Burnham depot has new role

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34046, 9 January 1976, Page 8

Burnham depot has new role

The Territorial Force depot at Burnham Military Camp has officially gone out of existence, and is now known as the recruit training depot. As such it now becomes a sub-unit of the Army Training Schools, with headquarters at Waiouru, instead of coming under the control of the Burnham commandant. The basic purpose for the change, said the unit’s commanding officer (Major J. R. M. Barker) yesterday, was to standardise administrative and training procedures within the service under a central headquarters. As a training depot it will be in a position to train both Regular and Territorial volunteers. Previously this training was done separately. But Major Barker said it would be w’rong to assume that, as a result. Bumham would now train only Regular soldiers. “These men will, in the main go to Waiouru for their basic training while we will concentrate on taking South Island Territorial recruits. However. there will be special occasions when we

will handle Regulars,” he said. “Waiouru has the advantage of being part of a training environment, whereas Burnham is not sepcifically a training camp. For one thing, we face the basic problem of a lack of suitable training areas nearby, and as a result this means we have to range far and wide,” he said. Next week the first commanding officer of the training depot, whose headquarters is at Waiouru, Lieuten-ant-Colonel M. Dudman, will visit Burnham for a look at the new addition to his command.

The thirteenth intake of Territorial volunteers arrived at the training depot on Monday for six weeks training. In addition a further group of Territorials from the twelfth intake went into camp for corps training, including battlecraft, at Tekapo next week.