The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

97.  The Inquiry asked Lt Gen Palmer what lessons had been learned from the

mobilisation of Reserves for Op TELIC 1. He told the Inquiry that there were “big

changes” between Op TELIC 1 and Op TELIC 2:

“We put in place a mounting centre at Chilwell, in order to try to administer them

better, because there were issues definitely about inadequacies in handling Reserve

mobilisation to do with their pay, to do with their jobs, and we were very involved in

trying to make sure … they could get their jobs back. Actually, I think we did have to

resort to law on a couple of occasions.

“We also made sure that they had access to the same packages as the Regulars

and obviously the same training, but I did take a number of criticisms from

Reservists who did not feel they had been properly looked after administratively or,

indeed, in a training sense, but … they performed magnificently during the operation,

and we simply could not have done without them.”72

98.  In October, the Army issued instructions on welfare provision for Op TELIC 3.73 The

instructions detailed the specific support available for mobilised Reservists, including:

• A TA cell had been established in theatre to handle any employment,

administrative and pay concerns.

• All TA units were to ensure that they had a “proper focus established” to support

the families of mobilised Reservists, and that there was regular contact with

those families. The FWSE was designed to help with that work.

• All units were reminded that on mobilisation, “a Reservist becomes a Regular

soldier”. There had been a number of cases where a mobilised Reservist had

not been given full access to medical and dental care.

99.  The instructions directed recipients to take “particular note” of the “aftercare policy”

for demobilised Reservists. On demobilisation, TA soldiers should be advised that

they should re-establish contact with their TA unit or the Reserve Force and Cadet

Association (RFCA) if they experienced any difficulties associated with their operational

service. The formal departure interview should impart “the clear understanding” that the

Army remained engaged in their welfare.

100.  In December, an MOD report on lessons from Op TELIC highlighted the particular

difficulties faced by families of Reservists:

“The families of Reservists need particular consideration, as they may have had

little or no contact with the Services and may not understand Service structures,

administrative procedures, roles or jargon. Such families knew whom to contact,

but … still found it much more difficult than Regular Army families to find the

72  Public hearing, 21 July 2010, pages 84-85.

73  Minute HQ Land Command to HQ 2 Div, 25 October 2003, ‘Welfare Provision for Op TELIC 3 – Chain of

Command Instruction’.

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