"WANT'-OF SNAP"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 270, 3 August 1918, Page 8

"WANT'-OF SNAP"

WHAT THE DEFENCE COMMISSION SAW

i ,<?ULL DRESS PARADES-AND i MOTHER TIMES r '{.■;:,;■;i : m TRAINING PERIOD. : ■ '- : -' : /- '•. : ;' SOME RADICAL SUGGESTIONS. •..-. .The military , camps ara criticised i ■ frankly by the Defence Expenditure Com- . . n-.issioners in their report. I'ollowing are their comments;— i- "There are Mr standing camps for 'training the Expeditionary Force— (1) i. Trentham, with accommodation for -1000' ' trainees; (2) Featherston, with nccommo-1 : . dation for 7000; total, 11,000; (3) Awupuui, !. ..a small camp for training necessary ! medical section; (i) Narrow Neck, Aiaori ; " Contingent camp. , ; . "There are in addition anything up lo :" 2000 men in the two main <-amps—training staff, homo service men,- medical and ; . other establishments. This would make i. <v total'for.'the two big camps of 13,000; ' /.but the Camp Commandants wero clear . that to get that number into them would' mean a very tight squeeze indeed. Howr ; ever, as that total has nev'er been atlnin- ! : e'd,' and is not likely to be, (hat need not ;'■' . trouble. The capital invested in the : . camps- is. about X'aOO.OCO. ■ : '."Awapuni impressed us most favour-. ' , ably; itseemsto be run with, a minimum ;. of friction. • At first sight it seemed as ' ! though a, small camp like that would be .', more economically worked if attached to T one of the larger ones; but the cost is '" ' ■' small, and the reputation enjoyed is so j. . ..satisfactory that it would bo a pity to ' ' interfere with itl Also, we incline to ;, : think' that its smooth and efficient run- :'. ning is assisted by the fact that it is ■ sufficiently far away from Wellington >' to prevent constant interference from •'■ General Headquarters. ;,'■' -, ...... Tho Camps Revisited. ;_,..._-.-"In commencing , our labours weaccept- : ed an invitation to visit Trentham Camp, i and did so on the occasion of a. draft being reviewed by Your Excellency before it left. Everything was done smart- ;' ly; the whole camp looked well; and the : impression made on our minds was most > favourable. Similarly, shortly afterwards we accepted an invitation to inspect. Fea- ■ ~ therston- Camp. Wo were there' only a ' few. hours; but the impression left on 1 tho mind -was thdt it,was a 'full-dress i 'parade/-and.that it would be tetter to visit the camps more at leisure. So we '<-.■' decided to live in the camps a few days, ' and simply poke about on our own aci' count wrtnout anybody, from' General !..- Headquarters there at all. We were received by the Commandants and their ,; officers' with the greatest courtesy and '■ ' -frankness, .and .we saw the- 6ystom> of '' rationing, storekeeping, accounting, and i distribution as applied to their everyday ' life.- We ; were everywhere assisted with- ' , out let or. hindrance; everything was done to facilitate, and nothing , to retard. ..' .r "While there was much to adnnro.m ■ the camps,-the impression left on the '/ mind after living in them was very <ut- ''■■■' feient from that conveyed on the full : dress' occasions referred to,' and the * shortcomings plainly arose fro'ntoo much i siirsing of; the Commandants and other . iesponsible officers. : f, "Oui position with regard to. theso ■ camps,we felt was delicate, as wo wero r 'not concerned with tho training of •■' troops. We had only to do with expenso ' and ■ cost; but they touched so often in an . intimate way with training that it could ; not /be. excluded altogether, i -"We Tegret extremely that we have to ; adversely criticise the camps ;j but the troubles that we discovered are not slack-_ 1 'ness sloth, or indifference, "bufarise from : over-zeal, ■ lack of application of true : .priflciples of organisation, and _ perhaps ! not sufficient acquaintance with the ' march of methods during the years that ' this'war has raged.- ..'■_. :' : '. -....■ ! T'.'Thn period occupied in training the Expeditionary Force in New Zealand is 1 four months, it being preferred to .train ':' here and leave merely the finishing '• touches to be applied at Slin» and : . Etaples. On that we have nothing to '■ say,- because it is a matter of policy i arrived , at after careful deliberation. ' ' Bui we feel that wo can safely say that 1 We saw nothing to malco tjs believe that ■ value was received fon this long period '■'■ of-training; and we think that'all that . the iden''receive" , in tho way of 'fitting < them-to go to war could be done, and done' better, 'in three months, a reduc- ■■■ tion.in the present period 'Of one-fourth. / r Officers From the Front. : . ''"We examined a number.of witnesses iwho had been in Trance, from full col-. '• ohels down to sergeants, most of whom ■ had been connected with Sling Camp in : England in a training, or an adminis- : , trativo capacity; and it was curious how • '-unanimous they wero in condemning the - system followed at the training camps hero. It appears that/ the Army Council ■ in England have laid it down that'four? : . teen weeks aro.required.to make an Eng- ; lish. soldier, from the time ho joins up i ae a iccruit until he is turned out a fin- : ' khed soldier.