Gen Sir Richard Dannatt also raised the issue of the strain placed on resources by operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to an internal report obtained by the Sunday Telegraph, Sir Richard said troops felt "devalued, angry and suffering from Iraq fatigue".

The Ministry of Defence said he was referring to individuals who were not necessarily widely representative.

A spokesman said: "The feedback given by lower ranks in the army helps the chief of the general staff to stay firmly in touch with life across the army and this helps to guide in him his discussions with the chain of command and in his decision making process."

'Care package'

The report catalogues disquiet on a wide range of issues facing soldiers, including poor housing when they are in the UK.

Gen Dannatt also said the military covenant - the guarantee of a duty of care between the government and the armed forces - is "clearly out of kilter".

He added: "We must strive to give individuals and units ample recuperation time between operations, but I do not underestimate how difficult this will be to achieve whilst under-manned and with less robust establishments than I would like."

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5">

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" alt="" border="0" height="13" width="24"> We strive constantly to ensure that the armed forces have the best possible package of care http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" alt="" align="right" border="0" height="13" vspace="0" width="23"> Des Browne, Defence Secretary

Gen Dannatt issued a further statement on Saturday in which he said: "The military covenant is not broken, but more needs to be done.

"In response to our concerns we have had some welcome news this year on medical treatment, equipment, pay and improvements in accommodation."

In a separate Sunday Telegraph article, Defence Secretary Des Browne said concerns the covenant "is in any way broken are wrong".

He said the government was now "asking a lot" of the services and their families and Iraq and Afghanistan were placing "huge demands" on personnel.

He added: "That does not mean that we, the government, cannot do better.

"But the truth is that we strive constantly to ensure that the armed forces have the best possible package of care."

In September, Gen Dannatt said he was becoming increasingly concerned about "the growing gulf between the Army and the nation".

He said soldiers were sometimes greeted with indifference on returning from service and contrasted the attitude in Britain with support for soldiers among people in the United States.

An internal survey of views at all ranks of the Army prompted General Sir Richard Dannatt to describe the need for improvements in accommodation, pay and medical services.

His intervention came in an internal report, leaked to The Sunday Telegraph, revealing disillusionment with conditions for soldiers.

In his Staff Briefing Team Report for 2007, the Chief of the General Staff said troops felt "devalued, angry and suffering from Iraq fatigue".

General Dannatt said the "military covenant is clearly out of kilter" and called for troops to be allowed more time between jobs.

He adds: "We must strive to give individuals and units ample recuperation time between operations, but I do not underestimate how difficult this will be to achieve whilst under-manned and with less robust establishments than I would like."

The report catalogues disquiet about a wide range of issues facing soldiers, not least the matter of poor housing when they are in the UK, but also bad food, cancelled leave and lower levels of fitness.

In his own contribution to the report, General Dannatt also says that continued delays to military inquests are a "disgrace".

The disclosure of General Dannatt's views followed claims that a leading Army figure had quit over the "appalling" and "shoddy" treatment of troops. Lt Col Stuart Tootal, commanding officer of 3 Para, apparently wrote a resignation letter condemning soldiers' poor pay, lack of equipment, standard of Army housing, and NHS treatment.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence stressed that the report represented the unedited views of individual soldiers which were not necessarily widely representative.