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9. As regards the control of the defence arrangements, it would obviously be impossible to appoint two Commanders at an aerodrome, one for defence who would be responsible solely to Army superiors and one for air operations responsible to the higher command of the Royal Air Force. Their competition for the use of the common resources would rapidly produce chaos. Moreover, such an arrangement would be incompatible with the agreed principle (vide paragraph 2 (iv) above) that the Station Commander, who for reasons connected with air operations must retain all the ancillary services and material resources under his own control, will be responsible for the defence of his Station and will exercise command.
10. The Station Commander is, however, responsible to his own Service superiors for the conduct of flying operations and for the internal organisation and administration of his station. If, therefore, the local military commander were the authority responsible for controlling all arrangements for defence, the Station Commander would have to try to serve two masters whose wishes and orders might sometimes conflict. Yet, owing to the different systems of organisa- tion referred to in paragraph 6 above, no easy or rapid means of co-ordination on the higher levels of the two Services is possible. Further, in order to carry out their own responsibilities, local military commanders would have to be given. executive power of command over R.A.F. Station Commanders, including the right to remove from their appointments any Station Commanders with whose activities in the sphere of defence they were dissatisfied. Such an arrangement would not be acceptable to the Air Council, although they would, of course, have no objection to Station Commanders being placed "under the operational control of" the appropriate military commanders at a time of emergency.
11. Entire responsibility by the Army for the local defence of R.A.F. aero- dromes is not, therefore, feasible, and the transfer of the existing force of defence airmen to the Army, apart from any difficulties of administration and morale which would be involved, would solve none of the major difficulties resulting from divided responsibility," but would merely serve to perpetuate at all aerodromes the unsatisfactory form of organisation which already obtains at those which. have been given Army troops as the permanent nucleus of the garrison. Seeing that the aim is to avoid any form of shared control, the conclusion is that the Royal Air Force should itself undertake, in accordance with the policy laid down by the Army, full executive responsibility for the local defence arrangements at its aerodromes and that it should control all the personnel required for the purpose.
12.
Such an arrangement should not weaken in any way the position of the Army Commanders responsible for
area defence way the position of the The Air Staff fully appreciate that a military commander cannot disinterest himself from the security of individual localities within the area of his command merely because they are manned and defended by personnel under the control of another fighting Service. He must satisfy himself that any position which constitutes a potential "strong point" (or weak point) in his general dispositions for defence is adequately protected against surprise, and capable of holding out until he can despatch mobile forces to its support. He must also exercise general operational control in an emergency over all armed forces in his area, including the garrisons of all fixed positions. These requirements, however, can be met without the military commander being saddled with executive responsibility for every detail of the local defence arrangements.
13. The Army should therefore guide the Air Staff as to the policy and principles which should govern the local defence arrangements at aerodromes. Such guidance would then form the basis of instructions to R.A.F. Commands. Local military commanders should be empowered to visit aerodromes within the areas of their respective commands to satisfy themselves that defence is not being neglected, to give any tactical advice which may be required, and to report any serious shortcomings which they may discover. Finally, in the event of an emergency involving active operations by land in the vicinity, R.A.F. Station Commanders should come under the operational control of the Army Commander responsible for the defence of the area.
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