TAUGHT TO SHOOT AND MARCH

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23714, 12 August 1942, Page 2

TAUGHT TO SHOOT AND MARCH

SEASONAL WORKERS W

CAMP

THREE MONTHS’ TRAINING

“We concentrate on getting them-fit and teaching them to shoot, because a man who can do a 25-mile march and shoot straight 'at the end is a tough man to come up a&Jr, csv In these words an officer at near Christchurch where three months’ military plained the type of to seasonal workers. He that it was not possible to give, wtt: , men, none of whom had had'much previous military experience, the fulr training of the mobilised units,' butthey did aim'to make them proficient, in • • the ■ elementary principles of' soldiering. Route marches and musketry figure' prominently in the syllabus for these men. At the end of their three month* they can cover 20 miles in a day easily, and the percentage of those who, qualify as rifle shots is high. The ex* f. perience of the instructors is,that there | are very few who cannot be taught I to shoot. They are also given a short | course in automatic weapons and hand | grenades. Instruction in fieldcraft IS given as far as the limited period of ] the course permits. > Strict discipline is a feature of this camp, and when the new, recruits enter : it they are told how important that is in the making of a soldier. It is pointed ; out to them that the habit of unquestioning obedience may easily save thei-’ lives in action. Generally, the training is similar to that given tern* torials when they went into camp for three months in ' X94D,; but the programme has been revised in many , points of detail as the result of experience in theatres of war. Many of the men when they go back to civil life serve with the Home Guard, and this is considered of great importance, because in their association with the guard they retain the benefit of the instruction they have received in camp. A number of those passing through the camp have haa Home Guard training before. They often assist the camp staff by as temporary non-commissioned officers and thus gain additional experience, which is of great value to their Home Guard units later on. It- has been found that as a rule Horn® Guardsmen are smarter and better able to assimilate military knowledge than others who go into camp with no such background. . A proportion of the men at this camp are not seasonal workers, ana they are there for their one months "hurry up” course. They are given a foundation of training before they are posted to units, after which their train* I ing is gained by unit training and | absorption from their more expert- | enced comrades. There is much tnai E they cannot be taught in a month, DU the camp aims to give them a background of physical fitness ana musketry.