Wairarapa Times-Age FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1942. YOUTHS AND WAR SERVICE.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 December 1942, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1942. YOUTHS AND WAR SERVICE.

AT the prize-giving ceremony of'Wellesley College in Wellington on Wednesday, the chairman, Mr 0. 0. Whyte, spoke of the interruption of studies by military service and suggested dhat a military unit should be established in connection with each university college; “I fail to see,” he observed, “why it should not be possible for a student to continue his studies and discharge his military obligations at the same time.” The formation of university military units may or may not be desirable, but there is no obvious reason why all lads who normally would be engaging in studies or useful civil training of any kind should not be permitted to combine these studies or training with a thoroughly efficient discharge of their military obligations. Although a. good many protests have been made at one time and another against the wasteful and demoralising methods applied to the military training of youths enrolled in the Army at the age of eighteen, no one in authority has attempted seriously to defend these methods. The reason, presumably is that.they are incapable of being defended. Facts which have been stated over and over again make it jierfectly clear that considerable changes in procedure are demanded in the interests of the Dominion and of its youth. These changes, however, are not being made. The only apparent explanation is that we apparently arc committed helplessly to what may be called fairly a rather wooden-headed routine. As policy stands, lads entering the Army at eighteen! are not called upon for overseas service until they have reached the age of 21. That is ,to say, t’hey enter upon a period of three years’ training, unless the Avar ends in the meantime, and during that period will not be employed on active service unless the Dominion is invaded. To suggest that the three best and most formative years in the life of the pick of our youthful manhood must, in the interests of national security or in any other interests, be spent exclusively in military training, is mere foolishness. It is in fact notorious that many of the youthful trainees in camp spend much of their time in wearisome and unprofitable routine and that time hangs heavily on their hands. At this late stage, belated and halting efforts are being made.to promote a scheme of Army education, including a certain amount of vocational instruction in part-time attendance at technical schools or by correspondence, but this represents only a small part of what might be done to make facilities for study and training available. An effective plan would be to allow lads of eighteen and upwards- to divide the year between military training and civil studies or training. 'ln this way military units could be maintained at all times at full, strength, one batch.of trainees entering as another left, and fully effective use could be made of the time made available for civil studies or training. Failure to adopt a common sense and practical procedure of this kind, where the training of soldiers under the age for overseas service is' concerned, is the least creditable feature of the Organisation of the Dominion for Avar.