THE ARMED SERVICES
Officer. The volunteers come from all walks of life and are of various nationalities, although over 97 per cent are Chinese. In May, a total of 124 recruits, of whom 15 were female, successfully completed six months' basic training.
The regiment is composed of four reconnaissance squadrons, a home guard squadron, a training squadron and a headquarters squadron. In addition, a women's troop with a strength of 60 volunteers provides support in various operational duties such as searchers and interpreters. The regiment also provides a junior leaders' corps of 300 boys, aged from 14 to 17, which provides training in youth activities and leadership.
The training commitment for each volunteer is two evenings and one weekend each month as well as centrally-organised regimental training, such as military courses, regimental camps and exercises. The camps, highlight of the year's training, normally take place over eight days each in April/May and October/November. For one of the camps, the volunteers are responsible for the Border - a commitment they assume from the Regular Army. In 1991, the Border Camp took place from May 18-26. A total of 62 illegal immigrants were captured by the volunteers along the Border.
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Each year, selected volunteers are sent for overseas training and on attachments in the United Kingdom. Officer cadets undergo thorough military training at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, before they receive commissions as Second Lieutenants.
In mid-June 1991, the regiment undertook the manning of a temporary Vietnamese Migrant Camp on Shek Kwu Chau, accommodating about 1 600 migrants.
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