British troops deployed in the Gulf will be ready for war against Iraq within four to five days, the chief of staff of the British armed forces, Gen Sir Mike Jackson, said yesterday.
Speaking to members of the First Battalion Royal Irish Regiment whilst on a brief visit to Kuwait, Gen Jackson said, "Four to five days would be ideal. But even if it was today, it's good to go". A "couple of ships" carrying non-essential equipment were required to bring the 25,000 British soldiers currently deployed in Kuwait up to battle strength, Gen Jackson said.
He dismissed reports that troops were under-supplied and living in poor conditions in the dozens of camps which have been set up in the Kuwaiti desert. He said: "If anything, I'm concerned it may be too comfortable. If they are required to do a dangerous job in difficult circumstances, they must get used to those circumstances." The parents of soldiers serving in Kuwait have been inundated with letters written home claiming that the food was inadequate and that such vital supplies as toilet rolls and desert clothing were missing.
Any soldier who did not pack a toilet roll in his kit "is in my opinion a bad soldier. It's up to them to take care of these things themselves," Gen Jackson said bluntly.
Despite a seasonal sandstorm that had reduced visibility to a couple of hundred yards, the general was rapturously received by the 450 troops who had assembled to meet him.
As a former paratrooper himself, the general displayed an easy rapport with the soldiers who may be called upon to parachute into Iraq.