Sir Michael has been outspoken

Sir Michael, who is retiring, said there would be "serious pain" if the British military were committed in great numbers overseas in 2004.

There has been great speculation about the US considering taking further military action in the Middle East such as against Syria or Iran.

The admiral also said a victory parade for servicemen returning from the Gulf could "seem arrogant or patronising about the Iraqi people".

Sir Michael said the US army would struggle to mount an operation as large as the invasion of Iraq any time in the imminent future.

"If you asked us to go into a large-scale operation in 2004, we couldn't do it without serious pain. We must allow ourselves time to draw breath.

We must allow ourselves time to draw breath Sir Michael Boyce UK counts cost of Iraq campaign

"If it was to be something of the scale that we have done this time, it would have to be something that the government is convinced is pretty important because I would tell them it would take a while to recuperate."

With more than 45,000 British personnel deployed in the Gulf, it could take some time for units to resupply.

And as to the reception given to returning personnel, the admiral also struck a cautious note, saying this war was very different to the liberation of the Falklands or Kuwait.

Iraqi perspective

"In 1991 we were liberating Kuwait. In the Falklands we relieved the Falkland islanders.

"I would have some difficulty saying the same thing for Iraq. If you are an Iraqi person, is that how you see it?," he said.

Sir Michael also questioned UK moves to strengthen the armed forces with the purchase of 232 Eurofighter jets.

But he did say the plan for two new "super" aircraft carriers had been vindicated by the diplomatic difficulties of flying planes over sensitive countries.

The government has been "short-changing the military year after year", shadow defence secretary Bernard Jenkin told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"If they carry on increasing their commitments they are going to have to increase defence spending."

Continuous operations

His comments were no surprise to the former Assistant Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshall Sir Timothy Garden, who said Sir Michael had spoken about the "overstretched" armed forces back in December 2001.

"Since then they've had the firemen's strike and, of course, the Iraq campaign, which used just about every spare piece of capability that we had, and Northern Ireland doesn't get any better.

"So the armed forces have been on continuous operations for about the past five years. They are definitely in need of time to regroup, re-train and recruit," Sir Timothy said.

He estimated the army was undermanned by up to 7,000 people.

"The army still does need more people, as well as equipment that works, is delivered on time and is affordable."

Late last year Admiral Boyce hit the headlines after a spat with Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon over the handling of the fire strike.

Admiral Boyce had said he was concerned about the effect the strike was having on the armed forces, which risked being overstretched by covering for firefighters.