EVERYONE has their own stance on the impending war in Iraq.

But whether you are in favour or against military action, no one would dispute that our troops must have all the equipment they need.

That is why Sarah Jane Masters' predicament makes for worrying reading. She is one of Swindon's TA reservists being sent to the Gulf because of her unit's specialisation in nuclear biological and chemical decontamination.

The problem is, her respirator does not fit properly and she has had to spend an extra £800 kitting herself out.

She is not the only soldier who has been forced to shell out for equipment.

The national media has been carrying reports from soldiers on the ground about faulty equipment, melting boots and even a lack of food.

Exactly how bad the situation is, is hard to rate but the fact that soldiers are spending so much of their own money on equipment does not instill confidence in those left at home.

Let us hope the situation is rectified before the fighting starts.