SECRET ANNEX A to
DP 17778(C)(Preliminary Draft)
(Continued)
RN ships taking part in CENTO exercises is Priority Five
It appears that Priorities for Airlift may require
review to cater for future Friority Two Commitments. Even
after such a review, because the ATF is invariably tasked to after
the full, additional Priority Two Commitments will continue to
lead to disruption or cancellation of other tasks. If sufficient
notice is available it may be possible to arrange chartered airlift
to replace some routine ATF tasks. But commitments at short notice
will at best mean curtailment of routine tasks and a period to
recoup flying hours and engineering programmes. For example to
support a battalion group in Central Africe requires approximately
450 Hercules hours and 50 VC10 hours per month. Therefore any
additional commitment of this nature will entail either provision
of additional aircraft and aircrew, or foregoing existing low
priority exercizes, routine logistic resupply flights, and a
proportion of the special riights tasked to meet supplementary
airlift bids.
54. The loss of exercise training over a period will erode the
operational preparedness of the units concerned for their war
role a fact which may not go unnoticed in NATO particularly fer
those units subject to the Allied Command Europe Tactical
Evaluation Programme (TACEVAL) conducted by international teams.
Where units are directly concerned in contributing either trained
manpower or equipment to a Priority Two Commitment, the effect will
be compounded and a significant risk exists that such units would
not meet the TACEVAL requirements and consequently achieve a lower
rating than hitherto. In sum, significant reductions in airlift
and commitment of resources to non-NATO operations risks eroding
RAP credibility in NATO.
30 SECRET