Posted on 04/30/2003 4:54:41 PM PDT by blam
Hoon to send fresh troops to Iraq
By Michael Smith, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 01/05/2003)
Britain is sending another brigade of troops to Iraq to relieve some of those involved in the invasion and to take part in the post-war stabilisation force, the Government announced yesterday.
British forces are so stretched that nearly a quarter of the replacements sent to Iraq will have to be reservists. Some of the regular troops who are being pulled out will have to be sent back again within weeks while others already there have been told that their tour of duty is being extended.
Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, who retired as Chief of the Defence Staff last week, warned the Government this week that the forces were so overstretched that they would not be able to fight another war for at least a year.
Geoff Hoon, Defence Secretary, told MPs in a written statement yesterday that 19th Mechanised Infantry Brigade, based at Catterick, North Yorks, was preparing to go to Iraq as early as July.
Maj-Gen Tim Cross, deputy head of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, the coalition government, could hand over the running of most of the country to Iraqis from July.
By contrast, British troops are likely to remain in Iraq for up to two years, exacerbating the overstretch problems of the armed forces. Despite announcing that a number of warships, more than 70 aircraft and 8,000 ground forces were coming home, Mr Hoon said that by mid-May there would still be 30,000 British troops committed to Iraq.
Those coming home would be sent on leave but immediately begin preparing for further "important operational taskings", Mr Hoon said. "In some cases, this will mean a return to Iraq to take part in continuing operations."
Mr Hoon also admitted that he was having to call up a further 1,200 reservists to replace some of the 5,000 already deployed and that more would have to be called up over the coming months.
The armed forces are struggling to retain the experienced troops they need because they so rarely see their families with the Army still 5,000 short of the number of men it needs.
Opposition parties have attacked the Government over the extent to which reservists were having to be used to fill in for a lack of sufficient regular troops.
Bernard Jenkin, shadow defence secretary, said the large number of reservists being called up showed "just how overstretched the Forces really are". He said: "Regular front line forces should have been sent in, but they are just not available."
Paul Keetch, Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said reservists were bearing the brunt of the Government's decision to commit a third of the Army to the war in Iraq. More than 50,000 British servicemen and women are currently committed to a range of deployments of which those in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Ireland are only the largest.
The units that are coming home include 3 Commando Brigade, 2 Bn the Royal Tank Regiment, and 1 Bn The Royal Irish Regiment. But 1 Bn, The Duke of Wellington's Regiment's tour is being extended.
The mechanised brigade going out includes 1 Bn The King's Regiment; 1 Bn The King's Own Scottish Borderers; and 1 Bn The Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
The mechanised brigade going out includes 1 Bn The King's Regiment; 1 Bn The King's Own Scottish Borderers; and 1 Bn The Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
The UK has cool names for their military units.
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