§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what criteria were used in deciding to disband the Royal Armoured Corps Pool of Officers; [80687]
(2) what steps he has taken to replace the specialist armoured skills and experience at junior commander level which had been provided by the Royal Armoured Corps Pool of Officers. [80689]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonWithin the reforms of the Territorial Army, the operational requirement for the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) is to produce trained individual reservists to provide crewmen for Challenger 2 tanks and medium reconnaissance vehicles, and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) specialists. Against this background, there is no longer an operational requirement for an RAC pool of ex-regular officers since there will be sufficient expertise available within the new unit structure, and the Regular Army Retired Officers (RARO) will provide a continued source of specialist armoured skills and experience.