LONDON The British Army, under pressure from what some describe as its worst recruitment crisis in years, insisted on Friday that it would not drop standards to meet staffing targets.

********* The Mirror ******** tabloid, quoting a defense "insider", said health rules might be relaxed, including removing the famed "flat foot" from the list of potential impediments to joining up.

The condition, which prevented many soldiers from going to battle at the beginning of World War II, is far less of a problem now but can still lead to army hopefuls losing out.

The story was played down by the military but it is evidence of increasing public scrutiny over recruitment issues, including the highly charged debate over whether to let women fight in the front line -- a role they are currently unable to fulfill.

"There is no question of us dropping the standards," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense. "We have stringent medicals -- if you don't pass, you don't get in."

He conceded that the army was around 6,000 troops short of its target of 106,000. By April 2005, the army is aiming for a total of 108,000 soldiers.

An official told reporters earlier this week that boosting staff numbers was "the biggest single challenge the army faces".

He said the military top brass was worried about the risk of Britain being overexposed if it made a significant contribution to a campaign abroad.

"This is the principle of being able to respond to a requirement for large-scale deployment while not dropping every other commitment," the official said.

One way the army can make up numbers is to attract more women, although the ministry says it is not targeting women in particular, but "people".

Only seven percent of army employees are women, although 70 percent of posts are open to them. "In theory we could have an army with about 65,000 women in it," the spokesman said.

But the fact that key fighting roles like hand-to-hand combat with bayonets are still men-only clubs has led to accusations among pressure groups of sexism in the forces.

The army is reviewing the possibility of deploying women on the front, and a report is expected to be presented to the government this summer after which ministers must decide.

Other areas of improvement for armed forces employees are pay, which has gone up by an inflation-beating 3.7 percent this year, and improved accommodation. One former senior general described some barracks as "slum dwellings."

"We need better to understand the individuals' needs," the army official said.

(Reuter)