You may be aware that the Defence Augmentation, Cell has recently
tasked a number of Arabic speakers to deploy on Op TELIC at short notice. I
am conscious of the considerable pain this will cause some individuals within
your organisations as they either deploy or cover for gapped posts. I am writing
to assure you that this decision was not taken lightly but was driven by the
operational imperative outlined by CJO at the Reference.
Unfortunately the short-term demand for Arabic Linguists will continue
and will require a further deployment in January. I am hopeful that, after this
one further painful measures will not be necessary - but I can make no
promises. I can assure you, however, that I am making every effort to minimise
this pain by making extensive use of civilian interpreters and exploring all other
possible sources. I am also developing longer-term solutions to meet this
requirement to prevent the issue re-occurring.
I continue to be grateful for the way in which you are supplying people,
often at short notice and at considerable pain, to sustain our operations globally.
ACDS(Ops)
DEGLASSIFIED