Q & A BRIEF
Q1.
Will there be any extra cost to the British taxpayer?
A1.
No: the Sultan will continue to pay the full costs of the
battalion stationed in Brunei.
Y
Q2.
Is there any possibility of reducing the number of Gurkha
battalions committed to Hong Kong?
A2.
No; under the Defence Costs Agreement negotiated between HMG
and the Hong Kong Government in 1975, three Gurkha battalions
are stationed in Hong Kong.
Q3.
A3..
Will the five Gurkha battalions be rotated through Hong Kong,
Brunei and UK?
Yes; in particular it is our aim to arrange for each battalion.
in turn to serve in UK where there are opportunities for all-arms
training not available in Hong Kong or Brunei.
Q4.
A4.
Do you still intend to amalgamate the two battalions of 2GR
and reduce the Brigade to 6000 when the agreement with the
Sultan of Brunei ends?
This will depend upon the defence requirements current at
the time.
Q5.
A5.
There has been considerable uncertainty over the future of
the Brigade of Gurkhas in the past few years. How has this
affected the Brigade?
To reduce the impact of the reduction to 4 battalions some
Gurkha recruiting is busy and undermanning has been permitted. However there-is' no difficulty
in recruiting Gurkhas, and the Brigade will be back at full
strength by 1980. The recruiting of British officers was
adversely affected by reductions in the Brigade in the
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