QUICK CHANGE OVER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 August 1942, Page 4

QUICK CHANGE OVER

CIVILIAN TO SOLDIER. / FOUR WEEKS’ GROUNDWORK. When Mr Smith is metamorphosed into Private Smith the change is not a gradual one, for the Army today aims to turn civilians into soldiers in a month. It is not intended, of course, that the job shall be completed in that time, but the object is to give a man in four weeks a groundwork sufficient for him to make a good show if he were called upon to fight. In the old days a recruit would still have been on elementary parade ground drill at the end of a month. Now he has been put through company drill, musketry, field-craft and the like, and goes out grounded in essentials ready for more detailed training with his Territorial unit. Methods, of course, are constantly adjusted to the lessons learned in the hard school of actual combat overseas.

Changing civilians into soldiers in a month is an expert job, particularly in the case of the Central Military District Training Unit, which is situated in a camp well away from city attractions. The first task of the administrative ' staff is to convince the new recruit, who often arrives with a prejudice against the locality, that the modern facilities of the camp compare fairly favourably with the amenities of the home he has left behind him.

As much comfort as possible is accorded recruits when they arrive in camp, which is generally at night. After being checked in through the Records Office, and issued with bedding and blankets (six in winter months) and allotted to huts or tents, they are given a hot meal. The first few clays are devoted to fitting out the men with boots, clothing and equipment, putting . them through the Camp Dental Hospital to find .what dental treatment they require, and in completing the records. The administrative work involved in changing a civilian into a soldier goes far beyond the allocation of an Army number, because now as never before Pte. Smith’s health, finances, next-of-kin, behaviour and welfare are a matter of close official interest. Although he may think that in the Army he is but one of a huge crowd, in reality the new recruit is regarded as a very individual entity. He has to be treated as such, else he would soon be credited with the pay or debited with the crimes of some other soldier. Most of the recruits who pass through the Training Unit now are married men, and the whole business of pay and allotments is adjusted during their first few days in the Army. The Camp Pay and Records Offices handle everything in connection with these matters while the men are .in camp, and’are responsible for passing on the complete files of the trainees when the latter are dispersed to their field units at the end of the month. During the first days a man is in camp his height and weight are recorded. He is weighed again just prior to marching out at the end of the month, the difference in weight is noted and forwarded to Medical Headquarters foi analysis. In the majority of cases an increase in weight is shown. Where there is a decrease it is usually due to a man being overweight on arrival, and being trimmed down by the vigorous training, or on account of sickness.