THE problem with perception of the Armed Forces lies with governments, not the people.

Failure to provide basic equipment, fatally vulnerable vehicles and aircraft, low pay and inadequate care of the wounded have all contributed to the fall in recruitment.

The main reason, though, is a system that allows one man to ignore the people he purports to represent and declare war on another state on behalf of the whole country.

Governments have a long history of regarding soldiers as merely tools to do a job.

This is demonstrated not by what they say but what they do.

The way to boost enlistment is for government cabinets to change their attitude and to start treating our servicemen and women as heroes and heroines, rather than just using the words.

Brian Appleton Elgin Street Bolton