THE CITIZEN SOLDIER.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1113, 28 April 1911, Page 6

THE CITIZEN SOLDIER.

HIS OBLIGATIONS AND TRAINING. CONDITIONS OF.SERVICE. FROM 'JUNIOR CADET. TO EE-' SERVIST." (Published by Authority.) The. following" short account of the nature of'the service required under the new scheme of universal training, which is now coming into operation, is contributed by the General Stall at headquarters. It is a brief sketch only; --the full details will be available in due course,'when the regulations are issued. The Defence Act provides.for the gradual military training of every male New Zealander from tho ago of 12 to the age of 25, after which ho will serve in the reserve up to Uic age of 30. There are no distinctions and no exceptions. Every one, unless physically unfit, will have to take his share in the defence of the Dominion. Those wh.o, in consequence of the doctrines of their religion, have a conscientious objection to bearing arms in the service of their country will be trained ns far as possible in the non-com-batant branches, of which ambulance work will be made a special feature;.but it must be realised that the proportion of tho non-combatant branches of the ftrce to the combatant is very small. Nature of Service. From the age of 12 to the age of 11 the boy will be a junior cadet, and will perform a certain amount of elementary military training, chielly physical, under the. direction of the Education Department. On reaching the age of 11, or on leaving a primary school, the boy will be transferred to the senior cadets, and will then become a member of tho military forces, though not liable to be called out to fight. He will remain a senior cadet till he is 18. Qn reaching the age of 18 he will, if found, on again being medically examined, to bo physic-, ally fit, bo drafted into the Territorial Force. As u Territorial soldier he will be liable to be called.out at any time for service within the Dominion, pn reaching the ago of 25 he will be transferred to the reserve, in which he will remain till lie reaches the age of 30, when ha will bo discharged. As a reservist he will be liable to be called back to his regiment in case of war or other national emergency. If he belongs to a rifle club ho will, so long as ho remains a member, be liable ,up to tho age of 55 to be called up as part of a secondary reserve to fill the ranks of the Territorial Force after it's own reserve has been used up. Every youth who had attained the age of 14 on March 1 last, but had not attained tho age of 21 on that date, is now being called upon by law to register. Registration forms can be.obtained at any post office, defence office, or police station, and must be filled in and sent to 'the area sergeant-major at his advertised headquarters before 7'p.m. on June 2, when registration ceases. The work of the defence authorities will be made easier if all will register as soon as possible. Any of those registering who have a preferenea to serve in any particular arm or branch of the service, combatant or non-combatant, are invited to say so. Those wishing to join the mounted rifies must provide their own horses and , saddlery: When the time comes for posting "to units, the-wishes expressed by individuals will receive attention; but it must be remembered that the posting of men to units and corps must bo governed by many considerations—the distribution and location of units, the training fcailities, the interests of employers, the fitness of the individual for any special work, and so on, so that, it will often be impossible to allot men as they wish.

Training Under Arms. The training of the cadet and soldier throughout his service will be strictly territorial—that is to say, it will, except for the one week a year spent by the Territorial soldier in camp, be carried out within reach of his home and nt convenient times. The whole of tho training will be arranged with every possible consideration for the interests both of the employer and of those who are being trained. It will be one of the chief duties of the officers and warrant officers of the Staff Corps and Permanent Staff throughout the country to-study the conditions of life in their areas; they will I} 3 responsible for assisting Territorial officers in arranging the drills and parades of their companies so as to interfere as little as possible with- the ordinary working life of the men and the local conditions of employment. Special arrangements will be made so that employers will not lose the services of all of their employees at the same timn. For this purpose the employees of any one firm will, as far as possible, be posted to units which will be called up for training at different times. Special arrangements will also be made for individuals, such as dairymen and others, who work single-handed and would find it impossible to get any one.to do their work for them when away in camp. In dairying districts camps will usually be hold in fhe winlor.

The minimum amount of training which must be performed eacli year by every member of the Territorial Force, reserve, f-enior cadets, and rifle clubs is as folTerritorial Force.-(a) Thirty drills, twr-nty of which will be out-of-door parades, (b) Twelve half-day or six wholeday parades, all of which will be exercises in the field, except in the case of garrison artillery units, which will be exercised at the works of defence to which they are allotted on mobilisation, (c) 'Seven (lays' annual training in camp (exclusive of the days of arrival and departure), (d) Prescribed course of inusReserve—Two half-day ■ parades ur their equivalent with a Territorial unit or company. Senior Cadets.-(a) Fifty drills. (1)) Six half-day parades, (c) Prescribed course of musketry. Kifle Clubs.—Prescribed course of musketry. A drill in the Territorial Force is H hours continues instruction; a drill in the senior cacitts is 1 hour continuous instruction; a half-day parade is 3 hours continuous instruction; ii whole day parade is (i hours continuous instruction; an out-of-door pnrado may be carried out in the evening, and will not bo devoted entirely to drill, but will include route marching, outposts by day nnd by night, entrenchiug, signalling, driving, etc., and such work as cannot conveniently be carried out indoors. In the case of artillery and technical corps, the proportion of outdoor parades may ho reduced at (he discretion of. the commanding officer. The principle is that the drill-shed should be avoided as far as possible. The above scale is not really as formidable as it looks, and the drills, parades. . etc., are interchangeable and convertibles—i.e., in the case o£ mounted unite in farming districts, who wish to- make their training progressive and find difficulty in doing so owing lo the members being widely scattered, there will bo no objection to their being assembled at convenient times for a neck or so in place of some of the drills or parades: and it is to be noted that the

