Rawlins retired from the army as a brigadier in 1976 but was brought back to command, as a major general, the newly formed Guard Force.

Rawlins left the army in 1979 as the Rhodesian Bush War was drawing to a close and ahead of the territory's transition into Zimbabwe.

His commander had wanted the unit to wear ostrich feathers in their bush hats (which had previously been plain) but this had been vetoed by the British Army as they were worn by the 1st (Nyasaland) battalion of the King's African Rifles.

Because of a lack of expertise on local practices in the army and British South African Police he proposed that psychological warfare units be established to be assigned to individual operations.

In a memorandum addressed to the Rhodesian Army's chief of staff, Brigadier Keith Coster, he recommended swift and offensive action against the guerrillas to prevent them building up strength and proposed the improvement of intelligence, communications and logistics arrangements.

[5] Following experience in August-September 1967's Operation Nickel Rawlins ordered the School of Infantry to research how tracking skills could be taught to the army.

This was a mixed-race unit formed to defend the protected villages established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to separate the rural population from the ZAPU and ZANU guerrillas.