- -AVe can safely sny that a ' 'New Zealandor is at least as bright as i ;iis English confrere; but ho gets sixteen. i iweeks in Now Zealand, and from four j to-six weelcs at Sling—provided that ho ' is passed as compotont when he arrives : there—and a further period to finish him ' off at-a training camp in France, tho ■■ -length of which is not clear. Surely tho '.. New Zealand soldier could do what is ■ ! necessary in twolvo weeks here, and, if • given four weeks at Sling and .the -top-;,ping-off in ITrance, would.be as fit as ':. the English boy with tho training he re- ; ceives. r.: "But is is claimed by these officers ■' -who have returned after an experience ; at-Slinj that drafts arriving after four , months' training in Now Zealand are not • fnlly. trained; and thero wero distinct variations in efficiency in each reinforcement they saw, and in such cases all '-, have to start off from, scratch, because :'■-training at Sling does not permit of differentiation. Tho evidence- was that the , standard generally was found to bo good, ■ but eonie men in most reinforcements'do- . olaretl that they had never been through their musketry conrso, and had o'nly '■•. handled the riflo in an demontary way; , and their work seemed to indicate that ' they were speaking tho truth. This is : confirmed by w report from ' Bnoadier- . General George,H.- Bichardson, General ■ Officer Commanding New Zealand troops in Great Britain, No. 22,, dated September 23, 1917, the following portion of which vug. f|iioted by the Chief of tho General Staff in his evidence-. 'The ■ period of training of reinforcements at Sling is one month, but latterly "renter numbers have been -arriving with very fiTtle training, and will thoro- : fore have to bo kept in England for fourteen we«ks to -undergo- thoir cnmpleto ' coDi-se." To justify this the Chief of j the l , General Staff explained that it is often necessary at the Inst minute, in order to fill a transport with troops, to make up with a portion having had lees training; (hat weak link, therefore, spoiling tho strength of the whole chain. : The C.G.S. "The Chief of the General Staff Rave an excellent reason for training men here—namely, to save the consumption *-of Tations badly needed for troops, or inhabitants, of European countries; but the inclusion of that weak link in the chain kings tho good intention to nought. The Chief of tho General Staff explained that his connection with the two ■ main camps is a dual one—(a) As Chief ! of the General Staff; (l>) as responsible : officer in charge of Featherston and ; TrenSiam Camps. ' Tfe said, "I. accept / full responsibility for the control of tho camps,, and for the action of Ihe camp staffs and reinforcements." The motif of his. evidonco was that everything in ' these camps was entirely satisfactory, ' that nothing was wrong, and that nothing could be mado better. Quite certajn it is that ho gives infinite time, - patience, and labour to his work; but it "is difficult to think that camps could i be'satisfactorily 'conducted when tho ' maimnvcharge, 'Who"does'-not live jn ; either'of.them., finds it necessary to visit !. each camp twice each week, nnrt to per--1 fionallylook after everything done, \ '■*' the Commandants. ■ -'.'The suspicion left in our minds, after

hearing that this strenuous work and attention to details on his patt were' absolutely necessary, was that the Commandants were under par; but on being interrogated as to whether this was the case the Chief of the General 'Staff disclaimed any such belief, and said, "The officers are anything but fools; they aro excellent men." . "The Camp Commandant at Trenthain is a regular soldier, and he is disappointed at not having had a chance to go away to the war; but his ago and status would probably make it difficult to find a, suitable place for him tliere. Ihe Camp Commandant at Featherston has had long experience hero and in England, in volunteer-and Territorial forces, and is medically unfit to go; but no also has proved his anxiety to get Uway. These officers have no responsibility whatever for the training. Their responsibility begins.and ends in seeing that the syllabus kid down by the Chief of the General Staff is carried out. They may hnvo to do with the quantity of work done by instructors, but nothing whatever with the quality. They have,-therefore, nothing to do with the .efficiency of trainees, or with the sufficiency or suitability of the syllabus of training; thus there is no emulation between these camps—and healthy competition between training camps is an end much to bo desired. "The Commandants receive l in pay and allowances nearly JOOO n. year each, but as training is the :nain business of a camp, and they have nothing to do with it, their time is occupied in comparatively unimportant work. We feli, when they came before us as witnesses, that tliei'r position was awkward, as we had nothing to do. with the system or the quantity of training given m training, i,nd we therefore refrained from asking many nuestions that wo would otherwise hove" put to them. But- we asked them bluntly | did they feel competent to take any re- I sponsibility of tlie training at' 'their camps, and they at onee said 'Yes.' thus endorsing the high opinion the Chief of the General Stuff expressed about them. Why they aro not entrusted with this we cannot understand; nor can we think that any business, whethet for training of troops or anything else, subject to constant interference from outeide, can be entirely successful; also, if troubles or difficulties ariso in these camps there is the probability of repetition