Press Release - Ministry of Defence: Exercise Saif Sareea
II
1 August 2002
Sir John Bourn, the Head of the National Audit Office, told
Parliament today that Exercise "Saif Sareea" II, held in Oman in
2001, successfully demonstrated that the United Kingdom is capable
of mounting a balanced, coherent force over a long distance. Among
the United Kingdom's allies, only the United States has shown that
it could undertake a deployment of similar size.
Despite the redeployment of some elements to operations in
Afghanistan, each of the three Armed Services met the majority of
their objectives for the Exercise and gained valuable training
experience from operating in a desert environment. Much equipment
performed well, including Warrior armoured fighting vehicles, the
C17 strategic lift aircraft, and the Personal Role Radio.
A number of other, non-warfighting, elements also operated
successfully, for example, the provision of food and the recovery
of personnel and equipment. The Operational Welfare Package, which
included the provision of telephone and Internet facilities, was a
qualified success given that it was not always possible to make it
available to units in the field and in more remote locations.
One of the benefits of the Exercise was that it also identified
a number of areas where there is room for improvement. NAO staff,
who examined the Exercise at first hand in Oman, have been able to
confirm and review these lessons. They include:
- Shortages amongst key personnel such as engineers, signallers
and medical services.
- Equipment that did not work well in hot and dusty conditions,
some of which needed more logistic support than expected to keep
going. The Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank, for example, worked well
but required substantially more air filters, road wheels and track
pads than planned to keep it operational. Other examples include
the AS90 self-propelled gun and some vehicles. Also, a number of
personnel complained about the suitability of their personal
equipment and clothing, particularly boots.
- Difficulties in keeping track of equipment, spares and stores
dispatched to the Exercise.
Some lessons identified during previous operations were
relearned, which illustrated the tendency that skills learned on
medium size operations such as the Gulf War dissipate over time as
people move on. There is a strong argument that exercises of the
size of Saif Sareea need to be conducted regularly in order to keep
skills and experience up to date and to check that lessons
previously identified have been implemented.
Complexities in the scoping, costing and funding of the Exercise
led to difficulties in the planning process. No overall investment
appraisal to inform the most cost-effective design for the Exercise
was carried out, although options were informally costed. Planning
went through several iterations regarding size, location, and
budget until the Department finally settled on deploying a
medium-scale joint task force to Oman within a budget of £90.3
million.
Uncertainty over the design of the Exercise acted against the
achievement of maximum value for money. For example, the Department
was forced to pay an additional premium of £1.2 million for
chartering aircraft to transport personnel at a time when it had
not finally settled on the number going to Oman. The final cost of
the Exercise will not be known until July 2003 though it is likely
to be about £83 million. In future, the Department should ensure
that the scope and funding of exercises is clear and agreed at the
outset.
The Exercise met its foreign-policy objectives by developing
relations with Oman and by showing that the United Kingdom is
strongly committed to the Gulf region. The presence of United
Kingdom forces in Oman, while a coincidence, ensured a swift
response to the events after 11 September 2001.
Sir John said today:
"Exercise Saif Sareea II was a major success for the
United Kingdom in demonstrating the Armed Forces' ability to
conduct operations over long distances and in supporting important
foreign-policy objectives.
"However, the Exercise highlighted a number of problems
that need to be addressed. In particular, the Joint Rapid Reaction
Forces must be properly equipped to undertake expeditionary
operations around the world; and the planning of such exercises
needs to be reviewed if maximum value for money is to be achieved
in future."
Notes for Editors
- The Exercise was the largest deployment of UK military forces
since the Gulf War. Over 22,500 military personnel, 4,500 vehicles,
21 naval vessels and 93 aircraft were deployed to exercise with
Omani forces. The Exercise was designed to demonstrate key elements
of the Joint Rapid Reaction Forces concept, to identify lessons,
provide training, and to support foreign-policy objectives. The
Joint Rapid Reaction Forces pool the high readiness units from
across the Armed Forces to deploy at short notice for expeditionary
operations.
- Oman is situated on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula.
It is some 5,000 miles from the United Kingdom and occupies an
important strategic position in the Middle East.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website at http://www.nao.org.uk/ Hard copies can
be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office employing some 750 staff. He and
the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 53/02
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