CON
ICOLOMAL
1
to be decided.
2
For example, come savings depend on the possibility of substituting Gurkhas for UK personnel with the introduction of nav radio helay equipment, and the amalgamation of the existing three signal squadrons into two. I have deliberately omitted reference to the décision to dispense with 444 Signals Unit RAF which vill admittedly reflect a manpower saving during 1977. remains to be determined what the net financial saving will be, if any, by transferring their communications responsibilities to Cable and Wireless.
It
4. As..I emphasised in my letter of 27 May 1976, these are carly days of a major reorganisation of all three Services to determine exact savings and translate them into financial terms. However the determined effort to alim down continuos 'and personal savings from all three Services should emerge from co-location. It remains to be seen how the manponer savings envisaged compare with any change in equipment and other costs which will be examined separately.
The
12.Important: as Brumei is to the overall scheme of things, it is fortunately of no concern financially. The Gurkha Lines of Commund- cation however are another matter. The opportunity afforded by developing Argemal road and air communications in Nepal has caused us to decide on closing the cxisting depot on the Indian border at Paklihawa and concentrate recruitment and the dispersal of Gurkhas going on leave in western Nepal through Pokhara. justification for the capital expenditure involved in developing Pokhara is that it will be offset by savings at Taklihawa and work is already going ahead with the aim of closing Paklihawa by 31 Dacerber 1978, This will reduce the number of establishments du Napal from four to three - Kathmandu, the only international airport, Pharan in the east and Pokhara in the west. These changes vill undoubtedly result in some economies both in staff savings and in costs not directly related to personnel.
13. You will appreciate the difficulties which all three Services experience in the search for economics when, for good reasons, all are still rumming in excess of DCA levels. The Army and Royal Air Force are still operating from locations from which they are due to nove, let they are under pressure to achieve manpower levels tailored to their new locations. The
Hong Kong Goverment has the right from 1 April 1977 to request reports in detail on the cost and
complement of the cuppert element of the Carricon.
I would like to think, bearing in mind the difficulty we are having in even getting down to DOA levels, that you support my view that the best time to initiate a request for a formal review of the support elegant vould be after the cuffent tesbulence has subsided and when all three Services are settled into their new locations. If other PreSSUTAS Loxce a review on us so be it but my research so far indicates that there is little possibility of achieving overall savings on DCA Garrison costs within the next two years.
བ་ནས་ལར་ མན་ང་ག་
CONFIDENTIAL
AJ ARCHER