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DP Note 27/67(A)
Draft (Continued)
Unaccompanied Service
8.
Commander-in-Chief's Views. The Commander-in-Chief has
assumed that by the mid-Seventies the Gurkha rundown will be
complete and the Hong Kong garrison will consist of United
Kingdom troops only. He states that the bulk of these troops
must be unaccompanied on the grounds that in the event of internal security troubles, families in such numbers would
not be acceptable. He further states that he supports the
recommendation of both the Governor and the Commander British
Forces Hong Kong that, as combat units reliefs take place in the future, they should change to unaccompanied tours, al- though the battalion on Hong Kong Island and the static units
The Governor does and headquarters would remain accompanied.
not envisage that such a policy would affect the confidence
of the colony if it was introduced in this manner.
9. Comment. These proposals raise a new concept for the
garrison of Hong Kong, which have serious implications for the Army, and would set a precedent affecting other Services and civilian families. You have already endorsed (8) the
view that accompanied service overseas is one of the most
As more attractive features of a career in the Services.
than 50% of Servicemen are married, a reasonable expectation
of family unity is clearly of fundamental importance if a
career in the forces is to maintain any attraction to those
in it, or to offer any inducement to those considering enlist-
ment. You recommended that there should be no change in the
present arrangements for accompanied service in the Far East
Theatre. If for the operational reasons put forward by the
Commander-in-Chief you were to reconsider the policy of
accompanied service for the Hong Kong garrison, the implica-
Note:
8.
COS 29th Mtg 67
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