THE MUSKETRY MARK.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 33, 9 February 1916, Page 3

THE MUSKETRY MARK.

OF NEW ZEALAND SOLDIERS. A TRIBUTE FROM EG,YRT. The Minister for Defence has reeoiv- . od from Lieut.-Colonel Rhodes a communication bearing upon the standard jof proficiency reached by our troops j abroad. The reference is the opinion j expressed by Major-General Spens, ofj ficcr in charge of the training in Egj^p* !of the Australian and Neev Zealand . forces. In his letter to the Minister, | Colonel Rhodes said: — “General Training.—One gratifying I thing General Spens told me Avas that the training of our own troops Avas very much more advanced than the training of —• —. “Artillery Training. The training of the sth and Gth New Zealand Batteries was very satisfactory. The training of reinforcements has suffered from lack of guns, equipment, and particularly instruments for th e training of specialists. “Details of the 2nd Ncaa- Zealand | Mounted Rifle Brigade Avill l for the absent continue to receive and train their j oavu reinforcements. “In the ease of the Ncav Zealand j troops a much more level standard of j four months’ training had been reach- j ed. and by means of the syllabus of training laid down by the General ! Staff in New Zealand, a copy of Avhich was forwarded to me, and the fact that practically all reinforcements had already fired both table A and table Bin Ncav Zealand, it has been generally possible to carry on tbeir training here from the point of which it had ceased before arrival in Egypt. . . . Reinforcements from NeAv Zealand, on the other hand, hgve in almost all cases fired both table A and table B courses before leaving New Zealand, and when this, has been done, the standard attained has been found so high as to warrant the elimination of further | range instruction from their course of | training in Egypt.”