Further memorandum from the Ministry of
Defence on logistics (October 2003)
(Q983) Planning timelines for OP Telic
In order to facilitate the planning for any
operation in Iraq, the DLO established a Contingency Planning
Group (CPG) on 11 September 2002. More general contingency planning
had taken place throughout the summer, and some Business Units
had been approached by Front Line Commands for the purposes of
their own exploratory work, while early consideration of possible
UOR requirements began in August 2002. Planning became more focused
on specific equipment and deployment options following the formation
of the CPG and the PM's statement to the House of Commons on 24
September 2002. On 30 September 2002 authority was granted to
consult more widely within the department on UORs. Further clearance
to discuss UOR requirements with industry was granted on 2 December
2003.
(Q1016) (UORs/six month lead time) and (UORs/categorisation)
We will provide the answer to these questions
as soon as possible.
(Q1034) Chinook loading onto stuft problem
DTMA chartered ships based on the capacity and
capability required to meet the equipment within the deployment
Tranches. The allocation of units to vessels within a Tranche
was then undertaken by the mounting HQ, in this case HQ LAND,
in accordance with the Desired Order of Arrival Staff Table. The
details of the ships are passed to LAND in order to allow them
to undertake this operation.
The Joint Helicopter Force (JHF) assets were
a late addition to the Force Element Table (FET) and the mounting
HQ intended to ship a mix of Chinooks, Pumas, Lynx and Gazelles
on two ships, the Dart 8 and Hurst Point (one of the new JRRF
RO-ROs), thus avoiding the risk of having "all our eggs in
one basket". The two ships were scheduled to sail on consecutive
days. In the event, Chinooks called forward for the first ship
(the Dart 8) were unable to load due to the angle of the ship's
ramp. The ramp has to be absolutely level for loading Chinooks
and Dart 8 was unable to ballast sufficiently to reach this level.
The second ship's worth of Pumas was therefore called forward
and loaded to the Dart 8 along with the allocated Lynx and Gazelles
and sailed on the first day. All Chinooks were moved on the Hurst
Point on the second day. No delays to shipping were incurred and
there were no engineering delays brought about by the inability
to fit the Chinooks into the first ship. It was not necessary
to dismantle any of the Helicopters to fit the available shipping
space.
(Q1037) Review of RORO
The MoD has not conducted any review into the
use of RO-RO ships since the Strategic Defence Review confirmed
the requirement for an expanded sealift capability (six ships
in total) to transport equipment for the Joint Rapid Reaction
Forces. This strategic sealift service, contracted to AWSR under
PFI terms, came into service earlier this year, 20 months ahead
of schedule.
The Department of Transport (DfT) produces a
quarterly list of all Military Useful ships under the UK Flag.
This list is forwarded to various areas of the MoD, including
the Defence Transport and Movements Agency (DTMA), and annually
it is incorporated into the Select Committee Report. This data
is utilised by the MoD to determine the availability of strategic
shipping under the UK Flag. Further details on this document and
its distribution can be found at www.parliament.the-stationery-office.cu.uk/pa/cm/cmselect.htm
DTMA uses established relations with shipping
brokers to maintain periodic snapshots of RO-RO availability within
the market. Due to operational security and market force generation
considerations, caution must be used in order to avoid alerting
or spooking the markets, especially during a period of approaching
crisis.
(Q1041) Antanov charter
No difficulties were experienced in chartering
the necessary outsize lift for the Operation Telic deployment.
However, it did become apparent that the US was actively chartering
and therefore, mid-way through the deployment, the UK committed
to AN124 lift in anticipation of the developing requirement. Had
this action not been taken, it is likely that available lift would
have been committed to the US leaving insufficient for UK needs.
Although there are 18 aircraft in the AN124
fleet, not all are available for charter at any one time, largely
as a result of maintenance requirements. Three companies, Antonov
Design Bureau with four aircraft normally available, Polet with
two and Volga Denepr with five aircraft, provide the available
assets in the civilian market. DTMA sources these aircraft through
an enabling contract with a broker, Air Partner. The enabling
contract does not guarantee availability, but it does guarantee
the price and speeds up the chartering process. The enabling contract
is not exclusive and we are able to approach other brokers and
the aircraft operators themselves should the need arise.
(Q1047) Movement Dates
DTMA approached the market on Christmas Eve
to fix the six vessels required for Commodore Amphibious Task
Group.
DTMA approached the market on New Year's Eve
to fix the first Operation Telic vessels for the Land component.
The first vessels to deploy for Op Telic were
the Land Enabler vessels on 17 January 2003. These ships were:
From the UK—MV Southern Trader;
From Germany—MV Beatrixhaven and MV Velazquez.
The first vessel to arrive in Kuwait was MV
Eddystone, one of the JRRF RO-ROs, which sailed on the 18 January
2003 and arrived Kuwait on the 3 February 2003. (Eddystone is
faster than the above three vessels.)
(Q1097) Review of Logistic Report
The E2E Review is a fundamental and wide-ranging
piece of work examining the totality of logistic support from
industry to the front line. As such it is relevant to recent operational
activity however it was not driven by Op Telic. The process of
assessing and implementing its recommendations is now underway.
As the Review progresses forward, there will be full consultation
with the Trades Unions and any proposals which impact on civilian
jobs or which require major investment will be subject to independent
investment appraisal to establish costs and benefits of the options
before decisions are taken. Any changes to operational logistics
will be fully tested before full implementation to preserve current
logistics operational capability.
A summary of the conclusions of the report has
been placed in the Library of the House. This is a wide ranging
set of conclusions, and more work is needed in some areas to determine
how best to achieve the goals. This work is being conducted in
the form of five principle workstreams, facilitated by a series
of seven "Pilot" studies. The HCDC is invited to note
that the outcomes of these "Pilots" will not provide
the E2E Team with a panoply of solutions for the Air and Land
environments and it is anticipated that further studies will be
required before the full range of efficiencies and savings accruing
from the E2E Review can be delivered.
Minister(AF) has agreed to the release of the
full report to the Committee but, in recognition of the sensitivity
of recommendations embodied in the Final Report and work which
is on-going to validate the hypotheses and individual recommendations,
asks that the Committee respect the confidential nature of the
report. A copy of the report will be forwarded to the Committee
shortly.
(Q1087) Total Asset Visibility
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