Citing unnamed defence sources, the newspaper said that many of the officers leaving were choosing well-paid private security jobs instead, forcing the ministry to hand jobs to people who do not have relevant training or experience.

"To sustain what the Intelligence Corps is doing, losing 20 percent of officers is pretty hard," a source was quoted as saying.

"To some extent they can no longer fill posts that they wish to because they just don't have enough people. They have to give the jobs to non-specialists."

According to the Telegraph, the defence ministry is considering offering a 50,000-pound (74,000-euro, 100,000-dollar) bonus for three further years' service, in an effort to quell the losses.

A defence ministry spokesman declined to confirm whether or not any such bonuses were under consideration, commenting: "We face challenges in recruiting and retention in specific areas in all the services, not just the Army and not just the Intelligence Corps. We are trying hard to resolve them.

"Exit levels in some important areas are still too high and require us to work hard at retaining people in these areas. These are being monitored closely to see if there is a need to take further action.

"Operations are our highest priority and therefore as a result our best people are involved in all phases of operations.

"There are circumstances where some officers may substitute for senior officers. This is done on a case by case basis noting the requirements of the post capability of the individuals concerned."

Related Links
Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News