DEFENCE CONTROL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 May 1938, Page 7

DEFENCE CONTROL

ORGANISATION OUTLINED BY MINISTER * > CO-ORDINATION OF THREE SERVICES. CLOSEST COLLABORATION ENSURED. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The system of administration for the three defence services —Navy, Army and Air Force —was referred to by the Minister of Defence, Hon F. Jones, when speaking at Dargaville last week. The remarks he made on that occasion were amplified by the Minister in an interview on Saturday. He explained the duties of the Council of Defence and the Organisation for National Security, and the policy adopted to secure the closest collaboration between the three services.

Mr Jones said an important development had been the establishment by the Government of a Council of Defence, consisting of the Prime Minister as chairman, the Ministers of Finance, Marine, and Defence, the chiefs of the naval,' army and air staffs, the Secretary to the Treasury and the Permanent Head of the Prime Minister’s Department, with power to co-opt other members of the Government if required. The duties of the council were to deal with all important matters of defence policy affecting the three services and to co-ordin-,ate the activities of each of them. Acting under the Council of Defence was the Organisation for National Security. It consisted of various committees which repo r t to the Council of Defence from time to time. These committees dealt with a variety of subjects concerning the national welfare and emergency precautions. For instance, the Emergency Precautions Committee dealt with earthquakes, floods, raids, epidemics, etc. Another committee dealt with transport, another with communications, still another with meteorological services, and so on. Each committee had a representative from the Government department concerned with the particular subject which it handled. The chiefs of staff of the three services formed a sub-committee of the Organisation for National Security to consider and advise regarding policy measures relating to defence. Last year it met 14 times and submitted a .number of valuable reports to the Council of Defence. As an instance of this, the chiefs of staff were directed to report on the question of further development of coast defences in the Dominion. This was formerly always a matter for the military authorities alone, but it would be obvious that the Navy and Air Force were also concerned in this question. This policy ensured the closest collaboration between the three services. Numerous meetings had been held over the past year by the various committees, their recommendations being placed before the Defence Council, which in turn submitted the result of its deliberations to Cabinet for final decision.

“The system I have outlined is working satisfactorily,” said Mr Jones, “and while it enables the Government to obtain the expert opinion of the heads of the three services in collaboration, it permits of myself as Minister of Defence maintaining the closest contact with the activities of the Navy. Army and Air Departments.”