THE ISSUE IN...

SCOTLAND: A REGIMENT LEARNS TO SHARE

After a recent merger of regiments into a single Royal Regiment of Scotland, troops have been faced with a serious shortage of kilts. Among more than 5,000 soldiers there are only 320 of the ceremonial garments. Officials have promised what a Ministry of Defence spokesman calls a “planned deployment of kilts by January 2008.” Meantime, soldiers will have to cope through an unsettling solution: each soldier must share with 15 others.