TERRITORIAL TRAINING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 86, 11 April 1922, Page 7

TERRITORIAL TRAINING.

THE NECESSITY FOR CAMPS. ] I MEANS FOR GAINING EFFICIENCY.! Owing to the need for economy the Government considerably reduced the i Defence vote this year, and this has meant that Territorial camps have been cut out. and with them has disappeared one of the most important means of . attaining efficiency in the training of the j New Zealand youth. | It is now suggested that an effort : should be made to promote the holding ! of camps for a week or a fortnight on j the basis of the employers paying the ', Territorials during their absence and the. ! Government finding the equipment and . making a grant of a lump sum towards ' other expenses. i This idea was placed before Territorial officers in Auckland this morning, and they were strongly in favour of camps. They pointed out that in the j old volunteer days there was no doubt j that the men learned more from a week or a fortnight's encampment than in 1 attending evening parades. The whole j syllabus was gone through, and even | shooting was carried out. Besides the men. the officers got a great deal better ] training, and learned to handle large j bodies of troops v'ith confidence and cer- j tainty. From a social point of view I alone the old volunteer camps had many j attractions, and to old ''campaigners*' : they brought back memories of many; happy days when each took a pride in j his company and endeavoured to make it the best in the battalion. j From a training point of view camps j were the surest means for reaching ; efficiency I An officer who was present at the Waiuku Mounted Rifles camp last week j stated that every man in the squadron paid his own way, and the work accom- j plishcd during a week was reflected in the efficiency of the unit. Camps were most necessary if mounted troops were j to be brought to a proper state of efficiency. j "It seems a pity." said a Wellington j citizen to a "Dominion" reporter last j week, "that promising material like the j young fellows between IS and 21. who i have come up from the Senior Cadets ripe for training should be discouraged.l and it is necessary that something should be done to counteract the laissez-faire doctrine of some of the officers and to evolve the "punch" necessary to an efficient force. The demands made on the time of members of the community by our national system of training have' been greatly lessened by the reduction I of the age of compulsory service from 2.3 ' years to 21 years, and this step makes' it all the more necessary that those who j spend time in the Defence forces should j be encouraged to make themselves thor- | oughly efficient in their training as well j as strong and healthy members of the | community. This cannot possibly be j I accomplished by a few weeks' or a few ! i months* training in camp in one period | |of the year, as it would soon be found j I that the trainee had forgotten all about! j his work by the time the next year came i round. The idea of voluntary camps at a suitable period of the year is well i worthy of careful consideration, and it , ii to be hoped that steps will be taken ; |by those especially interested in our; ! citizen army to evolve proposals likely , Ito meet with the support of everyone ! concerned. So far as the Artillery secI tion i* concerned, they are in the best I position to gain tbe most useful experience of all our Territorials."