BEST SIDE OF ARMY TRAINING

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 37, 7 November 1942, Page 6

BEST SIDE OF ARMY TRAINING

Visit To Mobilization Camp ALL FACILITIES USED FOR EFFECTIVE WORK

There is more than one side to the Army training picture in New Zealand. The worst was that state of affairs disclosed by a recent inquest in Auckland when it was shown that a recruit went on guard duty without any training in the handling of his. rifle. Another side of the picture was disclosed when a representative of “The Dominion” visited a mobilization camp in the Wellington district, where the records showed that 95 per cent, of passes are being obtained on a fullsized rifle range. Those who do not make the grade are given individual instruction from experts. A feature of this instruction is that the unsuccessful recruit has his faults examined and corrected well away from the rest of the men in the same position as himself; this gives him confidence. Those who do not improve after this type of instruction are unlikely ever to make riflemen. On the open ranges shoots are directed by loudspeaker and a man in any position on a particular range can be checked or corrected without any unnecessary rushing up and down by instructors. , . Squad drill is reduced to a minimum in this camp. Recruits get an hour a day and smarten up their drill by marching from one training circuit to another in the camp. Those past the recruit stage get two or three hours’ squad drill a week; about one-twenti-eth of their training time. Fieldcraft is given special attention and the time spent is not wasted. While the men at this camp do fieldcraft in wooded and open country, the basic lessons are the same for any type of terrain. After two or three weeks in this camp, troops can do a 17-mile route march without difficulty; out by road and back over country, some bush and mountain tops. A large formation recently did 22% miles at an average of 2J miles au hour, crossing hill country by road in the process. Attention to Feet. Men who route march need special attention for their feet and get it. In the shower-houses are 6ft. wide troughs with sterilized fluid which the men must, pass through before using the showers. The experience in one show-er-house where there was no foot trough showed the importance of this safeguard against “athlete’s feet.” Like other camps this one suffers from the interruptions of having to provide labour for wharves and so on. The staff officer in charge of training has not, however, held up his hands in despair. Instead, he plans his syllabus to cope with the effect of the interruptions. Only three days ahead can be so arranged for instead of the normal week. A man who misses a lesson one day through absence on a working party does not skip it and go on to the next without having a grasp of the one before. The syllabus is so arranged that he picks it up in the next threedav period, or the following week. Elementary night training is given much attention, including digging and wiring by night, and tactical schemes. The syllabus covers drill, rifle and bayonet, light and medium automatic weapons, and plenty of grenade and gas training. Among instructors seen at work were Alf Jenkins, the well-known physical culturist and trainer, and Cliff Porter, famous AU Black wing forward. Concentration is on basic section and platoon training in which a man must be thoroughly versed before he takes part in larger schemes. If he does not know his section or platoon job first, then he will be unable to. get a proper appreciation of his part in a bigger show. This is only applying the principle of not teaching a man to run before he can walk. Part of the hardening-up training is to put men through the swimming bath after some strenuous lesson and then take them on a warming-up lesson. Later they may learn to tackle the baths iu full equipment. From observations the results appeared to lie good. Certainly such a camp as this lias the advantage of every facility to carry out effective training, but the outstanding impression was the good use made of these facilities.