The defence secretary has acknowledged the pressure on the armed forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In an interview with the Times newspaper Des Browne said he was "fully aware" of the concerns expressed by military commanders including General Sir Richard Dannatt.
The head of the Army had claimed troops were being stretched to capacity by the two operations, while not enough time and resources were devoted to training.
But Browne said he had given service chiefs permission to speak in public about their concerns.
"I told them that constitutionally I was happy for them to speak in public, but I reminded them that we all work for the same management board and have the same responsibilities for policy," he said.
And he said that the government may have to consider increasing the size of the Army.
Personnel figures have fallen from 112,000 when Labour came to power in 1997 to 95,560 today.
However Browne pointed out that: "Army numbers were cut from 156,500 in 1990 to 112,000 [by 1997] and these reductions took place during the term of the last government."
