DEFENCE FORCES

Evening Star, Issue 22441, 11 September 1936, Page 10

DEFENCE FORCES

PRESENT SYSTEM UNDER FIRE GRimiSM AMD SUGGESTIONS “As a serving officer I have nothing , to say at all, but as a taxpayer, a pri- ' vate citizen, and a father I am tempted to say a great deal,” said an officer of the Territorial Force to-day, i.hen asked to comment on the state of the Defence Forces. “It was most surprising,” he went on to find the Mmister of Defence saying that we had first to decide whether we wanted a -territorial Force or not.” The people had a moral responsibility to ensure those wfio would be asked to serve. would have the opportunity now to gain the experience and training necessary to fit tfiem for soldiering. The speaker went on to say that the infantry soldier of to-day had to _be highly efficient and specialised and led by leaders who had had years of training- Such expressions as “ W hen the time comes the men'will be there had been uttered by responsible citizens who should have known better, and made him lose patience. Any individual who sent troops, intq/battle without extensive training beforehand would be guilty of nothing short of murder. In some countries boys were being trained from the age of eight to make them fit for military service. They were being taught to regard the army as one of the ends and , aims of their , existence, and were proud of their association with it. In other words, in a few years time the whole man power of those countries would be semi-pr -fsssional soldiers.

“OUR AMATEUR STATUS.” “ We, on the other hand, intent on preserving our amateur status, look upon our armed forces as a necessary evil and something to be kept in the background as much'as possible,” said j the officer. “As a part-time soldier one cannot help feeling when in uniform that one is treated more or less as a joke by a large proportion of the populace.” That must be so, he continued, or the volunteer scheme would have been much more successful. It was the apathy on the part <•£ the people of the country which was responsible for the present position. The blame could not be piit on any'particular Government, and the saving officers could: at least give the present Government credit thinking seriously on matters of defence.

Asked fc. - some details of the operation of the present voluntary scheme, the officer thought that was information which should be imparted only to, say, a Royal Commission or a parliamentary committee of defence. Suffice it to say the scheme was not- successful. The best illustration he could give was to apply the test they applied to tactical problems when the question was asked: “How would this solution of the problem fare in actual war?” How, then, would the present Territorial Force, which was the direct result of the volunteer scheme, fare in,actual war? He personally had r.o experience of actual war, having been a boy ,at school in 1918, and, therefore, had to rely on those of hisi seniors who, had given him the training which he felt, was at present being denied to the young men who needed it most. Therefore, -the best answer to the question he could give was to reiterate the reply of Colonel L. M. Ingles, who was a born soldier and knew his job. His answer was that we might as well go down to the shore _and hurl pats, of butter at any invading force as attempt to resist them with the present Territorial Force. After all, the speaker did" pot think that the New Zealand public' deliberately send men to certain death, and he was sure it was only necessary to put the facts before the people to make them feel the necessity for giving the young men of the country the training which would at least ensure that they had a fighting chance of coming through if they were asked at any time to act in the defence of their country. SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS. Asked if ,he had any suggestions _to make as to how the military training of' the youth of th-> country could be better effected, tho speaker outlined the following scheme:—The, compulsory physical training of every man between the ages of 18 and 25. This could be done on Saturday mornings, he said, now that a large proportion 1 of them did hot- work on that day. The Territorial Force could still be on a voluntary. basis, but on a shorter term, and with more concessions in the way of pay and public recognition so that it would definitely be an advantage to a man to serve- as a soldier. The -Government should take the lead in establishing the prestige of the forces, and young men woufd feel it an honour to belong to a force of which the country was proud. In the meantime it was suggested by the officer that every man and woman should interest himself and herself , in the question of training those whom it was intended to ask to fight if that should be necessary. “ After all,” he concluded, “do any of us want our sons to go into battle against semi-pro-fessional citizen armies which have been trained from the age; of eight years after only three months’ training?”- I