to recruit company and platoon officers, scott-bowden and his subordinates were obliged to award instant commissions to people deemed suitable. the ideal candidates were sought in the usc, reserve forces, university officers' training corps and army cadet force. in various battalions officers of company and platoon rank could be found who had served in the usc, the regular and territorial army, the royal navy, the royal air force, the royal marines, the indian army and even the united states army. in addition to the problem of finding officers there had to be observance of the protestant/catholic ratio but by march 1971, 18 catholic officers had been recruited and the total number of officers was just enough for battalions to function at their current strengths. this rose to 23. all seven battalions were led by former commandants of the usc.