Regiment Offers Youths Free "Warfare Week-End”

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29002, 17 September 1959, Page 6

Regiment Offers Youths Free " Warfare Week-End”

Youths who wish to try their hand with the rifle in bush combat will have their opportunity to do so early next month. When the Canterbury Regiment moves into an exercise area behind Oxford for a week-end it will have as guests a number of civilians. “Last time we had 22; this time we’ll take 100 if they want to come and see what it is like," the regiment's commending officer (Lieutenant-Colonel . S. M. Pritchard) said yesterday. Colonel Pritchard said his comments to “The Press” could be construed as a public invitation to young men to join the regiment on its exercise. “They will be clothed, equipped and fed free of charge; they will be issued with weapons and have an opportunity of trying their skill at snapshooting at targets popping up on a jungle sneaker course; their meats will be dependent on a parachute supply drop; they will bivouac out at night; and they will Are blank ammunition in inter-platoon ambush and combat on jungle patrol.” he said. Colonel Pritchard said that none of the civilian youths who accepted the regiment’s invitation would be under any obligation after the exercise.

"But if they wish to sign on for an engagement with the Territorial Force and be paid for this sort of recreation then we’ll be glad to have them,” he said. Colonel Pritchard said that of the 22 men who exercised with the regiment last month 17 had subsequently enlisted and two had promised to join at the end of the year. One of the men who enlisted had later brought two of his friends who had also joined the Army as territorials.

About 150 men of the regiment are expected to take part in the exercise which will be from October 3 to October 5.

Marching-in to Burnham camp is scheduled for Friday night with an early morning start for Little Malaya, Oxford, on Saturday. A compass march through the bush to an aerial drop zone will be followed by preparation for the parachuting of supplies from an aircraft to take place about 2 p.m.

Supplies will have been packed by territorials of the Army Service Corps under Air Force supervision at Wigram, and territorial dispatchers will unload them from a plane which will be sent from Ohakea for the task.

The success of the drop will depend on whether troops—and their guests, who will be treated as working colleagues and not observers—have food for their Saturday evening meal and breakfast and lunch on the Sunday. The contents of the parachuted supplies are expected to provide a stimulus for efficient recovery of the containers and practice of disappearance quickly into surrounding bush from an imaginary enemy.

No pots and pans will be used for preparation of meals. Food will be cooked by sections of nine men in the mess tins from which it will be eaten.

Troops will be put through the specially prepared sneaker course individually. They will have weapons and live ammunition and wift attempt to fire two shots through each target that will' be presented to them suddenly as

they make their way along a rough bush track. Bivouacking will be made as realistic as possible with sections taking up defensive positions and posting sentries. On Sunday morning platoons will make their way out of the forest on different routes which will be planned to converge at noints unbeknown to the men. Each platoon will treat all others as enemy and on meeting or ambushing there will be contact drills and battles with blank ammunition.

Colonel Pritchard said that young men interested in joining the regiment for a week-end in the field should approach the adjutant. Lieutenant P. Hayes, at the unit headquarters at the west end of King Edward Barracks off Montreal street. He emphasised that there would be no obligation or pressure on any men who did not wish to join the territorial force.