Soon after the Falklands War the Department of Trade and Industry began to build a small strategic stockpile of its own.

The $98 million deal involved companies he had once headed, but he explained that his motivation was to increase the country's strategic stockpiles and was thus cleared.

The facilities there were run by the United States but they released their strategic stockpiles on the island.

It ended decades of rivalry, at least on paper, between the Air Force and Navy over custody of the nation's strategic nuclear stockpile.

"The S.P.R. was designed as a strategic stockpile to provide Americans with a buffer in case of a major oil supply disruption or shortage."

Just a few years ago, the United States was planning a strategic nuclear stockpile of about 13,000 warheads.

In 1950, as a result of the Korean War, the United States sought to buy large quantities of wool to complete its strategic stockpiles.

In 1984 Congress devised a new scam, directing the military to buy a "strategic stockpile" of one year's supply of coal and ship it to Germany.

Local government roles and responsibilities, population monitoring, pharmaceutical countermeasures provided through the strategic national stockpile, and the role of communications are discussed.

The extra oil from the strategic stockpile should prevent any shortages even if there is a prolonged loss of imports from Iraq and Kuwait, experts say.