Retiree, 80, Gets Call-Up to Fight Iraq


LONDON (Reuters) - An 80-year-old British retiree has been called up by the Ministry of Defense for possible action in Iraq, the Sun newspaper reported on Thursday.

If he went, it would be the first time Joe Steer had seen active service since the famous World War II battle of El Alamein in Egypt in 1942, the paper said.

The call-up papers came in an official government envelope and ordered Steer to report to a training camp.

"I'm a bit past my prime," the Sun quoted him as saying. "It's too high-tech today. I'm used to rifles and machine guns, not missiles."

A ministry spokesman told the paper the call-up was due to an administrative error.