The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
167.
Air Vice
Marshal Clive Loader, Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff
(Operations),
told
Mr Bowen on 16 August that he had been directed to “drill
down” on equipment
issues in
the planning phase and was setting up an Equipment and
Sustainability
Working
Group.76
Draft Terms
of Reference for the Group were attached.
168.
AVM Loader
wrote that, in accordance with directions from Mr Hoon’s
Private
Office,
consultation would “be strictly limited to those on the Centurion
and Warrior lists”.
169.
The Terms of
Reference described the Working Group’s purpose as
“taking
forward the
analysis of equipment and sustainability issues” with a “particular
emphasis”
on
equipment availability and support. Work would be based on all
three possible
packages.
The Working Group would gather “all internal data” to place itself
“in the best
position to
take these issues forward” when clearance was granted.
170.
The Working
Group’s scope would be “medical equipment and
sustainability
issues”,
including the issue of antitoxins. Consultation would be limited to
the Centurion
Group,
“though outsiders may be approached for specific detail in response
to specific
questions
where no connection to specific planning for operations against
Iraq within
a defined
timescale is inferred”.
171.
The Working
Group would consider which force elements could be delivered in
either
two or four
months, aligning to “potential key dates on the US timescale”, from
September
2002. Where
it was not possible to deliver the force element, the Working Group
would
consider
the implications upon force packages. That would “allow those
firming up the
package” to
identify what the UK could provide and where any shortfalls
lay.
172.
“Single
Service sustainability work” would be checked by the DLO to ensure
that
centrally
provided commodities, such as fuel and rations, were included for
the entire
force
package.
173.
The Terms of
Reference categorised equipment under the same headings
provided
in the MOD
advice to Mr Hoon on 30 July. Those were defined
as:
•
“Essential
now”: items “without which the force cannot deploy – they
are
showstoppers”.
•
“Full
operational capability enhancers”: required to give the force “a
fully
generated
operational capability for up to 30 days of combat”.
•
“Follow-on
enhancements”: items beyond the minimum required for up
to
30 days
of combat and those that would “achieve a substantial measure of
risk
reduction”.
76
Minute ACDS
(Ops) to DG Op Pol, 16 August 2002, ‘Equipment and
Sustainability Working Group’
attaching
Paper, 16 August 2002, ‘Equipment and Sustainability Working
Group Terms of Reference’.
26