ARMY PROBLEMS! IN N.Z.

Southland Times, Issue 24881, 22 October 1942, Page 4

ARMY PROBLEMS! IN N.Z.

General Puttick’s Review

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, Oct. 21. Problems affecting the Army in New Zealand were discussed by the commanding officer, Lieuten-ant-General E. Puttick in an interview today. Lieutenant-General Puttick made plain his wish to do whatever lay in his power to make the public well informed within the limits of security about the Army, its achievements and its difficulties. Questioned whethei- New Zealand was not calling up more men than the population warranted, he replied that when faced with the possibility of invasion, especially by the yellow race, the only aim was the maximum. The alternative might be to bow to every Japanese. What direction the effort should take was a matter for the Government, whether on the service or the industrial side. The use of soldiers for wharf labouring, bridge building and strengthening, the preparation of fords, digging new tactical roads, the improvement of camps and so on was admittedly destructive of progressive training, but much of the work was directly or indirectly for the Army and the civil labour population could not fully cope with it. It was not always possible to see that all the men engaged on these works had already engaged in some form of soldier training. DEMANDS ON ACCOMMODATION The rapid expansion of the Army had placed such demands on accommodation that every camp had to be used to capacity and men were posted direct to units instead of first undertaking recruit training at special camps. The Army had to be ready for a surden break in the strategical situation which might endanger the country. The formation of labour units to make use of men not employed to the best advantage as fighting soldiers was under consideration, replied Lieuten-ant-General Puttick to a question whethei- such units would not solve the problem of calling on fighting units for labour jobs. Because of circumstances over which the Army had no control men had to be diverted from a permanent camp into which it was intended to place them to areas specially selected and to other sites suitable for non-permanent camps. These men had to do much work themselves in establishing the camps with the consequent minimum of training. There was no lack of desire or effort on the part of the Army to see the men comfortable, but with the tremendous demands on civil defence construction authorities all work had to be done on the basis of priorities. The shortage of civilian labour and of materials, as well as the distribution of the available labour, had to be considered. IMPROVED CONDITIONS

By next winter improvements should be effected in the types of open-air camps referred to. The men could expect roads and paths in the camps to avoid mud, dry living conditions, small huts (tents would probably remain in temporary camps) and a gradual improvement in the recreational facilities. Questioned about withdrawals from the Army, Lieutenant-General Puttick replied that in a period of three months 10,000 men had returned to civil life to re-enter primary and secondary industries. Many were out permanently to the extent that they would not return except in a crisis. The withdrawals would not have been so bad if all the men had had sufficient training before they went. Asked if a stabilizing point had not now been reached, he said he could not for the present see an end to the withdrawals. He had heard criticism of squad training, but his own experience was that it had a good physical and mental effect. When he returned from the Great War as a lieut-enant-colonel he did three months of it. Physically, it made a wonderful difference and mentally the effect was astonishing. It put a man properly ,on his mettle to be one of a squad facing a smart instructor and not lenowing what the next order was going to be.