UK troops not properly equipped during Iraq war: NAO report

Despite fears of Iraq's WMD and chemical warfare capability – the stated reason for military intervention against the Baathist regime – British frontline troops often went into battle against Saddam's forces without the correct equipment and supplies, including nuclear, chemical and biological protection, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) released today.

There were "difficulties" in ensuring that front line forces received the equipment and supplies that they needed, and the rapid deployment revealed areas where there were "gaps in capability", the NAO report said.

"There were not enough nuclear, biological and chemical warfare protection equipment, spare parts for tanks and armoured vehicles, medical supplies, helicopter spares or desert combat clothing and boots. Urgent action was largely successful in rectifying shortfalls but, for a few equipments, training time and the supply of ancillary equipment was curtailed," the report said.

The means of tracking supplies in theatre was "largely ineffective, manpower intensive and was swamped by the sheer volume of supplies", the NAO found.

The whereabouts of some key equipment and supplies was "unknown" and therefore arrangements could not be made to get them to the people who needed them.

"This led to shortages, loss of confidence in the supply chain and inefficiency as personnel searched for items they had ordered or ordered duplicates urgently," the report added.

However, the UK’s military operations in Iraq were, overall, a "significant success" and personnel and equipment performed "impressively", Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today.

The NAO paid tribute to the "major achievement" of deploying the UK war machine to the Gulf within 10 weeks – half the time it took for the first Gulf war.

The report highlighted the logistical success of deploying and sustaining 46,000 personnel, 9,100 shipping containers and 15,000 vehicles. It also highlighted new and modified equipment which performed well such as the Challenger 2 main battle tank, the Storm Shadow missile and the SA80A2 – the upgraded version of the much-maligned SA80.

Sir John Bourn said today: "It is not just the bravery of the men and women who took part in the military operations which should be applauded but also their abilities, their professionalism and their achievements.

"The scale of the operation and the speed with which it was carried out are both extremely impressive. There were problems, but these should be seen in the wider context of the overall success. The lessons in this report which the MoD can learn from will mean that its performance will be further improved in the future."

(gmcg)