FULL TIME DUTY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 September 1941, Page 5

FULL TIME DUTY

FOR INCREASED NUMBERS OF TERRITORIALS PLANS FOR NEAR FUTURE. STATEMENT BY MINISTER OF DEFENCE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON. This Day. In a statement today the Alinister of Defence, Air K. Jones, said that last February the Government authorised the full time employment of a small number of officers and other rank's of each Territorial unit to form a cadre to cope with the increased training and administration of units. These cadres had done good work and, following' the advice of General Sir Guy Williams, the Government had decided that cadres for the larger units, such as mounted rilles regiments, t field artillery, regiments, medium artillery batteries and infantry battalions, are to be considerably increased. This will mean that about one-sixth of .the officers and other ranks of the units mentioned will be embodied for full-time duty in the near future. It is intended that the cadres, when formed, will be taken into camp, as soon as the necessary accommodation is ready for occupation, for special training, included in which will be courses of instructions at the Army School at Trentham and district schools of instruction. In order that units may keep a proportion of their best N.C.O’s. and specialists, to facilitate formation and operation of cadres, it has been decided that some men who are now, or will soon become, liable to be called up for overseas service will be retained with their Territorial units for some time: — (a) To provide a highly-trained and efficient nucleus of officers, N.C.O’s. and certain other ranks, including specialists and tradesmen, on which to build if mobilisation is ordered. (b) To provide an instructional staff for the training of new recruits for their respective units when they are assembled for collective training in camps. Unit collective training is now to be increased to two months’ camp training instead of two weeks, as previously prescribed. Mr Jones made it. clear that the new system of cadres will not disturb camp training at home centres, which will continue as at present, and will consist of sixty hours' training, divided into weekend training, half-day and evening parades to suit local conditions. Under the Amended Defence Emergency Regulations lately gazetted, attendance at camp and out of camp training is compulsory and men who absent themselves from parades and camps without leave are liable to heavy penalties. In order that unit administration and out of camp training may be properly carried out, arrangements will be made by units to leave part of the unit' cadre at unit headquarters, and these and officers and N.C.O’s. not embodied with the cadres, will attend to these duties. "From the foregoing,” .--aid Mr Jones, “it will be gathered that very shortly a number of Territorial officers and othei- ranks will be called up for fulltime duty. If the cadre system is to produce the desired results, it is essential that those officers, N.C.O’s., specialists and tradesmen who are required are made available for service. In this connection, the Government seeks the support and full co-operation of employers and asks that appeals be made only in respect of the most urgent and essential cases. As such service is considered of vital importance to efficiency of the Territorial force, it is being made compulsory, and no officer or soldier called up will be granted exemption except on the decision of a man-power committee.”