DEFENCE FORCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 187, 27 December 1912, Page 6

DEFENCE FORCE.

X 1N T |: MM'MISSTONS ' OFFERKD. KXCOrUAfiEMKXT TO WARRANT ; AXD 'XOX-COMS. H ha-j been decided, as a special measure, to: throw open nine commissions as lienteAa-nls in the permanent forces of the Dominion to warrant officers and staff sergeant-majors of the Royal-New Zealand! Artillery and of the New Zealand- Permanent Staff. Seven of these commissions will be in the New Zealand Staff Corps and two in the Royal Xew Zealand; Artillery. The reason for the adoption of this course is that it has been found impossible fojr the existing staff of -permanent officer* to continue to duplicate the duties of area officer and adjutant, as they!have hitherto had to do, till the first batch of cadets from the Royal Auslraljan Military College have graduated in jlill"). liolh the Government and the Defence authorities arc glad to have this opportunity of rewarding the senior .warrant and nou-commissioned officers of the : permanent forces for the good work done by them with the old volnnteers a'ml in the starting of the new Territorial force. The prospects of the cadets now under training for officers at the Royal Military College, of Australia will not be prejudiced by (he advancement of these warrant and non-commissioned officers to commissioned rank, as the latter are all men of such an age that they will, under !he regulations,' he retired'before there is any possibility of Liit-ii- blocking the promotion of Ihe cadets. There i> no intention, in the future, of departing from the rule, made on Lord Kitchener's advise, that the corps of officers shall be recruited by graduates of the Military College, for which the competitive entrance examination is open to boys of all (lasses between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. Tii - nine warrant and X.C.O.'s for commissions will be selected by competitive examination, and those desirous of competing should at once send their names to district headquarters. The examination will be held at Wellington about the middle of January, and will be of such a nature as to ensure that those candidates who are best fitted to be officers in a modern arm-» are selected, it will be conducted partly on paper and partly in the field.