§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when UORs for Operation Telic were first issued. [125567]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 15 July 2003]: The Ministry of Defence began to approve urgent operational requirements as part of contingency planning for possible operations in Iraq in mid-October 2002.
§ Richard Younger-RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when all Army personnel based in(a) Iraq and (b) Kuwait for Operation Telic had been issued with full desert kit. [125963]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 15 July 2003]: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Richard Younger-RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when underslung grenade launchers for Operation Telic were first issued; and to which battlegroups. [125964]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 15 July 2003]: Underslung Grenade Launchers were first issued in support of Operation Telic in early April 2003 to Battle Groups within 16 Air Assault Brigade which was part of one UK Armoured Division.
§ Richard Younger-RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when Camel water bottles were first issued for Operation Telic; and what percentage of Army personnel have been issued with them. [125965]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 15 July 2003]: Army personnel are all issued water bottles as standard issue kit. In addition, 10,000 Personal Hydration Systems (PHS) were initially ordered for Operation Telic. One of the manufacturers uses "Camelbak" as the trade name for its product. The first receipt of the PHS in theatre was in early February 2003. A further 15,800 PHS have since been ordered. The majority of these have been sent to theatre, although it is not possible to determine what percentage of Army Personnel have received a personal issue of this item of equipment.
§ Richard Younger-RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the operational period for the biological and chemical attack detectors on Challenger 2 tanks in Operation Telic. [125966]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 15 July 2003]: I assume the hon. Member is referring to the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank NEC filtration system. I am, however, withholding this information under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists served with(a) 1 Bn Black Watch, (b) 1 Bn Royal Irish Regiment, (c) 1 Bn The Duke of Wellington's Regiment and (d) 1 Bn Royal Regiment of Fusiliers during Operation Telic. [126099]
486W
§ Mr. CaplinAs at 14 July 2003, the following number of reservists have served on Operation Telic with each of the battalions:
Battalion (Bn) Number of reservists 1 Bn Black Watch 37 1 Bn Royal Irish Regiment 74 1 Bn The Duke of Wellington's Regiment 0 1 Bn Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 35
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sponsored reserves served on Operation Telic and with which units. [126100]
§ Mr. CaplinAs at 16 July, a total of 94 sponsored reserves (SRs) have served on Operation Telic. This figure is broken down as follows
64 served on the Strategic Service Ships MV Eddystone, MV Hurst Point and MV Hartland Point;26 served with the RAFs Mobile Meteorological Unit (some have completed more than one deployment); and4 SERCo SRs attached to 32 Sqn RAF provided engineering support for BAe 125 aircraft.The use of SRs for Op Telic depends on operational requirements and they will continue to be used in response to operational needs.