Operation Telic – the mobilisation
of Dstl
Months before the call to arms for what has been dubbed ‘Gulf
War Two’ experts at Dstl suspected there was going to be something
big happening in the Middle East region.
“We started noticing that a lot of work was similar in nature
and, because we wanted to serve the MOD customer well and be as reactive
as possible, decided to co-ordinate it centrally,” comments the
chief analyst behind Dstl operational analysis deployment during operations.
Dstl’s activities in Operation Telic, through over 200 tasks,
included support to planning, what-ifs, advice on the performance of
people and equipment in difficult environments, urgent equipment requirements,
hot issues especially concerning chemical, biological and radiological
matters, collateral damage estimation for target clearance and advice
to military commanders.
Pre-deployment
At Dstl, preparations for Operation Telic can be traced back
as far as Autumn 2002. It was during this time that a lot of effort
was put into the co-ordination strategy. “We formed an operations
panel, concerned with co-ordinating our technical input,” says
the Chief Analyst. “The intention was to speak to MOD in a single
voice.”
In addition, training courses were quickly arranged for the individuals
at Dstl who, it was anticipated, would be placed in theatre during operations.
“We had over 100 people to train and prepare,” says the
Chief Analyst. “Telic proved to be the biggest mobilisation of
government scientists, technologists and analysts in support of operations
that Dstl has ever seen, with over 30 Dstl staff spending time in theatre.”
The staff were trained in a multitude of field techniques, both by
Dstl and through SSCW – Scientific Support in Crisis and War –
a MOD project, led by Dstl, designed to prepare civilian scientists
for operations. Training included mine awareness, NBC, weapons safety
and kit briefings. Most staff had completed all the courses within six
weeks.
UORs
Urgent Operational Requirements, or UORs, are placed to meet
military needs, usually linked to operational plans.
In the case of Telic there were a multitude of UORs raised before and
during operations. In many cases Dstl was able to pre-empt many of the
UORs and so be prepared for the work.
As the Head of Dstl Detection Department explains, his department started
to prepare for the implications of a major deployment of UK forces to
the Gulf back in September 2002. “We were able to identify capability
gaps and speed up the procurement process for vital equipment even before
the UORs were raised,” he recalls. “Detection Department
worked very closely with DEC (NBC), the Defence Procurement Agency and
the Surgeon General’s Staffs to ensure these requirements were
met.”
Timescales to complete UORs are often very short and quick fixes are
sometimes the only way to reach a solution. Dstl staff working on UORs
can end up completing 70 hours a week, including weekends and it is
very much an ‘all hands on deck’ mentality that sees Dstl
completing some very complex assignments on time and to exacting specifications.
Dstl’s involvement with UORs was widespread, but the following
are just three examples, from three different areas of the organisation,
of how we were able to help – PIPNET, TRaME and Storm Shadow.
Deployment and operations
As Operation Telic moved into its most critical phase, with troops deploying
to Iraq, Dstl was once again on hand to deliver impartial advice and
expert knowledge across a broad spectrum of areas.
Analysts became part of the front line and the land, air and sea Headquarters.
In addition, staff back in the UK continued to work tirelessly on UORs
and ‘reachback’ tasks - questions asked in the field requiring
scientific input and judgement from the organisation.
Dstl had ten people embedded in the Air HQ and several more in the
Land HQ. There were also experts from the organisation tasked with ensuring
that the Forces were fully briefed about threats such as biological
and chemical weapons attack.
One such expert, Hilary, was Senior Scientific Advisor to the Command
HQ in Qatar for 12 weeks. Her job, alongside Steve Bailey and Sarah
Vickress, also of Porton Down, was to advise them on chemical and biological
threats.
“It was the first time the HQ had ever taken an advisor on NBC,”
she says. “I was working as part of the force protection area,
ensuring that policy regarding NBC was carried out correctly and answering
questions on NBC from the front line. This meant liasing with the US
forces, ensuring that our policies could compliment one another."
“We were out in the Gulf early as part of the first planning
stages, organising doctrine and action plans in the event that our forces
were attacked with NBC weapons. During this time we also ran exercises
to ensure that, if an alarm sounded, the troops were able to promulgate
this information in the best way, through the most effective chain of
command.”
This role then developed for Hilary as Telic reached the deployment
and operation stages. “I was there to advise on ‘false alarms’,
when troops in theatre thought that they were being attacked by NBC
weapons, but were not. “
Meanwhile, Sarah Vickress was busy conducting operational modelling
as part of the missile target clearance process. Her job was to assess
the targets on the bombing list using atmospheric dispersion models
to estimate what the collateral effects would be if a target contained
WMD which was released into the atmosphere when the target was hit.
For example, how many civilians would be affected.
Closer to the action, Steve Bailey was at Ali al Salem air base in
Kuwait supporting the Jt NBC Regt biological detection capability there
and feeding back information to Qatar and the UK about NBC operations
and any related topics that arose from the front line.
Away from the NBC threat, Dstl had staff members embedded in mobile
HQ’s. Analysts from the organisation would often use their expertise
to advise the force commanders on the best strategies to adopt in a
multitude of scenarios.
Operation Telic – a success for Dstl
Overall, it is obvious that Dstl’s contribution in support
of Operation Telic has been substantial. It has resulted in a significant
increase in capability for UK forces and much of the UOR capabilities
will be retained in service for the future. This success has only been
achieved through the expertise, flexibility and commitment of all the
people involved. The valuable experience and knowledge gained will contribute
significantly to the future research and equipment programmes.
Field laboratory tackles WMD
The location of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) featured
heavily in the Operation Telic agenda.
And although none were used on UK or US Forces the threat was considered
very real and troops were constantly on a state of alert.
Following the end of major hostilities, and in response to this threat,
a fully-equipped UK chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN)
field laboratory was sent to Baghdad International airport in support
of coalition forces.
Staffed by six specialists from Dstl Porton Down and two from AWE (Aldermaston)
the lab has the capability to conduct analysis of suspected CBRN materials.
Working in tandem with its US equivalent the laboratory ensured safety
of troops and civilians in Iraq from any suspected dangerous materials,
for example from military or industrial sites, or from environmental
hazards. It also conducted initial, in-theatre analysis of any samples
thought to relate to Iraqi WMD programmes.
Results from analysis of samples by the lab were used to inform further
tests and investigations.
“The laboratory is not intended to conduct inspections or investigations
into WMD, says the Head of Dstl Detection Department. “Instead,
the lab is intended to support Coalition forces by identifying any suspected
dangerous materials, for example toxic environmental hazards, and by
undertaking initial analysis of any samples thought to be related to
Saddam’s programmes to develop WMD.”
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