AMY Smith wrote: "If we allow troops to opt out at their discretion we will see more troops killed and allow anarchy to break out and the defence of our realm could be put at risk."

Britain's armed services are essentially volunteer forces, but is Amy Smith really upholding the ideal that all servicemen, and women, having "volunteered" their time also relinquish free will.

Surely those who sincerely doubt the legality of a military action are already compromising the operation?

Wouldn't it be better to let them withdraw honourably from front-line service?

Does Amy, and the Government want armed services full of order-following automatons?

The defence of the realm is more at risk from a government that seems to aspire to greatness through tyranny... and there are few acts of tyranny worse than forcing a man to kill when he believes it to be wrong to do so.

Geoff Reid

The PrinnelsSwindon