§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 11 January,Official Report, columns 630–31, if he will set out the nature of Exercise Medman in 1990, 1991 and 1992, and the reasons for its change in prioritisation within the Air Charter budget.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonExercise Medman is an all-arms battlegroup exercise, using live ammunition, held at the British Army training unit, Suffield, Canada. The units due to take part in the exercises in 1990 and 1991 were those most likely to be subsequently deployed in support of operations in the Gulf. It was considered essential that the forces in question train in Canada and, as the RAF air transport force was already fully committed, central funding for air charter was provided.