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(c) The First Battalion Devonshire and Dorset
Regiment (1 D and D) (sent to Northern Ireland on an emergency tour in late June) should return to Malta in mid-September. This would mean that Malta would at all times have one infantry battalion.
(a)
The First Battalion Green Howards (sent from B.A.0.R. to Northern Ireland on an emergency tour in late June) would remain in Northern Ireland until 29 October when they would return to BAOR. This would mean that B.A.0.R. would be short of a further battalion until the end of October. SACEUR would have to be informed of this. On the other hand, a Royal Marine Commando would be able to take part in the NATO exercise DEEP EXPRESS.
3. I understand that W. O.D. would prefer to have First Battalion Green Howards returned to B.A.0.R. and the participation in the exercise DEEP EXPRESS cancelled. Paragraph 12 of the report puts the case for participa- tion in exercise DEEP EXPRESS in very strong terms. If we were to seek to have this recommendation changed we should have to deploy very convincing arguments and we should need to be careful not to appear to be interfering in any kind of controversy between the Army and the Royal Navy.
4. Paragraphs 18 to 21 of the report consider the possibility of removing the unaccompanied company group from Gibraltar. The report concludes that a company should not be removed from Gibraltar on both political and military grounds. We cannot challenge the military argument, namely that if we were to withdraw the company immediately it would not be available for service in Northern Ireland for four months. On the other hand, I understand that we may wish to challenge the Governor's statement that any reduction should only be made if sig- nificant consessions were extracted from the Spanish Government. Such a reduction would mean that in due course of time a further full battalion would be available for service in Northern Ireland. But it would not of course be available to reinforce the Gibraltar garrison.
5. Paragraph 25 states that the question of our contri- bution to UNFICYP after 1970 will be reviewed. I have minuted separetely about this.
Justan
(D. J. Hall)
Defence Department
10 August, 1970
2
A
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}