The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
39.
Lt Gen Palmer
told the Inquiry that, initially, R&R was taken in theatre but,
as the
situation
stabilised and in response to the needs of Service Personnel and
their families,
this was
extended to allow Service Personnel to travel back to the
UK.31
Lt Gen
Palmer
highlighted
the costs of the initiative, particularly in terms of removing
Service Personnel
from their
roles and the demand placed on air transport.
40.
The R&R
allowance established in Iraq was two weeks, including travel time
from
and to
Iraq.
41.
Air Marshal
(AM) David Pocock, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel)
from
2005 to
2007, told the Inquiry that the practice of flying Service
Personnel back to the
UK for
R&R had evolved over the first years of Op TELIC:
“… as far
as I can tell, there was never a careful policy discussion about
what we
were going
to do and why. It started off as a means of getting the troops away
from
particular
areas of danger, hardship. They could have a break, clean up, a
rest and
go back
again, and then it gradually evolved from moving back from the
actual areas
of fighting
to perhaps out of the country …
“… it was
never actually, so far as I could tell a formal policy. Like Topsy,
it grew.”32
42.
The demands
placed on air transport by that practice are considered later in
this
Section.
43.
Lt Gen Palmer
visited Iraq in early June 2003. He reported to General Sir
Michael
Walker,
Chief of the Defence Staff, on 20 June that the OWP had been “well
received”.33
The main
effort now was to provide air-conditioned accommodation as
temperatures
in Iraq
rose.
44.
An MOD
official advised Mr Ingram on 27 June that many of the “welfare
irritants”
had already
been resolved.34
In general,
problems in delivering the OWP had been
caused by
the rapid pace of operational deployment. The advice
concluded:
“Overall,
the OWP policy has held up well given the scale of operation and
the
specific
demands imposed in Op TELIC.”
45.
The MOD
reported in July that, owing to the austere nature of the
deployment and
the lack of
infrastructure in some locations, the OWP had been implemented in
stages.35
The first
stage comprised:
•
air letters
(commonly known as Blueys) delivered electronically;
31
Public
hearing, 21 July 2010, pages 22-23.
32
Public
hearing, 19 July 2010, page 17.
33
Minute
DCDS(Pers) to DPSO/CDS, 20 June 2003, ‘Op TELIC – Theatre Visit
Report’.
34
PS/VCDS to
PS/Min(AF) [MOD], 27 June 2003, ‘Minister (AF) visit to Iraq –
Updated [sic] on
Welfare Irritants’.
35
Ministry of
Defence, Operations
in Iraq: First Reflections, July
2003.
10