THE ARMED SERVICES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES
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mudslips resulting from heavy monsoon rains in May and June. In the dry months, many members were engaged in forestry conservation work and fire prevention at weekends and during holidays. The Civil Aid Services also undertook community duties and volunteers helped to organise the Lunar New Year harbour firework display, the International Dragon Boat Races, the seven Community Chest fund-raising walks and the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled.
corps
There is also a Cadet Corps of 2 500 boys aged from 12 to 18 years. The aim of the is to provide training in a disciplined environment, to encourage civic responsibility and awareness, and to help prepare them for adulthood. These objectives are attained through a combination of training and operational duties including apprenticeship training in mechanical and electrical engineering, fibre-glassing, participation in a wide range of outdoor activities and sports, crowd control, life saving, and patrolling country parks. Training is progressive; as the cadet gains more experience he is permitted to undertake more advanced courses. Cadets are enthusiastic members of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and during the year they obtained 95 bronze, 30 silver and two gold awards. At the age of 18, cadets leave the corps or may join the adult service, other auxiliary services or a regular emergency service.
The 20-hectare Civil Aid Services campsite at Tsing Lung Tau incorporates the old village of Yuen Tun, which was completely rebuilt in 1981. The village continued to be developed in 1982 and old furniture and farming equipment was collected from long- abandoned villages in the New Territories for preservation and display. The village now stands as a fine example of a typical New Territories village of 200 years ago.
Auxiliary Medical Service
The Auxiliary Medical Service, established in 1950 as a volunteer medical service, now has a membership of nearly 6 000 including about 1 000 doctors, nurses and para-medical personnel. The remainder are laymen, trained as ambulance drivers or first aid dressers, or in basic medical skills to assist in an emergency.
The service's role is to augment the medical and health services and the ambulance service of the Fire Services Department when necessary. In an emergency, members may be mobilised to work in hospitals and clinics, to man medical posts, to set up field hospitals and to provide first aid at disasters. They will also evacuate casualties and disaster victims, staff emergency ambulances and carry out mass inoculations. The service performs a variety of regular duties in providing medical and nursing services in Vietnamese refugee camps, administering methadone treatment clinics, manning ambulances for the fire services on Sundays and public holidays, reinforcing the Urban Services Department's lifeguard service at beaches and swimming pools during the summer months, and providing first aid training to government officers, particularly those in the disciplined services.
The Auxiliary Medical Service Canoe Training Centre at Tsam Chuk Wan in Sai Kung, which was opened in 1981, has enabled members to learn canoeing and canoe rescue techniques. Training courses have been very successful and are also attended by the Urban Services Department's lifeguards.
During the year, the Auxiliary Medical Service extended its services to Tsing Yi and Tuen Mun, thereby establishing sub-units in the majority of the territory's most densely populated districts.
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