THE TERRITORIALS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 139, 4 August 1911, Page 3

THE TERRITORIALS.

METH’ODS OF TRAINING. (Concluded.) The lessons of discipline arc 1110 first that should do inculcated in tlio recruit : lio must !»c shown tiio necessity of it, ami that he must submit to’ it. When tin’s is accomplished, the restAvil! he easy. -One of tno first tilings that discipline will leach hint is steadiness in the ranks. !t is only thus; that ho can concentrate his; mind on his drill, and the more disciplined lie is the steadier and smarter lie will he. It is; the man with the wandering mind that looks about him when supposed to ho standi up at alien! ion, w ho shifts Ids feet and moves his hands—this man lias never learnt his first lesson, and will never he any good till he has. Senior Cadets. Those who are coneerned in the training of the eiii/.en soldier will Henceforth have then task lightened, compared with the difficulties tney had to Ural with in the past. They .will find that the quota ol first-year men —in other words, recruits-—will all be posted to their unit at one time, instead of dribbling in at all times of the year. In the years to come these recruits will be so far already ..trained, as Senior Cadets, as to be conversant with the elements of discipline, drill, physical training, and musketry. J Inis it will be found that the work of the instructors of the Territorial Forces will be •considerably lightened, do this end it behoves those who have the training of the Senior Cadets as their duty to realise the very serious responsibility which rests on their siiouldeis. The Senior Cadets ai a the future manhood of the nation, and it is to the lessons inculcated during those receptive ages between fourteen and eighteen that wo look for the formation of a character that will make cnein wurtJiy citizens and good soldiers. It cannot be .too forcibly impressed on those concerned with the training of the Senior Cadets that they w ill not only instruct them in t.lie elements of their military duty, out will also bring .them up endowed with such a spirit of. patriotism, discipline, sobriety, self-respect, and selfcontrol as will affect tliem in their after lives and,benefit their character and ability in whatever vocation they may embark. The training of the Senior Cadets is looked on as the most impoi taut part of the, defence scheme, it is maintained that , the mental, moral, and physical education of the Senior Cadets under a military organisation will improve the manhood of the nation, and it rests with their instructors to prove it. The training of the Senior Cadets in their military duties and physical exercises is to be of the most elementary nature, but what is required is that the grounding must he thorough in'all respects. It must be _ remembered tliat the better the Senior Cadets are trained the easier will be their task when they join the Territorial Forces, and the* chief lesson they must learn is that of discipline; it is the most important, and perhaps, with some, the most difficult, but the habit must lie acquired. ’ ! ■ As regards the musketry training of both Territorials and Senior Cadets, the Musketry Regulations will be taken as a guide, and a memorandum on the subject will be issued later. Gorcclissian, To sum up, the military training of the citizen soldier, from the time he commences as a Senior Cadet fill lie is passed to the .Reserve, is to lie progressive, and it is to (jq based on a tnorougli grounding in elementary' priiibiples. Ho must never be allowed In pass to a higher training until he inis mastered that which has gone before: only thus can' efficiency lie attained. Finally, company, etc., commanders must realise tbe serious responsibility that rests on them, of bringing all those" tinder their command to the state of efficiency required, and that by results their efforts will lie judged. Also, the fact that the immediate training of the personnel is delegated, in a measure, to their company, etc., commanders, does not reduce in any way the responsibility of commanding officers for, the efficiency of their units