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THE ARMED SERVICES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES
provision of recreational activities on a large scale for the young, assistance to a number of charitable organisations for the poor and the physically handicapped, help with community projects in villages, and specialised engineering works in remote areas; all making good use of the special facilities, qualifications and equipment of the Services. Linked to this work are the numerous patrols which the Services carry out with the Police in the isolated parts of the Colony. These visits help Government to keep in touch with the areas and engender confidence amongst the inhabitants.
The primary task of the British Armed Forces in Hong Kong remains, however, to be ready at all times to give instant support to the Hong Kong Government and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, should this be necessary. To this end, the Services have maintained a high standard of training and alertness and, jointly with the New Territories Administration and the Police, have steadily improved the arrangements for the security of the Border and other critical areas of the Colony and its waters should an emergency arise.
LOCAL AUXILIARY DEFENCE SERVICES
During the year under review, Her Majesty the Queen approved the grant of the title 'Royal' to both the Hong Kong Regiment and the Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force and also approved the incor- poration of the words 'The Volunteers' in the title of the Hong Kong Regiment. The award of this honour to the two units by Her Majesty was associated with the final disbandment of the former Royal Hong Kong Defence Force and the establishment of the two remaining constituent units, the Hong Kong Regiment and the Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force, as separate legal entities, each under its own Ordinance.
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) has a strength of about 600. It is a light reconnaissance regiment and comprises a headquarters squadron, four reconnaissance squadrons (three equipped with landrovers and one with scout cars), and a Home Guard squadron. The regiment is fully mobile and its role is to operate in support of the regular army battalions stationed in the Colony with tasks which make special use of the Volunteers' detailed knowledge of the Colony and its people. During 1970, the regiment formed a youth group called the Junior Leaders Squadron. This is