The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
flying
hours and crew numbers … are all factors, but the overall picture
is one of
an SH
[support helicopter] force ill‑matched to support current
operations.”
982.
On 24 October,
Maj Gen Wall sent Major General James Dutton, GOC
MND(SE),
the Terms
of Reference for an aviation Force Level Review that had been
directed by
AM Torpy
because of the heightened IED threat.521
Its aims
were to identify aviation
requirements
in MND(SE) between December 2005 and April 2006 and recommend
how
to meet
them. It would also identify “broad resource requirements” between
May and
November
2006.
983.
The planning
assumptions for the Review included:
•
“threat
levels remain broadly constant at current levels”;
•
“a mandate
for Coalition presence will endure into 2006”; and
•
“development
of ISF [Iraqi Security Forces’] capability will proceed to
projected
timelines”.
984.
Following the
Review, on 17 November Maj Gen Wall recommended
to
AM Nickols
that:
•
Only one of
the two surge Merlin deployed in October 2005 (to support
Security
Sector
Reform (SSR) in Maysan) be returned to the UK after the
December
elections,
leaving a total of five in theatre. That should “reduce the risk of
road
movement”
for certain tasks.
•
The surge
Sea King remain in theatre as an enduring requirement but a
utility
Sea King be
withdrawn after the elections leaving five utility
variants.
•
Three
[Helicopter Broadsword]522
would also
remain in theatre.523
985.
The seventh
Merlin had already been withdrawn following the completion of
the
troop
rotation but it was likely that another short‑term surge of
helicopter capacity would
be required
for the following troop rotation in April 2006.
986.
Maj Gen Wall
wrote that “a significant proportion of aviation” was
used
for
“administrative movements within theatre” and for “wider ISTAR
tasking”.
He stated
that the Review had highlighted “a range of potential procedural,
technical
and
tactical measures” to reduce the demand for helicopters but this
was “subject to
further
work”.
521
Minute
DCJO(Ops) to GOC MND(SE), 24 October 2005, ‘Terms of Reference: Op
TELIC Intermediate
Force Level
Review (FLR) into MND(SE) Avn Requirements’.
522 A
cipher has replaced the name of this helicopter for national
security reasons. Broadsword was
surveillance
camera equipment that was fitted to various platforms in theatre
and used throughout the
course of
Op TELIC.
523
Minute
DCJO(Ops) to ACDS(Ops), 17 November 2005, ‘Op TELIC – Aviation
Force Level Review
(AFLR)’.
166