NEW ZEALAND'S ARMY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 681, 27 June 1914, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND'S ARMY.

GENERAL HAMILTON'S REPORT. IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS General Sir lan Hamilton's report was presented to the Governor on Monday. Summing up the position, the General says that the army of to-day puts its best into its work, is well equipped and well armed, while the human material is second to none in the world. It suffers as a fighting machine only from want of field work and want of an ingrained habit of discipline. The first of these can. never, under the conditions of a citizen army, be made quite good, except by dint of war or by a period of embodiment made under stress of imminent peril. The second can and will be made -good as well-trained ieemits come on, especially when the captaina are more entirely responsible for the instruction of their own trained men. , The report deals exhaustively with the matter under the heads of "The Military Ifiptituiions of New Zealand," the main features existing in a scheme of headquarters; "The Organisation and - of Districts and Areas"; "The Organisation and'. Training* of ■* a Citizen Army," and "The Army .of To-day." Dealing with the training of a citizen army.the General declares that jnilitary training may be classed under two distinct headings" 1. The inBtructionh of the individual officer, non-commissioned officer and soldier. 2. The instruction of the squadron, company, regiment, battery or battalion, and of the larger bodies, brigades an divisio?is. After enlarging on the different scheu-es of training, General Hamilton gives his principals of training as follows:—1. Elementary individual training of both officers and men can be carried out separately, and a war analogy should be effected by expert, apart from unit. 2. a standard of efficiency is essential for a recruit, and be should under no circumtanres be allowed to take his place as -"trained soldier" in the ranks of his 'unit until, in the opinion of some high 'military authority, he reaches this standard. 3. Unit' training should be carried out in all its branches by unit commanders, without the intervention of specialist instructors. The more advanced instruction of trained soldiers should be regarded aa forming part of unit training. 4. The training of units and of higher formations should be progressive, leading in stages from company or squadron through battalion, regiment, and brigade up to a division of all arms. 5. The instruction of higher formations should be confined almost wholly to field operations, carried out over unknown country and aa nearly as possible under service conditions.