Contingency Plan - Withdrawal of Canadian Signal Unit The Canadian Contingent continually impressed on HQ UNIFIL the requirement to replace CANSIGS by 1 Oct 78. UNIFIL, however, took little action until late July at which time an action request was sent to UN New York. In early Aug, UN New York advised that no other country would agree to provide an English-speaking Signal Unit to replace CANSIGS. Suggestions for an alternate plan were forwarded to New York in Aug. This plan was based primarily on requesting some of the contributing countries to provide regimental English- speaking signallers to man their rear links, (NORAIR, NORMAINT, NORBATT, IRBATT, FIJIBATT, and NIBATT). HQ duty officers would man operation centres. Those countries which could not provide English-speaking radio operators for their rear links (FRENCHBATT, FRENCHENGRCOY, SENBATT, IRANBATT, and NEPBATT), would be assigned teams of newly-recruited UN civilian field service radio officers. The remaining functions of SDS, switchboard, line and telecommunications maintenance were to be handled by appropriate UN civilians. Ireland agreed to provide a CSO to co-ordinate the operation of the resultant organization. Although recruitment of UN civilian radio officers was slow, and newly arrived radio officers had to undergo equipment and procedural familiarization training, most language barriers were overcome to a degree and all communications were handed over on 1 Oct 78.
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