of trouble previously experienced- in the Dominion through division of control and vagueness of responsibility. .. Suggestions, ! "Expert witnesses from abroad pointed 'out that at Sling Camp instructors were changed every six months, fresh men being brought from Franco with the latest ideas, because the iraiuing chaDgcs frequently in most subjects—not usually In vital points, but in small matters which mako all the difference in.fighting efficiency. And they were quite unanimous in declaring that the system of administration in the camps here was too centralised and expensive. Hero the camp organisation is concentrated, so that Brigade Headquarters has to do all the detail work of the whole. A Camp Comma idant said ho was often engaged on orderly-room detail all day. At Sling and other training camps abroad the work -s decentralised into the battalion system, so that it k distributed, and the.work io done in 'a fraction of the time now consumed. Witnesses ascribed the slowness and want of 'snap' in the camps here to undiio interference irony Genoral Headquarters,, and want of direct control. TJnder the battalion system in force in England and elsewhere, emulation is especially encouraged and is very keen. What Happens Abroad. "The Chief of (the General Staff expressed the decided view that New Zealondcrc \iieeded a M of trailing before 'they could bo safely shipped, and if they were shipped off from nere after, suy, a month's training, they-would be 'a disorganised mob.'.. He was emphatic that men should be inuned here, as perhaps on arrival at the other side they might be rushed into the h'ring-line, and instanced Gallipoli as a ptece where that actually occurred. A few men may have been sent into the firing-line in that way, but that was three years ego, riud certainly troops are not sent into the firingline in Franco without fulfilling their musketry and other courses; and whatever else a man may be ignorant of, ho has to understand how to shoot. His a curious thing that some officers m high positions here <io not fully undeistand the difference between going to Franco and going into the firing-line. Tlie troop.? are most closely examined at the I'rehch base depot at Staples, Lu Havre, or elsewhere, and, if neoessnvj, polished up beforo they are allowed to got to the war area. "The contention of the Cnief of tho General Staff' was that the voyage of two months to the United Kingdom exercises a deteriorating offeel on disviplme, and if the standard uf discipline inculcated by four months in ciuilp here wcto lower tho deterioration would be even greater and more 6erious in its' aftereffects. , ' " ■ "It would be interesting to know how much sooner troops from Sew Zealand, who,undergo four months' training here beforo embarking, go tnlo the actual lit-ing-line than troop 3 from.any other Dominion, shipped usually within a few days of thoir joining up, 'jnd Teceivii.g the whole of their training: abroad. The Cost. "The cost of training a man here, in pay, food, and other expenses, is 10s. per day, exclusive of separation and other allowances for married men. In his civil occupation his v«,luo is at least 10s. per day, so that his cost in camp and the loss of the services of eucn soldier to the country total £i per day. Tho avorago number of men shipped from New Zealand , per month has been 2000. Taking the average in the future ut only 1000 per month, each man of which costs ofttO for a.month, the leduciion of tho training here even from four to threo months, which under.an improved system could easily be donej would mean i! 30,000 per month, or JiSCO.OOO per year, as each man .could be allowed a month longer than at present in his civil occupation before going into camp. Better Organisation Needed. "Leave is liberal, but that is natural and need not bo altered. , Better organisation in the camps would allow this to continue as at present, and utill make fine saving time. "Tho Chief of the General Staff said: 'All ■ ineu, irrespective of previous experienco -other than at the front during the present war, have to undergo the same period of training in our camps.' At first blush this seems unfair to, or a reflection upon, the Torrilorinl baining; but, if it' meantf that the Territorials aro used as a stiffening for others who have lacked that experience the system seems sound. Are We Up To Date? "We fear that there is nut sufficient knowledge here of exactly what g'oe.? on in the- training grounds in England and Prance. The officers charged with training hero should bo sent abroad if they have not been there, no that they would bo more conversant with actual conditions. However able and experienced a man may hav'o been in 1011, things have changed and training methods have advanced so much during the four years of- tho most bitter fighting the world has ever known that ft man here charged with tho duties of training who has not had tho opportunities of studying these new methods at first hand is at a serious disadvantage. -Also, much could be learned from American methods of mobilisation and administration. The national pride thefe is stirred, find they are choosing the best points from all countries,, leaving no etono unturned to assimilate the best methods. America is close to New Zealand, and a few months spent thero by New Zealand officers—for instance, commandants of camps-should bo of enormous value to the Dominion in the future."