MILITARY NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 142, 15 June 1917, Page 8

MILITARY NOTES.

(By "RIFLEMAN.") A staff "refresher" course of instruction will be held at Narrow Neck camp between July 3 and 14, and a similar course (voluntary) for' officers and N.C.O.'s of the Territorials and Senior Cadets will be held there from July 14 to 28. Applications from N.C.O.'s desirous of sitting for examination for first appointments to commissions, and from officers wishing to be examined for promotion, should be forwarded to District Headquarters before June 21. The date of the examinations will be announced later. The following.N.C.O.'s of the 3rd Regiment passed the recent examination for the ranks mentioned:—Sergeant: J. A. Hodkinson, S. A. Flvger, R. W. F. Sanft, C. C. Turner, H. Ashworth, T. H. Coleman, W. J. Rogers, W. McCullagh, T. C. Thomson, N. H. I—.yrier, G. S. Howard. Corporal: J. i>. Reeves, TI. T. Dagnall, R. H. Noall. The first sitting of the No. 1 Group Posting Committee was held this morning, when a considerable amount of work iwas got through. Other meetings will be held later, and it is expected that the postings will be completed well before the end of the month. Subsequently the Group Office will have to make out an elaborate set of returns, allowing the classification of all Cadets due for transfer in a number of different categories. This work is expected to occupy Home further time. Boys attending schools having cadet companies of their own, it may be explained, are not transferred at this time of year. Those who reach the age of 18 are retained as Cadets until they leave school (usual!}' at the end of the civil year). Strange to say, the number of Cadets due lor transfer to the-Territorials this year is much less than last year, the total number in the Auckland group being about 1,500 — something like 300 less than last year. The deficiency might he attributed to the medical examination, but. as a matter of fact, the medical standard this year is very good, and far fewer C_dcts have been rejected than ever before. The real cause is declared to lie in the fact that lads born in 1899 are due for posting to Territorials this year, and the number of boys born in New

Zealand in 1S!»9 was considerably less than the number born in 1898. Why the drop occurred tlie group officials do not attempt to explain, but it seems likely that the different Territorial units will not get all the recruits they want. If this proves to be the case, it will be matter for some regret, because all units wish to start the Territorial year with complete establishments, in order to compensate for the certain departure of men r.aching active service age.