sunday-times.co.uk
(and click Britain section)
July 18 1999 BRITAIN
Soldiers pull out of Kosovo to deal with millennium bug chaos
by Hugh McManners
Defence Correspondent
THE SAS and other special services are to deal with outbreaks of civil disorder and the collapse of utilities under secret plans being drawn up by the armed forces to cope with the millennium bug.
The plans, codenamed Operation Surety, will see the special forces and other armed troops deployed to protect not only key government sites but also civilian installations such as banks, airports and power stations if their security systems fail.
The extent of the military's role has been disclosed as the armed services prepare for the critical date of September 9, or 9/9/99, when the scale of the computer chaos could become apparent.
Half the combat troops are to be withdrawn from Kosovo by the end of August, a total of up to 2,000 soldiers.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) source said Operation Surety, drawn up over 18 months by a small team of specialists at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood,
Middlesex, had been given the highest military priority after active operations in Kosovo.
"The operation is designed to ensure that essential government and civilian functions can continue between September and February next year, which is the period of danger. It's a real threat and highly classified," said the source.
Soldiers would also support the emergency services in handling disruption and accidents caused by the failure of electricity, water supplies or telephones through the inability of many computer systems to cope with the date change from 1999 to 2000.
Planners fear that computer failures could leave installations vulnerable to criminal or terrorist attack. Armed troops, some with light tanks and heavy weapons, will be deployed to guard likely targets such as airports. In the worst scenario, some form of martial law might be necessary in localised areas.
Eight leading financial institutions have asked the MoD for protection. Individual chief constables will call for military back-up if security system failures lead to looting and civil disorder.
The army will provide transport, communications, medical help and food supplies, as well as armed security. Fifty military postmen will ensure that government mail gets through. Army motorcycle dispatch riders will deliver secret government documents by hand if electronic transmissions are disrupted.
The Royal Navy will concentrate on the English Channel which has the highest density of shipping in the world. The Royal Marines' counter-terrorist unit based at Arbroath and the Special Boat Squadron will be on stand-by to board ships in trouble.
Military sources say the plan will also take troops overseas. "Even if everything goes well in the UK, a number of foreign governments are not taking the millennium bug seriously. Some Muslim countries believe it is purely a 'Christian' problem."
RAF air traffic control teams will be ready to fly to any destination where the millennium bug threatens air routes. The Paras and Royal Marines will be ready to rescue British nationals caught in chaos abroad.
A decision on whether leave for the armed services should be cancelled over the millennium will be taken after September, when the extent of the problem could emerge.
The military has been testing its new communications systems over the past two weeks. Problems have been discovered and senior officers say they may have to rely on older radio technology.
"For the time being we've gone back to simple and very old-fashioned procedures that we know will at least work," said one officer. The military also plans to test all its weapons and electronic systems after January 1 so that no hidden glitches threaten Britain's security.
Next page: Big Bang machine could destroy Earth
(For some reason the juxtaposition of the above article and the "Next page" link struck me as odd. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed and read the paper...and I'm worried about global financial metldown...silly me...it's "perturbations of the universe" and black holes that are the real problems.)
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