MILITARY CAMPS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 August 1918, Page 6

MILITARY CAMPS.

CRITICISED BY DEFENCE COMMISSION. "Wo regret extremely that we liavo to adversely criticise the camps,'' the Defence Commissioners state, ''but the troubles that we discovered are not slackness, s loth or indifference, but arise from over zeal, lack of application, and perhaps not sufficient acquaintance with the march of methods during the years that this war has raged. The period occupied in training the Expeditionary Force in New Zealand is four months, it being preferred to train here and leave merely the finishing touohes to be applied at Sling and Etaples. On that we have nothing to say, because it is a matter of policy arrived at after careful deliberation- But we feel that we can safely say that we ttw nothing to make us believe that value was received for this long period of training; and we think that all tihait the men receive in the way of fitting them to go to war could be done, and done (better, in three months—a reduction in the present period of one-fcurtli. We examined a number of witnesses who had been in Prance, from full colonels down to sergeants, most of whom had been connected with Sling Camp, in England, in a training or an administrative capacity; and it was curious how unanimous they were in condemning the system followed in the training camps here. 'lt appears that the Army Council in England have kid it down that 14 weeks are required to make an English, soldier, from the time he joins up as a recruit until he is turned out a finished soldier- We can safely say that a New j Zealander is at least as bright as his English confrere; but he gets 10 weeks at Sling—provided that he is passed as competent when he arrives there —and a further period to finish him off at a training camp in France, the length of which is not clear. Surely the New Zealand soldier could do what is necessary in 12 weeks here, and, if given four weeks at Sling and the toppdng-off in France, would bo as fit as the English boy with the training he receives. But it is claimed by these officers who have returned after an experience at Sling that drafts arriving after four months'.training in New Zealand are not fully trained: and there were distinct variations in efficiency in each reinforcement they say, and in such cases all have to start off from scratch, because training at Sling does not permit of differentiation. The evidence was that the standard generally was found to be gsod, but some men in most reinforcements declared that they had never been through their musketry course, and had. only handled the rifle in an elementary way; and their work seemed to indicate that they were speaking the truth" Why the Commandants were not en-

trusted with all the responsibility of training at their camps the Commissioners could not understand, noT could they think that any business, whether for training of troops or anything else, subject to constant interference from outside, could be entirely successful. Oflicsrs charged with training here should h> sent abroad if they had not been there, so that they would be nroTe conversant with actual conditions, because tilings had changed since Wl4- Also mjeh could be learned from American methods of mobilisation and administration. America was close to New Zealand, and a few months spent there by New Zealand officers—for instance, commandants of camps—should be of enormous value to the Dominion in the future.

(Better oyjanisation would overcome

the migratory practice in connection with Trentham and Feathereton camps, which seriously upset all administrative work such a s records, pay, and Army stores.