14.1 |
Military equipment (post-conflict)
676.
The security
situation in MND(SE) continued to deteriorate into late
2006.
677.
On 4 September
2006, Gunners Stephen Robert Wright and Samuela Vanua
died
as a result
of injuries sustained when their Land Rover hit a roadside IED on
patrol north
678.
By the end of
October, the security situation in Basra had deteriorated to the
point
where Mrs
Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, decided that it would be
necessary
to withdraw
the majority of civilian staff from Basra Palace.357
That is
addressed in
Section
9.5.
679.
A note from
Brig Inshaw on 3 January 2007 advised Gen Dannatt that the
first
four
Mastiff vehicles had been delivered to Iraq on 30 December
2006.358
A
further
11 vehicles
were expected by the end of January.
680.
Brig Inshaw
acknowledged that those deliveries would miss by one month
the
“hard
target” set by Lord Drayson for a company’s worth of vehicles to
arrive in Iraq by
31
December, but that Gen Dannatt “may feel” that the work
undertaken since July to
get the
Mastiff vehicles ready for theatre so quickly was “very
impressive”.
681.
Maj Gen Shirreff
wrote in his post‑operation tour report on 19 January
2007:
“Bulldog is
proving itself in battle and has the confidence of the soldiers who
fight
from it.
Mastiff has arrived and although it will take some time to prepare
it for
operations,
it is an impressive beast and will significantly enhance our
capability.”359
682.
Mr Jeffrey
visited Iraq from 12 to 13 March where he met Brigadier Paul
Jacques,
Chief of
Force Support.360
Mr Jeffrey
was shown one of the new Mastiff vehicles and
Snatch ECM
equipment. Brig Jacques reported that 12 out of 54 Mastiff
vehicles
“had
arrived and were proving highly capable, but even when the full
complement
was
delivered there would be a continuing requirement for Snatch
because of their
manoeuvrability
and speed”.
683.
Brig Jacques
praised the work that had enabled Mastiff’s arrival into
service
and “said
they would welcome follow‑up visits to discuss problems and
potential
improvements
based on operational experience”. He thought in general that it
would be
helpful to
have more frequent visits from IPT members, and for closer contact
between
theatre and
the DECs on the progress of UORs.
356
GOV.UK,
5 September
2006, Gunners
Stephen Robert Wright and Samuela Vanua killed in
Iraq;
BBC News,
6 September
2006, MOD names
soldier killed in Iraq.
357
Minute
Cabinet Office [junior official] to Sheinwald, 30 October 2006,
‘Iraq Strategy Group, 27 October’.
358
Minute
DCI(A) to MA/CGS, 3 January 2007, ‘Mastiff’.
359
Report
Shirreff to PSO/CDS, 19 January 2007, ‘Post Operational Report –
Operation TELIC’.
360
Minute
PS/PUS [MOD] to PS/SofS [MOD], 16 March 2007, ‘PUS Visit to
Multinational Division
South‑East,
12 March 2007’.
117