Timeline of Ulster Defence Regiment operations Most Ulster Defence Regiment operations were to assist the police by guarding key installations in Northern Ireland , and provide patrols and vehicle checkpoints on public roads to hamper the activities of paramilitary groups . The Ulster Defence Regiment was not permitted to engage in " crowd control " situations , due to the fear of pitting neighbour against neighbour . According to Chris Ryder in " The UDR - An Instrument of Peace " , this became more acute as Catholic membership dwindled in the regiment and the use of the predominantly Protestant force against Catholic protesters would have been singularly provocative . Additionally , Ryder notes , the regiment was forbidden from patrolling " hard - line Catholic " urban areas such as the Bogside in Derry or parts of west Belfast . As the force was initially predominantly part - time , the presence of its members was mostly felt during evenings and weekends . It was expected to answer to general call - outs and was mobilised on a permanent basis on several occasions such as Operation Motorman to provide manpower assistance to the police and regular army , and during the bombing campaign against Belfast city centre in January 1992 , when three battalion s were called to full - time active duties . Full - time call - outs were restricted , however , because problems arose with part - time soldiers when they were taken from their normal day - jobs . During the Ulster Workers ' Council strike in 1974 the entire regiment was mobilised full - time for five days . Many employers complained to local and provincial UDR commanders about being deprived of the services of their employees for so long and in some cases refused to pay wages . Despite negotiations with the Northern Ireland Office , no compensation package for part - time soldiers was ever agreed and on call - out they were reduced to the pay of a regular Army soldier of equivalent rank . As the regiment evolved into a predominantly full - time unit and with Ulsterisation it assumed more duties previously assigned to the police or regular Army in support of Operation Banner . By 1980 , the full - time element had narrowly become the majority and the regiment ' s role had expanded to include tactical responsibility for 85 % of Northern Ireland . Because UDR soldiers lived within their own communities and not in barracks they were also able to provide intelligence to the Army , particularly part - time soldiers whose day jobs often took them into places which were hostile to police or army patrols . Tim Ripley and Mike Chappell , in " Security Forces in Northern Ireland 1969 - 92 " ' , note this also made many soldiers vulnerable to attack : 155 of all UDR personnel killed by the IRA were killed off duty , a further 61 after leaving the regiment . A major advantage of the large numbers available to the UDR in each battalion area was the ability to seal off entire towns or rural areas through vehicle checkpoints ( VCPs ) , thereby preventing the movement of weapons and explosives . This led to the discovery of many weapons and bombs which had been intended for use in the destruction of property in town centres . At VCPs patrols would use the Vengeful system to check the registration numbers of civilian vehicles and record the movements of these and their occupants . Listed below is a chronology of Ulster Defence Regiment operations : 1975 . " The Provisional IRA ceasefire was in operation throughout most of the year " 1976 . " Ulsterisation and Operations Platoons were introduced in 1976 " In the first six months of the year , joint operations by 3 and 10 UDR recover 5 , 000 rounds of ammunition and 3 , 000 lb of explosives belonging to loyalist paramilitaries on the Ards Peninsula . 1977 . " The way Ahead "