§ Lord Vivianasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which are the corps whose units are continuously required for overseas and operational deployment and do not conform to the 24-month tour interval; and what measures are being taken to relieve the pressure on these units. [HL2596]
§ Lord BachI assume by referring to "corps" the noble Lord is inquiring specifically about the units of the Royal Engineers, Royal Signals and Logistics units. The corps whose units are continuously required for overseas and operational deployment and do not conform to the 24-month tour interval are listed in the table below:
137WA
Corps Units/Specialisations Royal Engineers Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Military Works Force and support to the RAF provided by 12 (Air Support) Engineer Brigade. Royal Signals 16 Air Assault Brigade Signal Squadron, 30 Signal Regiment, and 14 Signal Regiment.
Corps Units/Specialisations Royal Army Medical Corps Employment groups of Specialist Medics, Surgeons, Anaesthetists, Environmental Health Officers, Radiologists, Laboratory Technicians, Physiotherapists, Medical Support Officers and Medical supply Technicians. Royal Army Veterinary Corps Employment groups of Vets, Veterinary Technicians and Dog Handlers. Royal Logistic Corps Employment groups of Chefs, Ammunition Technicians, Local Resource trained personnel and Postal and Courier Operatives. Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Employment groups of Vehicle Mechanics, Instrument Technicians and Avionics Technicians. Royal Military Police Close protection trained personnel We recognise the need to alleviate the pressure on these units and employ a variety of measures in order to achieve this. These include rationalisation of commitments; working to ensure unit and formation coherence where possible; making effective use of the Territorial Army; and, use of the Armed Forces Operational Welfare Package.