'Half-trained' British troops being rushed to fight the Taliban

Nearly 1,000 new soldiers would spend just 14 weeks on a combat infantry course instead of the usual 28 weeks, under plans being considered by the Army.

In December Gordon Brown vowed to keep 7,800 troops in Afghanistan but the military are struggling to find enough fully trained soldiers to replace 52 Brigade next year.

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Troops could be sent to Afghanistan with only half the combat training

An unnamed senior defence source said: "I would be very nervous of having to deploy with this limited level of expertise and experience in the frontline companies."

Currently, each regiment is at least 100 soldiers below required strength, claimed The Times.

The current UK military commitment to the country technically ends in October 2009, but the Government has insisted it will be involved for the "long term".

The Ministry of Defence would not comment in detail last night, although it admitted training had been "adapted".

An MoD spokesman said: "There is no question of training being compromised.

"We have adapted our training in terms of our operational requirement and we are taking action in terms of the manning challenges."

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An influential group of MPs warned on Monday that the huge strains on Britain's armed services were driving out experienced personnel and undermining morale.

The Defence Select Committee said the forces' performance was "deteriorating" after five years of running at full stretch in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It warned that recruitment continued to be a problem for the military, with neither the army nor the RAF likely to meet their target strengths this year.

Under the new form of "accelerated training", some recruits would be put on a fast track into the Army and on to Afghanistan.

Under the scheme the recruits would also be offered a shorter engagement – less than the normal commitment of four years. In addition those accepted would have to be over 18.

When dealing with manpower shortages in the past, the Army has filled gaps in infantry battalions with soldiers from other regiments to ensure that they are of sufficient strength to fight a war.