Libya: British Army ready for mission at 24 hours' notice 05 Mar 2011 British troops have been put on stand-by for deployment to Libya if the crisis in the country worsens. Sources confirmed that The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, had been placed on heightened readiness, prepared to deploy to North Africa at 24 hours' notice. The 600-strong infantry unit returned from Afghanistan in late 2009 and is based at Fort George near Inverness."They’re ready, just in case," said a source. The Ministry of Defence insisted that the battalion was prepared for humanitarian relief operations, not combat. [Yeah, right!]