TNAG-1154-FCO40-1434-Visits-by-Members-of-Parliament-(MPs)-to-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 35

८

IN CONFIDENCE

Monday 12th July

RAF SEK KONG

Group Captain Hives and his staff briefed the Committee on the role of the RAF in Hong Kong. The RAF's move from Kai Tak to Sek Kong had gone very well. With the new re-provided buildings, the unit was well placed to fulfil its role. The Wessex helicopter still served faithfully despite its age. Earlier problems with corrosion had been overcome by replacing the skin of the aircraft although the structural frame and cabling still needed attention.

The main role of the RAF was to support Army operations. It was an advantage to be located close to the Army Air Corps. The Squadron operated in the IS II role. The Wessex had a strong searchlight for catching boats crossing from China. The Squadron also had SAR and Casevac roles.

The Committee saw demonstrations with a fire bucket in fire fighting and abseiling.

FORCE

TRAINING DEPOT, BRIGADE OF GURKHAS AND HQ, GURKHA FIELD

The Committee next visited the Ghurkha Training Depot, also in the New Territories. As well as visiting some of the Ghurkas accommodation the Members of the Committee were able to sample one of the famous Gurkha curries.

There are 8,000 Gurkhas in the British Army under a tripartite agreement with India and Nepal (the Indian Army has 100,000), and the Hong Kong Government pays 75 per cent of all costs, even though two Gurkha battalions are stationed outside Hong Kong, The pay and pensions are still a strong incentive for Nepalese men to join the Gurkhas, and they are thus a highly motivated force- although one officer warned us not to suppose that loyalty to the British Crown was a factor of com- parable importance to the financial ones. This motivation is not substantially undermined by the fact that, for reasons of cost-effectiveness, the normal 'accompanied everywhere' rights of the British soldier do not apply and a Gurkha can only be accompanied by his family for three of his first fifteen years of service. Officers who had taken part in the annual recrui- ting exercise in Nepal said that the large numbers of appli- cants made it possible to set high standards in the careful screening process that went on and that the later drop-out rate was therefore extremely low. Despite the culture-shock of moving from Nepal to Hong Kong, the high self-discipline of the average Gurkha made him able to withstand most of the personal pressures which he faced.