Editing Ulster Defence Regiment (section)

===Ulsterisation===
During the 1970s, the British government introduced the Ulsterisation policy in Northern Ireland, which called for the disengagement of non-Ulsters troops from the region and replacing them with the UDR and RUC. This was done as British policymakers perceived the death of soldiers from [[Great Britain]] to be far more consequential in terms of British public opinion than what could be portrayed as "Irish people killing and policing Irish people".<ref name="Neumann">Neumann, Peter R. "The myth of Ulsterization in British security policy in Northern Ireland." ''Studies in Conflict and Terrorism'' 26.5 (2003): 365–377.</ref><ref>Ellison: Smyth, 2000, p82</ref> The term "Ulsterisation" was coined by the media. The then Assistant Chief Constable of the RUC, [[Jack Hermon]], summed it up when he said, "Ulstermen need to learn to live together and be policed by Ulstermen. If they have to kill, let them kill each other, not English soldiers."<ref>Potter p167</ref>

A report commissioned in 1976 recommended:
* An increase in the establishment of the RUC and RUC Reserve
* Creation of RUC "mobile support units"
* An increase in the conrate establishment of the UDR so it could take over from the regular Army
* A 24-hour military presence by the UDR

The scheme was hampered by the shortfall of conrate officers in the UDR who could take on the role of operations officers. It also placed heavier demands upon senior NCO "watchkeepers" in the operations rooms, or and communication centres (comcens).

The main outcome of Ulsterisation was the creation of the "Province Reserve UDR" (PRUDR) whereby each of the 56 available companies would take it in turns to operate anywhere in the province, although in practice this normally meant in South Armagh.<ref>Potter p148</ref>