6.3 |
Military equipment (pre-conflict)
639.
Asked when the
UK started looking at the South as an alternative, Lord
Boyce
told the
Inquiry that the process had started “at least in December
2002”.353
He
acknowledged
that December was “quite late in the day” to start looking at
options in
the South.
640.
The Inquiry
asked Lord Boyce whether, as a result of the late changes to
the
military
package, British troops had the necessary
equipment.354
Lord Boyce
replied that
while it
“left us with some very short timelines”, he was “confident” that
the “front of the
front line”
were properly equipped on 20 March.
641.
When asked
whether he would have ideally deployed the land force sooner
to
allow for
more training and time to acclimatise, or to ensure it had the
right equipment,
Lord Boyce
replied:
“My advice
was that they had had sufficient time to make themselves
ready.”355
642.
In his later
statement to the Inquiry, Lord Boyce wrote that the land forces
for
the South:
“… were
largely based on what were already being prepared for the
northern
option.
However, because of the change in plan, the US agreed to assist
with some
enabling
and logistics assets in the south. Maritime (including amphibious)
and air
force
levels were much the same. The thinking about a possible southern
option had
started in
late autumn 2002 and so the concept was already well developed by
the
time the
northern option was abandoned.”356
“…the
equipment being procured for the land forces previously designated
for the
northern
option largely serviced them when they were re-roled south,
although there
was a need
to recognise the more extensive desert environment.”
644.
Lord Boyce
subsequently told the Inquiry:
“Although
the final switch did happen around mid-January, really our minds in
terms
of planning
and thinking about it and looking at all the potential pitfalls or
difficulties
or whatever
had started, as you say, probably as far back as October; but
during the
course of
December we really thought that was possibly where we were going
to
finish up
…
353
Public
hearing, 3 December 2009, page 55.
354
Public
hearing, 3 December 2009, pages 64-68.
355
Public
hearing, 3 December 2009, page 69.
356
Statement,
7 January 2011, page 1.
105