THE ARMED SERVICES
Helping the Community
In the event of a natural disaster or any other tragedy, garrison resources are immediately available to back up the civil authorities.
Whenever a typhoon threatens the territory the garrison automatically moves to a higher state of alert. Emergency communications are set up and troops placed on stand-by for any tasks they might be given.
The troops on the ground are backed up by a wide range of equipment and supplies held in disaster relief stores. Royal Navy patrol craft are manned and engines kept running throughout the storm so that vessels are ready to respond at any time to calls for assistance.
For smaller-scale emergencies, the Royal Navy operates Hong Kong's only recompres- sion chamber to treat divers who have surfaced too quickly. The Navy also has its own Clearance Diving Team which can assist the police and the Fire Services Department in underwater tasks.
RAF helicopters are a familiar sight in the sky above the territory. Like the rest of the garrison, they work in close co-operation with the civil authorities on a variety of tasks which include moving troops or police on training or operations; fighting fires, particularly in the country parks; evacuating casualties, and providing Search and Rescue facilities.
Training
The garrison prides itself on being a well-trained and integrated fighting force and pays great attention to maintaining its military skills and standards. This involves a busy training programme throughout the year with combined exercises involving the three services and the Royal Hong Kong Regiment as well as Five Power Defence Arrangement exercises with the armed forces of Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.
Hong Kong lacks suitable areas for realistic training with some of the weaponry with which British Forces are normally equipped, which means that some exercises are held overseas in order to maintain a high standard of military skills.
Vietnamese Boat People
During 1990, the garrison continued to play its part in assisting the Hong Kong Govern- ment with logistical and technical support in dealing with the Vietnamese boat people problem. The western end of RAF Sek Kong continued to be used as a temporary camp and Lo Wu training camp was made available to provide further accommodation. The Army's landing craft were frequently called upon to move Vietnamese between locations.
The Garrison and the Community
While the garrison contributes to the well-being and stability of Hong Kong, the territory and its people also contribute in many ways to the efficient operation of the garrison.
Local people bring a wide variety of skills to the garrison, whether in uniform as a member of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps or the Chinese Naval Division of the Royal Navy, or as a civilian in a wide range of jobs. Local people are to be found working as drivers, medical orderlies and secretaries.
The motor cycle display team of 29 Squadron Royal Corps of Transport has thrilled audiences in Britain as well as the territory and locally-enlisted cooks with the Royal
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