Announcement by SofS for Defence - 22 Feb 07

Gents,

I am sure that you will all have heard that the SofS for Defence has announced that a company from 1 R WELSH (RWF) is due to deploy on Op TELIC 10 with 1 Brigade in the summer. This slightly surprised me as I had not received confirmation from the official Chain of Command that this was anything other than a planning option prior it being announced publicly. Consequently, as this was simply one of a large number of planning options, which change frequently, I had not even briefed the Battalion! However, it is now in the public domain and we will plan accordingly, although, on current form, I wouldn't be surprised if this option changed again before the deployment date!

Sending one or more companies to Iraq was simply one of a wide range of planning options that have been discussed over the past couple of months. Other options have ranged from the whole Battalion deploying to Afghanistan with 12 Brigade (as per earlier posts on this forum), to the whole Battalion deploying to Iraq with 1 Brigade, whilst further options have not seen us deploying anywhere initially, but simply standing-up as the Theatre Reserve Battalion (TRB) for 12 months from 1 Apr 07 (as per plans that have been in place for well over a year) and then being available for short notice deployments to either theatre, as required.

Fortunately, the Battalion is looking forward to an operational deployment, regardless of theatre, and is currently undergoing extensive operational pre-deployment training to hone our skills. As we shall be fulfilling the TRB role for a year, there is no doubt that we shall deploy to both theatres at some time during the year, so having some certainty at this early stage is welcomed (although knowing through official channels rather than through the media would have been nice!). As for the plans for the remainder of the Battalion, I await confirmation on any of the large number of other planning options. (If anybody hears of any confirmed options for the Battalion, please inform me asap!).

Regards,

Huw James
Lt Col
CO 1 R WELSH (RWF)

I read about one company going to Iraq from both 1st and 2nd battalions on the Army website long before the Col posted this thread. You just assume everybody knows whats going on.
They wonder why soldiers feel like mushrooms at times, kept in the dark and fed bs.
Thank you Col James for keeping us interested parties aware of what's going on.

good luck to those who get deployed, keep your chins up and heads down and come back safely.