CASE FOR YOUNG SERVICEMEN

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 164, 13 July 1945, Page 4

CASE FOR YOUNG SERVICEMEN

OERVIXG members off the Roy*: New Zeaiand Navy -heir families will welcome the announcement by the Minister of Defence of a scheme for release of certain classes of "war only" officers and ratings. Men over 41. married mtr. with four or more children, and leng-service personnel are covered j-/.- me scheme. The first two classes need no elucidation, but what, in the opinion of the Navy, constitutes long service? This is the question being asked by all those affected, and it Is unfortunate that the Minister, when making an announcement which has been anticipated with great interest did not make ■ :to position quite clear. The obvious comparison is with conditions of release in the Array, where a terra of three years overseas nas come to be' accepted as sufficient sacrifice. In the "Sivy there are men v.dth upwards of six years" service, and it is on'.y reasonabie that, within the limits imposed by the necessity for maintenance of efficiency. •'r.<-.y should be placed en the same basis as their equivalent ranks in the Army. There are also those men who have beer; serving with the Roys". Jvavj*, and they should be treated in the same way. Now that the Government has decided its policy for the Navy it becomes more than e%"er necessary that the Air Force be brought into line. There are many thousands of Seng-service air personnel who see no prospect of an early return to civil life, and :hi:y cannot but fee! that men of the other two Services are getting a long head start in rehabilitating themselves. Then, too. there is a smaller number of Army personnel who have had over three years* service at home or seccri<ie<i with other forces in the Pacific, and so far their future remains undecided. When the men who have qualified for release by service in the Middle East or in Italy have been repatriated the case oi the eligible men in the Pacific should be favourably considered, and they should be given the opportunity to return tc civil life. The home serviceman, too, who through no fault of his own has seen no overseas duty, is entitled to consideration. Most seriously affected by war service are the young men -who have had little or no training in a civil occupaticn. In the case of the Air Force or Navy many proceeded from school into the Service, and have done no other work. Soldiers, of course, are not mobilised until they Sre 20 years cf age, but even they do not get very far before their training at their chosen vocation is interrupted. It was recognition of the hardship imposed on these men by indefinite service, as much as anything, that influenced the Army Department when it approved the replacement scheme, and the case for youngsters in the other two branches has been a topic for public discussion for many months. Employers are naturally concerned, at the prospect of having men return to thern unfitted by training for positions of responsibility, but of an age when they might otherwise expect to be several rungs up the ladder in their vocations. This problem is known to the rehabilitntior* authorities and is being tackled in a sympathetic way by all those concerned. New that the war In Europe is over, and demands on the New Zealand Services are reduced, the three Departments should make an effort to see that no young man is retained longer than absolutely necessary, and that the excuse that a man cannot be replaced is not used to block his release. The time has come to review the whole position as it affects men with long service, whether at home or abroad, and all with more than three years in uniform should be given their discharge at the earliest possible moment.