The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
129.
Section 16.1
describes the concerns of General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of
the
General
Staff (CGS) from August 2006, that the Army was “running hot” and
the military
covenant
was out of balance.88
130.
Gen Dannatt
visited Iraq in late September 2006.89
His report to
Air Chief Marshal
Jock
Stirrup, Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), highlighted the
psychological welfare of
Service
Personnel as one area where action was required:
“I was
concerned to hear that there had been 99 referrals to the Field
Mental
Health Team
from 20 Bde alone during their tour. This number seems high,
though
I suspect
as people start returning to Iraq (or Afghanistan) for the third or
fourth time
it will not
be atypical. I am aware … that we do not equip our soldiers as well
as
we might
during their pre-deployment training for the combat stress of
operations.
I am
discussing this with AG [the Adjutant General, Lt Gen Viggers], and
we will
shortly be
taking steps to improve our commanders’ understanding of, and
ability
to deal
with, psychiatric casualties in theatre. I will ensure that this
work informs
DCDS(Personnel)’s
Overarching Review of Operational Stress Management.
“I am less
sanguine, however, about what happens to psychological
casualties
evacuated
back to UK – in the case of 20 Bde about 20 individuals. As I
understand
it, once in
the UK these casualties are managed by The Priory, a civilian
contractor,
for
psychiatric treatment. Not only do we tend to lose track of these
casualties
thereafter,
but I feel intuitively that rustication from a military environment
is
hardly the
best way to treat all but the very worst of our stress casualties.
Indeed,
experience
from recent major conflicts tells us that soldiers suffering from
combat
stress are
best treated in as military an environment as possible. Once
the
psychological
props of discipline, esprit de corps, ethos and humour are
removed,
the road to
recovery for stress casualties grows that much longer. Now that we
have
decided,
quite rightly, to run RCDM Birmingham on more military
lines,90
we
should
at least
ask ourselves similar questions over our care of psychiatric
casualties.”
131.
Gen Dannatt
subsequently tasked Major General Mark Mans, the Deputy
Adjutant
General
(DAG), to address those concerns.91
88
Letter
Dannatt to Browne, 31 August 2006, [untitled].
89
Minute
Dannatt to CDS, 2 October 2006, ‘CGS’ Visit to Iraq: 26-28 Sep
06’.
90 A
reference to the decision to establish a Military Managed Ward at
Selly Oak hospital.
91
Minute DAG
[MOD] to CGS, 30 November 2006, ‘Welfare and
Aftercare’.
64