six whole-day parades can be accomplishe<l in two week-end camps o? three day? each, or on six Saturday afternoons Ijehvoon the hours of 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. At the same time, it rnu>t he remenihered thnt to be of the best vnliip. training should, p.* far ivi possible, be continuous throughout the vear. Tt has been decided that this is the irreducible minimum that must be ppr. former! if the force is to be efficient. Tt is little enough, but with their boyhood's training, their favourable "iirrntindinjrs, end their natural aptitude for th<? worl,-, Ihere ; s every reason f« believe f'int flm men nf this cni'i'ry will make realty good and efficient soldiers. The Citizen Army. It must be reniembcred that the Nμ,,Zealand Territorial Force is tho first lino of defence of the Dominion after I ho Imperial Navy. Its position cannot )jb fairly compared with that of the Territorial Force in the United Kingdom, which has the fegular Army ami Special Reserve in front of it. The New Zealand Territorial Force must be nble to take the. field at once, on the outbreak o£.

war. It is the Now .Zealand Army; and the permanent officers of the Staff Corps, the permanent regiment- of the Jioynl Mew Zealand Artillery, nnd Ihe warrant and IV.C. officers of the i'ermanent Stan" aixTits auxiliaries to control, guide and instruct it. The Territorial force will be about 30,000 stroug, and will be organised in field and eo.\st-defence units, with practically the same establishment !'or peace as for war. Jn each of the four military districts into which the Dominion is divided there will be o. brigade uf infantry, a brigade of mounted rilles, and a brigade of field artillery, as well as the necessary number oi' garrison artillery for eo;C-t defence (three companies each in Wellington and Auckland, and one company each at Dimedin, Lyltelton, and , Westport), a field company of engineers, and niedical units and other Departmental troons. An infantry brigade will include four battalions au>l i>. signal company; a mounted brigade, th.<t» regiments of mounted rifles and a, signal company; and a brigade of artillery-, two iour-guii batteries. The force, will be fully armed and equipped according to the most modern standard; the men will be uniformed ljy the State, end will be paid and rationed during the annual camp. The units of the force will !:e commanded and trailed .by thoir own officers, assisted by the Staff Corps, the Permanent Force, and the Permanent Staff. The regimental commander will have plenty of professional foldiers to help him and to relievo him of administrative duties, but no one to in'orefeio between him and his regiment. The officers will !>e drawn from the ranks on the, recommendation of commanding officers, and will be appointed, promoted, and retired in accordance with definite regulation? calculated to insure their efficiency s>.nd their status. Senior Cidsts. The unit of organisation and" training in the senior cadets will be the company of infantry. Companies composed of cadets ■ belonging to any school or other recognised organisation (such as the Boy Scouts) will form part of that school or organisation, and be subject to its discipline supplemented by tlio regulations. In dealing with such companies and in the appointment of their officers, the military authorities will co-operate with headmasters and with the heads of such other recognised organisations. The senior cadets will be officered by officers holding Territorial commissions on the unattached list, with tho same qualifications and liabilities as other Territorial officers. . ■

In order to simplify the conh-ol of cadets, it has been decided by the Ministers for. Education and Defence that for training purposes (not registration—all over 14 must register) all pupils attending primary schools will be considered junior, cadets, and all pupils attending secondary schools will he considered senior cadets, irrespective o£~ their ages. It is hoped that in many cases Scoutmasters and others connected with the Boy Scout movement will be not only officers of tho 3oy Scout cadets, but also will command units o£ senior cadets, "in which the Boy Scout cadets are incorporated. Tho military authorities are anxious to foster the Boy Scout movement in every way, and. in return, hope for tho assistance of all Boy Scout officials in the senior cadet training which by law has to lie undergone by Boy Scouts as well jis all other youths'in tho Dominion. Reservists and Rifle Clubs. Men ot the Territorial Torc'c lieservc will ue borne on the. reserve lists oi their late unit or corps, and perforin their annual parades witn some part of that unit or corps. The rifle-clul> part of tiie Now Zealand Military .force*", in virtue-of the liability of their members to terve as a secondary reserve, will Ire governed Ijy the military regulations, and will carry out each year a prescribed course of musketry. Such, briefly stated, is the scheme. It will not come to fruition in a day nor in a year; but, if it is carried out in the spirit in which it has been conceived there is no reason why New Zealand should not have a thoroughly efficient citizen army in the near future. Tho object of the scheme is not only to provide an adequate and economical force lor the defence of tlie country, in which everyone who is physically fit must =erve but also to train tho youth of the Dominion in those habits of alertness of mind • and body, of discipline, and or patriotism which are the qualities of the good citizen as much as of tho good soldier. It is clear that such a scheme must depend for its success on the help and co-operation of ' the people themselves; not to have served in the national force should come to be regarded as n misfortune. The State will provide the means; the permanent officers, N.C.O.'s, and men the machinery and the Staff the skilled control; but the paople must provide the spirit that will give life to the scheme and make tho Territorial Force a national institution. The peace organisation of tho forces, shown in greater detail, will form the subject of a separate article.