administration, personnel support services Helicopters can land on five highways in Hong Kong to attend to road related recovery operations. For long-range search and rescue operations, the GFS initially use fixed wing aircraft which then guide helicopters to the location. Air ambulance service response time (type A+/A) – 20 minutes (within island zone) / 30 minutes (outside island zone) Search and rescue callout time 0700-2159 -(within 50 nm/92.5 km of GFS HQ) – 1hr / 1hr 40m (with additional/specialized equipment) Search and rescue callout time 2200-0659 -(within 50 nm/92.5 km of GFS HQ) – 2hr For SARs outside 50 nm / 92.5 km – add 30mins per 50 nm Fixed Winged Aircraft 0700-2159 – (within 50 nm/92.5 km of GFS)- 50m, (between 50 nm/92.5 km to 100 nm/185 km of GFS)- 1hr 5m, (beyond 100 nm/185 km of GFS)- add 15m per 50 nm. Current inventory Equipment and gear Standard equipment for GFS personnel is: Flight suit or jumpsuit Special operations vests (SOVs) – consists of a small oxygen tank (3 minutes of oxygen), life jacket, small survival/first aid kit. Helicopter helmet Walkie-talkie SABRE 7 (BE549) personal locator beacon Gloves Personnel GFS employs 335 personnel: 235 commissioned/disciplined personnel 100 civilian personnel Most of the pilots in the GFS were localised prior to the handover in 1997, as former RAF and other British military personnel departed Hong Kong. The GFS is led by a Controller, who reports to the Secretary for Security. The current Controller is Captain West WH WU. Other senior officers of the GFS are: Departmental Secretary Chief Pilot (Operations) Chief Pilot (Training and Standards) Chief Pilot (Corporate Safety) Chief Aircraft Engineer Uniform Operations uniforms: green Jumpsuit or separate Flight jacket and pants - pilot and aircrew blue jumpsuit or separate Flight jacket and pants - mechanics and engineers Dress uniforms: light blue shirt (short sleeve for summer and long sleeve for winter) with dark tie dress jacket and pants dark skirts for women sweaters for men dark windbreaker jacket for summer Peaked cap - male and female variations Rank Prior to the creation of the GFS, the ranks within the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force were the same as the RAF. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the transition to local staff in the RHKAAF in preparation for the civil transfer to the GFS role. Ranking of personnel of the GFS are civilian aviation roles and