Written question asked by Llew Smith (Labour) on Thursday, 27 March 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 10 April 2003. It was answered by Lord Moonie (Labour) on Thursday, 10 April 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training in use of Arabic was given to military personnel and medical auxiliaries in the invasion forces in Iraq.

Answer: Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training in use of Arabic was given to military personnel and medical auxiliaries in the invasion forces in Iraq. [106426] Dr. Moonie: A small number of military personnel were given training in Arabic language skills prior to their deployment to the Gulf in support of operations against Iraq. That aside, no additional training in Arabic was given to the forces now serving in the Gulf. Personnel deploying to the Gulf are issued with a language card that lists useful vocabulary and its meaning. These cards contain phonetic phrases to aid pronunciation. Training in Arabic is not provided for medical auxiliaries. We do, however, employ interpreters to work alongside medical personnel caring for Arabic-speaking patients.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 106426; 403 c351W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Armed forces Armed conflict Deployment Iraq Languages Training Iraq conflict Interpreters Arabic
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk