ARMY LEADERSHIP AND REFORM

Southland Times, Issue 24828, 21 August 1942, Page 4

ARMY LEADERSHIP AND REFORM

Sir, —May I be permitted to congratulate you heartily on your splenflid leader, under this heading, in The Southland Times, on August 20. Unfortunately there are thousands of people in this country who, despite the many defeats we have already suffered, still do not realize what we are up against, namely, two of the greatest and most efficient fighting machines the world has ever seen. They still believe that Britain will “muddle through as she has done in the past. This will not do today, and one and all we have to get down to “tin tacks.” The first step in this direction is for every unit of the British Army to put its house in order. To do this we require no “yes-men, but Army leaders who are determined and capable and who are big enough to realize that the only thing that matters today, if we are to win a victory for a continuation of our present civilization, is that the Army must be brought up to the highest point of efficiency, and that to do so they must staff it with men whose social qualifications are not considered—only their ability, efficiency and quality of leadership. Further, they must see that every man is given the job that his civilian occupation best fits him for, and cut out our appalling waste of skilled manpower which is so apparent to members of the Armed Forces, the Home Guard and even plain “John Citizen. For example, they should eliminate such absurdities as carpenters working as cooks, chefs as carpenters, bricklayers as motor mechanics (while A grade motor mechanics remain in the infantry), and senior bank clerks wasting their time doing typing which could be done far better by girls of 16 There are similar instances by the hundreds. Altogether the misuse of our man-power, if it were not so tragic, would be laughable. One suggestion I nave to make is that the Army employ a few of our most successful business men, as the United States of America has already done. DIGGER.