reported last week how friends Lance Bombardiers Ross Clark, 25, and Liam McLaughlin, 27,who went into action together, died together just days before they were due to return home.

The pair were members of the Royal Artillery's Hamworthy-based elite 148 Commando Forward Observation Battery and were killed in Afghanistan when a Taliban rocket hit their position during a pitched battle near Sangin.

Their deaths take the total of UK fatalities since the 2001 invasion of the country to 50, with the MoD confirming last week that 134 British Armed Forces personnel had died since Operation TELIC began.

Questions are now being asked about the level of care for those who do return home safely after Iraq veteran Jamie Cooper is said to have spent a night lying in his own faeces at Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital after staff let his colostomy bag overflow.

Services mental health charity Combat Stress claims British veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are waiting up to 18 months for NHS mental health treatment.

Major Nigel Walker, main Army recruitment officer for Dorset, said many people were still interested in joining the Army, despite the negative press.

"Our recruitment office has exceeded its annual targets by almost 10 per cent and has been on the up for the last two years for enlisting and applications," he said.

"Every individual who walks in to enquire about joining the Army understands the risks involved. Many times I have spoken to successful applicants in front of their parents and reminded them that they are joining the best army in the world but they should know that there are risks involved.

"The only side that is proving difficult is retention, which is flat-lining. This is because of over-commitment."

Major Walker added there had always been issues about the supply of equipment, but that British soldiers were best equipped for the challenges at hand.

He added: "The Army believes that the reported incidents of medical mistreatment are isolated. My British soldier-friend in Bosnia drove his Land Rover over a mine, which blew up - he was on an operating table within 35 minutes, which is faster than some A338 accident victims get to hospital.

"The Army is confident of the medical treatment our soldiers receive."

Desmond Swayne, Conservative MP for New Forest West, is a major in the Territorial Army and served in Iraq from May to December 2003.

But he did not believe such horror stories were putting young people off joining the Army.

"The fact is that most soldiers join the Army to see action, not to fold blankets back at the depot," he said.

"The pace of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is something that most soldiers welcome. It's slightly more experienced soldiers we have to be more concerned about because they're older, they've got families and the pace of operations is devastating for family life.

"But it's more the standard of accommodation that they're expected to put up with - I think that makes it difficult to recruit."

Mr Swayne agreed the Army was stretched, but his main concern was the service's effectiveness.

"All our troops are out on operations on the streets of Basra, effectively pretending to be policemen," he added.

"They're not training for their proper artillery role, so when we do have to fight a high-intensity situation, will we have an Army capable of doing it or will all the skills have faded?"

Yet despite all the concerns, Major Walker maintained a career in the Army was a good one.

"Experiences in the Army create some of the longest lasting bonds with memories of jumping from planes and facing enemy fire together.

"The threat in battle keeps changing, so we always just have to keep changing with it. The bottom line is that we never go to war to lose."