02 August 2002
A National Audit Office report into the Ministry of Defence's September 2001 'mock war' exercise in Oman – the largest deployment of British military forces since the Gulf War – highlighted a catalogue of failings among the three armed services' abilities to conduct expeditionary warfare.
More than 22,500 personnel, 6,500 vehicles, 21 naval vessels and 93 aircraft were deployed in the £83m operation. But, in conditions similar to those in Iraq, many vehicles broke down, while vital communications equipment, mobile guns and fork-lift trucks all failed to work in the searing 50-degree heat.
In particular, severe difficulties with the forces' 'Clansman' family of radio systems – heavily criticised by army experts in the past – re-emerged. Other difficulties included a shortage of key personnel, such as engineers and medical staff, and problems keeping track of equipment.
With echoes of the Crimean War ringing in their ears, the NAO said that the MoD had also supplied 'wholly inadequate' footwear, which crumbled and caused health problems.
Despite the list of failures, the report charitably describes the Oman operation as 'a success'. David Clarke, the NAO director who drafted the report, said: 'Much of the equipment performed very well, including new aircraft, armoured fighting vehicles and personal radios. But there are clearly a number of lessons that need to learned by the MoD.'
The ministry blamed many of the difficulties on the 'unexpectedly hot and dusty' conditions in the desert, despite having planned the exercise for several years. However, a spokesman said: 'If you were to ask me, in the event of the UK being drawn into a desert-based conflict in the next few years, are we ready for that sort of operation, then I think the NAO report backs up our claim that we are.'
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