YOUTH SAYS . . .

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 128, 2 June 1938, Page 18

YOUTH SAYS . . .

DEFENCE QUESTION.

JOINING THE "TERRIES. ,,

MANY DIFFERING VIEWS,

Mnny nnd varied are tho factors which influence the young New Zenlander in his derision cither to join or to stay iway from the territorial forces to-day. Whiit. should logically be the chief issue —realisation of a duty towards helping In the (TiuntiyV prepiiieilness in a time of international uncertainty—without douht has moved ninny young men to undergo voluntary military training.

On the ntlier hniirl, many more plainly f.-iil to expcrieiien hik-Ii hm incentive. Yet of thU type, it was revealed through investigations tmide to-day, a considerable proportion would play their part willingly if a reversion had to be made to a compulsory svsteni.

Rrriujrht lo special prominence in the piihlio mind a fortnight ago by the pronrninccini'titH of the Minister in charge, the defence issue has been kept alive since tlien .'is a result of the expressed reactions of senior territorial officers on the one hand and of civilians on the other.

in those reactions much attention has been concentrated on the question of the hind fences, and on the following xigniflcunt statement of the Hon. F. Jones: "The present strength of our territorial force is 7100, of whom only 41 per cent have, attended cainp this year. This is not a satisfactory attendance. . . . Another 1(100 men are required to bring the peace establishment up to its full strength of 0000 of all ranks."

Changeable Human Element. As yet no joint opinion on the defence issue has been expressed by the rank and file of the territorial forces'. A reporter who endeavoured to-day to ohtnin a definite concensus of opinion found the task was made difficult by wide differences in individual viewpoints and experiences, but there were at least a few clear facts that emerged.

Territorials ponerally appear to believe the completion of the mechanisation scheme and the arrival of the new infantry and other weapons which the Government has ordered will undoubtedly help to enliven interest in the forces. Several point out at the same time, however, that the human element is so changeable that a sufficiently strong incentive will still be lacking.

A member of an Auckland unit said: "I don't think you could get from any group of territorials the same answer to the question, 'Why did you join'the force ?' I, for instance, hadn't given it a thought until a friend of mine persuaded me to come along one parade night. /

"Once I joined, I found there -was plenty ( to interest and fascinate me. The mechanisation scheme, for instance. gives its the chance to do all sorts of experimental work. By studying guns and transport units instead of spending hours caring for horses, we get far more practical knowledge than the territorial used to."

This man was typical of the fair proportion of trainees who took the work really seriously, it was discovered. They entered wholeheartedly into the spirit of the service, studied hard and kept abreast of latest developments. Many, of them were out for-the chance of a commission. More than that, they fully realised the true purpose of the militarytraining system—preparedness.

The Right Type. In direct contrast there were found to be those who "didn't care/' who were often consistent only in their shirkin" of parades. One territorial said that in his unit such member.s as these were being steadily weeded out whenever opportunity arose. The view was taken that, say, 50 of. the right type of men were preferable to. and more efficient than 100 of a "mixture" of good and bad.

An artilleryman said he felt sure that the attraction of the week-end camps was the basic reason for a measurable proportion of enlistments. At.the same time he was at a loss to explain why the camps have been so poorly attended unless it was because other interesta had superseded military training. It was discovered that a num- ?£ Tα left the forces Realise they find eport comes first in importance in their eyes. That has been a reason, too, why many more have not bothered to think twine about joining up at all. In other cases other interests have taken first place, but it is believed that this difficulty may be measurably overcome by the Government's efforts to make the social and recreational sjde of territorial service more attractive.

"Why Don't You Join?" To ehow how important a factor is individual taste, the case was discovered of a young man whose decision to resign frdln a battery was made largely as a result of its mechanisation. He had been born and raised in the country, and he had enlisted largely because of hia love of horses. When the days of the horse began to dwindle he saw himself losing the stripes he had gained and starting at the bottom to learn the ins and outs of tractor engines, in which he had no particular interest. ,

* When the question, "Why don't you join the territorials?" was put to young men who had hardly seen a rifle or a big gun since their high school days, the most natural response was: "Why should 11" They said it in such a way, however, that what most of them meant was: "I haven't given it a thought." "I don't see any incentive to Join," eajd one. "This talk of war ' emergencies is not enough to make me think I ought to enlist. We haven't really been threatened yet, have we? Until we are, the incentive needed for a voluntary force won't be there, as far aa I am concerned."

The lack of incentive seen by this youth was remarked upon by practically all of those questioned. The striking thing was that almost unanimously they believed they would have no objection to a reversion to compulsory training if it was thought necessary.