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Iraq

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Des Browne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. The next roulement of UK forces in Iraq, known as Operation TELIC 13, will take place from November. The TELIC 13 force package will see the lead formation, currently 7 Armoured Brigade, replaced by 20 Armoured Brigade. 20 Armoured Brigade will take over the command of UK forces from early December and will provide the majority of the units serving in Iraq. The forces deploying include personnel from the following units:

Members of the Reserve Forces will continue to deploy to Iraq as part of this force package, and we expect to issue around 175 call-out notices in order to fill some 150 posts during TELIC 13. Prior to their deployment and on completion of their mobilisation procedures, the reservists will undertake a period of training and integration with their respective units. For the majority, their deployment to theatre will commence in November, and most will serve on operations for six to seven months, although some may have shorter tours. The reservists will predominantly reinforce regular units and will perform a wide range of activities including force protection duties, intelligence and logistic tasks. As part of this commitment, we expect up to 10 members of the sponsored reserves to be in the operational theatre at any one time.