§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average length of the term of duty in Northern Ireland of each unit of the armed forces during the past five years.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownIt would require disproportionate effort to provide this information in respect of every unit that has served in Northern Ireland. As a general rule, however, resident units serve 18-month tours and other units serve emergency tours of four months. On occasions temporary reinforcement units have been deployed to the Province for shorter periods varying from a few days to two months.
235W
§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the armed services of the Crown serving at present in Ulster are on four-month emergency tour; and how many are on a two-year tour.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownCurrently about one-half of the total Armed Forces personnel serving in Northern Ireland are on four-month tours and the other half are on 18-month tours.
§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total strength of members of the armed forces—excluding the UDR—serving in Ulster on the latest available date; and what was the equivalent figure in each of the last six years.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownThe present strength of the Armed Forces—excluding the Ulster Defence Regiment—in Northern Ireland is just under 16,000. Strengths at 31st December from 1970 onwards were:
Thousands 1970 … … … … 9.4 1971 … … … … 15.3 1972 … … … … 18.2 1973 … … … … 16.1 1974 … … … … 15.7 1975 … … … … 15.6