Inadequate or insufficient equipment is a persistent criticism

Here are extracts from the text of audio tapes he recorded for his wife Samantha, including a number of complaints about equipment shortages, something the Army has repeatedly been criticised for.

Got sent to the concentration area which was very sandy with no vehicles. They were still on the boat. Two days later the vehicles were still on the boat and we were waiting for them to port.

General Jackson last week turned round and said "yes, we are ready to go" and our vehicles were still in the boats ready to come into port, so what a blatant lie that was.

We are now back into one of the camps to up-armour, which again is a bit of a joke in itself because they are running out of the frontal armour... so it will be interesting to see what armour I actually get. I will keep you posted.

As I have written in your letter we have now got absolutely nothing. It is disgraceful what we have got out here. It's now time to up-armour again on my vehicle. Some of the parts have come in so as you can hear in the background we are going into the armour bay.

I can't wait to see you again. I love you so much and I am so proud of you. As long as I know you are safe I can handle anything out here.

We have been bloody busy with all the prep for the war etcetera and it's going well. I have not got my combats yet. Things we have been told we are going to get, we're not and it's disheartening because we know we are going to go to war without the correct equipment.

We have been under missile attacks all yesterday, we put our gas masks on 14 times yesterday therefore we spent round about six-seven hours in a gas mask yesterday and the temperature is about 35 degrees. I was not happy.

Today's the day. We are going across the border today and the ground war starts and I am very nervous but also it's a bit of a rush to be honest as well. Knowing that in a couple of hours time we will be in Iraq. We have just motored up and we are now into the demilitarised zone which is basically just two lines of barbed wire and mines.

We are going straight to the border and we are now in Iraq. It is a different world, it is very very poor here in the south, mostly farms and they obviously lead a very meagre existence.

There have been a few battalions that have surrendered but there is lots of resistance and we are going to give them a scrap.

I can't really sleep because I am too nervous that I may never wake up and that we are in enemy territory now and anything could happen. Very very conscious.

I know now why I am over here doing what I am doing because children are walking around with bare feet, completely ill-fitting and tatty old clothes and we are over here to free them and free them from the regime they are under so they can grow up to be and do what they want to do.

I love you so much and I will speak to you when I can probably tomorrow. I love you lots. Sleep tight. Bye.

Sergeant Roberts was killed the next day.