Defence Minister John McCallum says if the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan need more equipment, all they have to do is ask. His comments come after a commanding officer in Kabul said his troops lacked armoured vehicles needed to do their job.

Lt.-Col. Don Denne has said he wants larger vehicles currently being used elsewhere to be shipped to Afghanistan.

McCallum told reporters on Friday it's up to the military to make any requests for additional equipment.

"We will get it as quickly as possible. It depends what the equipment is and what is involved. It may be more people as well as more equipment. We don't know yet," he said.

"We are preparing in defence headquarters to look at contingencies in terms of what might be requested so we will be ready to act as quickly as possible should such a request materialize," he added.

Earlier, McCallum told the House of Commons that Maj.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, the top Canadian soldier in Afghanistan, had told him the mission had all the equipment it needed.

"I spoke to him a half-hour ago and he assured me the army had at every time received what it needed and what it had requested," McCallum said.

The defence minister has repeatedly said no money or effort would be spared to equip Canadian troops serving as part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Denne was to meet with his immediate boss Friday, Brig.-Gen. Peter Devlin, to discuss how the 650 front-line troops patrolling everything from city streets to creekbeds would tackle their jobs.

Among Denne's proposals is redistributing existing armoured vehicles from other tasks and shipping more from Canada.

He has already halted some jeep patrols in high-risk areas and is formulating a plan to shift his existing equipment.

The recent deaths of two Canadian soldiers on patrol in Kabul have prompted questions about the suitability of the light, Canadian-built Iltis vehicle they were using.

Sgt. Robert Alan Short, 42, and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, 29, were killed last week when their Iltis hit what is believed to be at least one anti-tank mine.

Close to 2,000 Canadian troops are posted in Kabul as part of the NATO-led ISAF. Its mandate is to secure the capital and provide protection for the interim government of President Hamid Karzai.

With a report from the Canadian Press