§ 39. Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that rapid reaction forces are adequately protected against the common tropical diseases before they leave the UK. [133023]
§ Mr. SpellarIt is the Ministry of Defence's policy that all service personnel should be up to date with routine vaccinations and that members of the Joint Rapid Reaction Forces should be up to date with certain additional vaccinations, depending on their degree of readiness. Personnel deploying to high risk areas should receive further vaccinations specific to the risks they face. Other aspects of medical preparedness will depend on the role of the deploying forces and the geographical location to which they are deploying. The role of commanding officers in maintaining medical and other aspects of preparedness of their personnel for military operations has recently been emphasised through the chain of command.