NOT FULLY TRAINED

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 192, 3 May 1918, Page 5

NOT FULLY TRAINED

STATEMENTS ABOUT DRAFTS OF REINFORCEMENTS THE REASONS EXPLAINED From time to lime, and especially since the Defenco Expenditure Commission lias been sitting, statements have been made that drafts of reinforcomeats have been sent out of New Zealand incompletely instructed in tho essential P«* « a a soldier's tion was raised when Colonel Gibbon was beforo the Defenco Expenditure ComnusThr<!:i wt ~,^=Ho« r y jnen vent away from New Zealand untrained or not fully trained :n musketry? fry who emlwrked from hew- Zealand Sfth the Twenty-fourth to T hirfreix } Reinforcements inclusive, 581 men did not fire their musketry course on the ?W» with the draft with which they embarked. Some of 11-cse iacn had, howover, fed with previous drafts, e.g..detention prisoners, men from hospital, etc This would reducb the numbers who d d not fire, Further, tho reports from which this information was taken wero compiled some days prior to emlwrkation and it was oflen possible to .tako out those men. But ««n full numbers, it only mounts to just over 3 nor cent. ~,'■' . "From the above 581 men did not go away quite untrained ..:n musketry, although they did not actually fiw on the tance It is not considered that a total of a ten infantry altogether has gone way Wth those drafts without some instruction in preliminary musketry, to regards men who have gone away partially trained in musketry, several drafts have been dispatched before due date, in order to mcit shipping requirements. Uso drafts which liave been Aort <nnnß to changes in establishment, shortages on mobilisation, and to sickness, isolation, etc., buTO been completed from junior drafts. In such' instances, musk"hT training has suffered m common tith other branchy o their training, but this was unavoidsvble under tho cirhave been mainly received pro cooks and company quartermaster-sergeants. Beinfornomont cooks have rm- ten rcnlac is far as possi!)lo br permanent cooks w l,«n ut the «reat difficulty is to find Where permanent nooks arc» short, men murt bo aken from the reinforcements. There is w> nlternative, as the men must bo leu. Sanv nuarlermaster-serfrcants aro ST'WiW found from returned men. S> two sources of complaint have, therefore, been met. ,