DEFENCE INQUIRY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 57, 23 February 1918, Page 6

DEFENCE INQUIRY.

TRAINING THE OVERSEAS FORCES. DEFECTS OF THE SYSTEM. UNSOUND AND COSTLY. *By Telegraph—Press Association.) PALMERSTON N., this day. The Defence Expenditure Commission continued its sitting to-day. Colonel T. W. McDonald, of the Wellington District Headquarters Staff, gave evidence regarding the training of the Expeditionary Forces, and gave it as his opinion that the training period could be reduced by about one month. Ho considered that the present system of sending all men of a draft, from each district, into the Expeditionary Force camps on the same day unsound in principle, unnecessary for efficiency, and extremely expensive, for the following reasons: — (A) It places the Territorial of at least seven consecutive years' training on the same footing as regards training as the civilian who haa never done any training, a position which is quite illogical. (B) There are two categories of territorials who enlist in expeditionary force: (1) Those in first division of 20 years (who have performed ten consecutive years' training in territorials and cadets), and (2) all members of second division between 20 and 25 (who have performed seven years' training in territorials and cadets). (C) From this it is clear that no territorial enters the expeditionary camps with less training than seven years. (D) To give the same training for these territorials as civilians who have never trained forced us to admit either (a) the territorial system .as an effective war system lias been absolute failure, and that the £3,500,000 which it has approximately cost might have been equally well thrown into the sea; or (b) the present system of giving territorials and civilians the same period of training in camps is wrong and unnecessary. (E) If we admit the failure of the Territorial training system, the sooner the system is abolished the better, but ii we admit its success we must also admit that the Territorials do not require as long a period of training as untrained civilians, and the sooner we set about reorganising the Expeditionary Force training system the better. (F) He could not see tho question admits of any argument, as common sense shows that a partially-trained man requires less training than a totally untrained one, unless the partially- -* trained man has been trained on wrong lines. If so, let us be frank, and admit it, and abolish the costly system at once. (G) He was strongly of opinion that the period of training of Territorials who join the Expeditionary Force after their seven consecutive years of training should in New Zealand camps be reduced to two months. On the assumption that the number of Territorials who enter the Expeditionary Force camps is 8,000 (4,000 leis than entered 1916-17) we shall, by reducing the training by two months, effect a saving of no less than £168,000 per annum in future, and by failing to do this in tbe last three years, the cost to the country was the large sum of £504.000. (H) If we add to the above a reduction of one month in the peried of training in New Zealand camps for the remaining 7,000 civilians who join the Expeditionary Force each year, there will be a further saving of £73,530. (II From the above it will follow that the Territorials of each draft would not be required to enter camp until one month after the civilian portion goes in. On tbe arrival of Territorials in camp, they and the civilians would be on about the same footing as regards training, which would go on progressively for all. (J) In addition to the huge saving in the cost to the Defence Department one must consider the increased national efficiency which would result from tbe two months which the 8000 Territorials and the one month which 7000 civilians would be able to devote to production.