BEST LEADERS NEEDED

Evening Star, Issue 24332, 22 October 1942, Page 4

BEST LEADERS NEEDED

MEN UNDER 30 FOR COMMISSIONS '(P.A.) WELLINGTON, October 21. It was his personal decision, though tho practice was common throughout the British Empire, to limit the granting of first appointments to the commissioned ranks to men under.3o, said the General Officer Commanding-New Zealand Military Forces, Lieutenantgeneral E. Puttick, in an interview today. The rule was, however, not hard aiul fast. For instance, in an officer cadet training unit at present more than 30 per cent, of the personnel were over 30. All were selected under the present regulations, which gave senior commanders absolute discretion in the matter. It was .not the best of conditions, General Puttick said, to find a subaltern of 35 under a company commander of 23. Such disparity, could ■ not be avoided in the ranks, but it could to a large extent be avoided in the caseof officers. There were distinct advantages in having men under 30 as second lieutenants on active service. They had an extremely hard part, and at the end of the day, when the ranks were resting, the officer still had a lot to do. This called for special physique. An artificial bar had to be fixed,‘but these existed in all walks of life. The divisional* and district commanders, General Puttick added, were empowered to send men over 30 for training as officers, provided they had the same qualities of leadership, physique, and strength of character as the younger candidates. His aim was to get the‘best leaders, and no question of sentiment, economics, or other cri.siderations could bo allowed to enter into it.