MORE TRAINING

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 222, 19 September 1941, Page 8

MORE TRAINING

TERRITORIAL FORCE TWO MONTHS IN CAMP NEW CADRE ORGANISATION (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. j Recent important decisions regarding the training of the Territorial Force were outlined in a statement made to-day by the Minister of Defence, Mr. Jones. "In February last," said the Minister, "the Government authorised the fulltime employment of a small number of officers and other ranks of each Territorial unit to form a cadre to cope with the increased training and administration of units. These cadre;? have done good work and following the advice of General : Sir Guy Williams, K.C.8., C.M.G., D.5.0., the Government has decided that the cadres for the larger units such as Mounted Rifles Regiment, Field Artillery Regiments, Medium Artillery Batteries and Infantry Battalions are to be considerably increased. This will mean that about one-sixth of the officers and other ranks of the units mentioned will be embodied for fulltime duty in the near future. It is intended that the cadres when formed will be taken into camp as soon as the necessary accommodation is ready for occupation, for special training, included in which will be courses of instruction at the Army School at Trentham i and District Schools of Instruction. Objects Outlined In order that units may keep a proportion of their best n.c.o.'s and ; specialists to facilitate the formation and operation of cadres, it has been decided that some men who are now or will soon become liable to be called up for overseas service will be retained with their Territorial units for some time. "The object of the cadres," said Mr. Jones, "is twofold: (a) To provide a highly trained and efficient nucleus of officers, n.c.o.'s and certain other ranks, including specialists and tradesmen on which to build if mobilisation is ordered; and (b) to provide an instructional staff for the training of new recruits for their respective units and also to improve the higher training of units when they are assembled for collective training in camps. The Minister said that as soon as cadres are ready to take over the training of recruits for their units the present practice of taking recruits into camp in monthly drafts will be discontinued, and recruits will enter camp quarterly. Three quarterly drafts of recruits will be taken into camp each year and the remaining three months will be reserved for preparation for and unit collective training which is now to be increased to two months' camp training instead of two weeks as previously prescribed. Training At Home Centres Mr. Jones made it clear that the new system of cadres will not disturb the out-of-camp training at home centres. This will continue as at present, and will consist of 60 • hours' training, divided into weekend training, half-day, and evening ' parades, to suit local conditions. 1 "Under the amended Defence ' Emergency Regulations lately gazetted," continued the Minister, • "attendance at the camp and out-of--1 camp training is compulsory, and ' men who absent themselves from i parades and camps without leave 1 are liable to heavy penalties. ! In order that unit routine admin- ! istration and out-of-camp training ; may be properly carried out, arrangel ments will be made by units to leave - part of the unit cadre at unit head- '' quarters and these and the officers ' and N.C.O.'S not embodied with 1 cadres will attend to these duties." J Appeal To Employers i The Minister concluded with a special request to employers. "From - the foregoing," he said, "it will be i gathered that very shortly a number r of territorial officers and other ranks I will be called up for full-time duty. If the cadre system is to produce ' the desired results, it is essential i that those officers, N.C.O.'s, speciali ists and tradesmen who are required are made available for service. In this connection, the Government seeks the support and full co-opera-tion of employers, and asks that appeals be made only in respect of the most urgent and essential cases. As such service is considered of vital importance to the efficiency of the territorial force, it is being made compulsory, and no officer or soldier called up will be granted exemption except on the decision of a Manpower Committee."