The Report of the Iraq Inquiry

71. Air Marshal David Pocock, the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel) from 2005

to 2007, told the Inquiry that in 2004:

“... there was clear dissatisfaction with the notification procedures because ... it was

a single‑service responsibility and we were required very quickly to set up a Joint

Casualty and Compassionate Cell ... and that took over getting the information from

theatre, identifying a [Casualty] Notification Officer and setting the whole notification

procedure in place ... on a joint basis.”52

72. Lt Gen Irwin told the Inquiry that during his time as Adjutant General (from 2003

to 2005):

“... I think [there were] 57 Army casualties ... and I would think, looking back on

it, that I may have heard about issues in the notification process, and by ‘issues’

I mean either delays in doing it or calling on the wrong person, or the wrong sort of

words being said at the wrong sort of time, I think maybe I had cases of that kind

maybe between six and ten, so something of that order.”

“... as an individual, that family, there was nothing in the world was more significant.

So we had to keep asking ourselves, ‘Are we doing this right?’

...

“So as each issue developed, we tried to close it off, but even after all this time and

even with the establishment of the new joint system, with the new central training,

even then, I am afraid I can guarantee that, in the future, there will be people who

have a bad experience with this for one reason or another, and it is because we are

all human beings.”53

73. The first version of the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Policy and Procedures

(JSP 751) was produced in March 2005 (policy and procedures had previously been set

and managed by the individual Services).

74. Lt Gen Palmer described the JSP as drawing together into one publication the best

practices and procedures currently in place across the three Services.54

52 Public hearing, 19 July 2010, page 50.

53 Public hearing, 21 July 2010, pages 52‑53.

54 Minute DCDS(Pers) to VCDS, 30 July 2004, ‘Inquiries into Unnatural Death and Serious Injury:

Improvements in Process and Briefing’.

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