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Chapter Three
seafarers. After examining the possibility of contracting out the fishery protection task, the Government has decided that it should continue to be
performed by the Royal Navy in 1993/94.
Military Task 1.7: Provision of Military Aid to the Civil Community
319. Military Aid to the Civil Community (MACC) is the provision of Service personnel and equipment, both in emergencies and in routine
situations, to assist the community at large. The armed forces are only used where there are no alternatives available, either because of urgency
or expertise. The Department has discretion to waive charges for life-
saving activities in an emergency. MACC falls into three categories: assistance in emergencies (for example Lockerbie or the storm of October
1987); non-controversial assistance to the local community on behalf of a
public body or non-profit making organisation, where there is good training value for the Services, and where there is no operational or training penalty; and attachment of individual, specialist volunteers to
organisations such as The Princes Trust to benefit the community and
broaden the experience of the volunteer.
Military Task 1.8: Provision of a Military Search and Rescue Service
320. The armed forces provide a continuous peacetime search and rescue capability, with the priority task of rescuing Service personnel in the
United Kingdom and surrounding seas. Where military SAR cover is not
affected, SAR for the civil community is provided within the terms of
agreements with other Government Departments. Readiness states and
flight locations ensure that a survivor can be rescued within two hours,
the estimated maximum survival time in British waters. Military SAR
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