Of the troops under his command, Townshend most favored the Dorset Regiment, the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and above all of the Sikh Twenty-second Punjabi Regiment, which he believed to be superior to any of the Ottoman forces operating in Mesopotamia. Whatever the excellence of its troops, Force D possessed no heavy guns and was deficient in supplies, including clean drinking water, wire-cutters, telephones, lights, tents, signal rockets, mosquito nets, telescopic sights, flares, helmets, hand grenades, periscopes and blankets Most seriously, in light of events to follow, they lacked medical supplies and personnel. Townshend was well aware of these problems, but apparently never discussed them with Nixon.