PLAIN-SPOKEN REPORT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1970, 29 January 1914, Page 3

PLAIN-SPOKEN REPORT.

—* — —*- 1 • N.C.O.'s EXAMINATIONS. The report on the examination for first appointment to commissions in the Territorial Force- has row been issued. It states that, on the- whole, tho results of this, the first examination of noncommissioned officers for appointments to commissions in the Territorial Force, cannot bo regarded otherwise than as disappointing. The standard of education and military knowledge, necessary for an officer to possess seems to have been greatly underestimated not. only by candidates, but by those recommending such candidates as being likely to malts good officers. Out of 12-7 candidates actually presenting themselves for examination only forty-two managed to qualify. Examinations on the-. regulations 'and organisation discovered a superficiality on tho part of candidates—a knowledge of, the book without tho practical consciousness of how that knowledge is applied. The infantry training paper elicited, on the whole, littlo but the disappointing fact that the training manuals had not been intelligently studied. As to mountedrifle work, it is evident that, at least half tho candidates wero quito unprepnrcd. In many cases the papers of artillery and engineers showed moro promise, Manv of tho papers both in military and purely educational. subjects vvcr-e remarkaW© for. bad spelling, bad grammar, bad writing, and general untidiness. The questions Were not carefully Tend, and thero was too e-ftaii a tendency to irrelevance, It is plain that the etndidates are keen and earnest, hut thero is an absence of .thoroughness, a lack of method and. grasp. Tlie examiner of infantry states, in connection with tho first paner, that tho work was disappointing. Candidates in manv eases did not read the questions carefully, and certainlv did not consider them, before writing tho' answers. Study of that roost important, part of tlie iufantrv .training—viz., "Part IV: Infantry in Battle," lias' been overlooked. Six out. of eilslit question* were taken from that part of the hook. The writins and grammatical construction of the sentences was indifferent; tho sneHiii': iii some eases bad. "I,am of-opinion," lie says, "that, a great ,mnny of the candidates havtf.not, receifrtjd nny instruction in the sylMjns of. work. For the future it should he made compulsory for candidates to attend classes of instrustion.flranswor test papers by post, before sitting for this examination. Thero were several cn.«es of answers being placed out of order in tho Army' Book, and also writine in tho margin, ft. should b" impressed upon non-com-missioned- officers that they should enltivato the habit of oypressing themselves in a proper military fashion. It all goes to prove thai thero is not n prcat amount of time given, by the individual non-commispioner officer to the riding of the training manuals. I foe! sure that somo of t-h" candidates who pnt for this examination are in no wav fitted for "r>n>missi<Mfs from n" educational noint of view. Perhaps this was nvoyln"l;pd bv some officers commanding units." The results are as follow:—Out of ?\ c!\ndidat"s 43 nassed awl 38 failed. Twenty-six attained SO rer rctit. and under 60 per cent. ("fslr'V. fifteen attained 60 pr>r cent, and under *o per cent. ("r , ood"1; two attained 7-~ i>?r cent, and under _8" prr rent, ("vcry jroott"). No candidate obfaiitcd "exeeptional merit.'-'