16.1 |
The welfare of Service Personnel
92.
The initial
call-out notice for Reservists for Op TELIC was issued in
early
January 2003.69
By
19 March (when military operations against Iraq began),
over
5,000 Reservists
had been mobilised (comprising some 12 percent of total UK
forces).
93.
All TA and
Regular Reservists deployed for Op TELIC 1 (the major
combat
phase of
operations) were mobilised through the Reserves Training and
Mobilisation
Centre
(RTMC) at Chilwell in Nottingham.70
The
briefing and preparation process at
RTMC
Chilwell provided Reservists with medical and dental examinations,
additional
operation‑specific
equipment, and information on pay and allowances.
94.
In early June,
the DOC produced a short note on lessons identified on
personnel
issues
during Op TELIC 1; the note was sent to Mr Ingram’s office on 11
June.71
The
DOC stated
that, although the mobilisation of Reservists had gone well, Op
TELIC had
thrown up
“many issues” including:
•
Many
Reservists had found themselves “financially disadvantaged”
because
of mobilisation
and deployment, or had not been paid properly.
•
Some
medical Reservists had been compulsorily mobilised from key
NHS
jobs but
were not subsequently deployed where they could use their
specialist
skills. For
many medical Reservists, it was their second or third
operational
deployment
in recent years and this might affect retention.
•
In some
areas it had proved difficult to provide “active support” to the
families
of deployed
Reservists, because of the dispersed and isolated locations
of
people’s
homes, particularly in relation to other Reservists and military
bases.
95.
The lessons
identified were:
“A review
of Reservist pay procedures is required to eliminate inefficiencies
and
to take
into account the financial penalties likely to be incurred by
Reservists as
a result
of mobilisation.
“A review
of the mobilisation and employment of Reservist medical
personnel
on operations
is required.
“A review
of practical and emotional support to Reservist families is
required.”
96.
The MOD has
not been able to provide the Inquiry with papers on a number
of
issues
relating to Reservists, including whether and how these
recommendations were
taken
forward.
69
Ministry of
Defence, Operations
in Iraq: First Reflections, July
2003.
70
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 3 June
2003, column 302W. The Reserves Training and
Mobilisation
Centre (RTMC) was renamed the Reinforcements Training and
Mobilisation Centre in 2011
and
disbanded in 2015, when its responsibilities were taken on by the
Mission Training and Mobilisation
Centre
(Individual).
71
Minute
MA/VCDS to MA/Min(AF), 11 June 2003, ‘Operation TELIC – Personnel
Issues’ attaching
Paper MOD,
[undated], ‘Operation TELIC – Personnel Issues’.
19