The Commanding Officer of the Regiment said he was not surprised by the mixed grades his troops received in a Ministry of Defence Fitness for Role assessment in November. revealed on Friday that following a recent exercise officials based in the US, UK and Northern Ireland were unhappy with how the Regiment trained for its role, saying it used out of action equipment and had poor ?command and control? ? or how orders were developed and passed down through the ranks.

?It will not affect the arrival of the new CO,? Lt. Col. Edward Lamb said yesterday. ?The report will be used as a tool for the incoming CO. But by then the steps and measures needed to tweak the Regiment will already have taken place.?

He said it would not affect the CO selection process and more details on that would be released in the New Year.

He was named Regiment CO on February 6, 2002.

When his two-year tenure expired in 2004 it was extended by the Governor for a further two years until 2006, he said.

?We were not surprised by the report,? Lt. Col. Lamb said. ?We already knew the biggest area for improvement was kit and equipment.?

He said the Regiment had an ageing fleet of vehicles, radios and weapons that it had spent years trying to maintain.

?This is common in any military, even in the US, who have the latest gadgets, they are always looking to improve their kit and equipment.?

But speaking on the Defence Ministry?s criticisms of ?command and control? the CO said this occurred only in the ?lower levels? and was ?constantly being looked at?.

And the CO played up Regiment?s passing grades in ?esprit de corps?, or high morale despite struggling to keep soldiers past the mandatory three-year conscription period.

The report also said it was impressed by the turnout of good numbers of the 400-strong battalion during the exercise, he said.

?This is a Regiment that wants to do well and is capable of doing so,? he said. ?The biggest room in the world is room for improvement.

?There is some room for improvement but it has already been addressed with the Senior Command. For 2006 we will make the necessary changes to work on command and control and the Platoon Commander areas. ?The report also validated the good work Regiment does,? he said. ?We have nothing to hide.? Governor Sir John Vereker will decide whether or not to release the results of the report, Lt. Co. Lamb said.