THE CITIZEN ARMY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1207, 16 August 1911, Page 6

THE CITIZEN ARMY.

ITS 6ENERAL'S FIRST REPORT. AN INTERESTING REVIEW. TILE NEW SYSTEM WELL BEGUN. The first numial report of Major-General A. J. Gwllcy, C.8., General Officer Commanding the New Zealand Forces, on the condition and progress of the Dominion's new army of defence, was presented to Parliament .yesterday afternoon. A good deal of what the General says in liis report has already been said on various recent occasions when explaining to the public some aspect or other of the nsw scheme. He prefaces his remarks with the .observation that "in view of the fact that the period und&r review is one of transition from the old volunteer forces to the new citizen army, I propose to confine myself mainly to a narrative of what has been accomplished."

The Brain-Centre of the Army. "The headquarters staff has been reorganised on- the same lines as at Home, and tho Dominion section of the Imperial general staff is now in working order. The services of the following officers have been lent by the Army Council for the periods stated against their names, in order to assist in the formation of the citizen army. At the expiration of these periods it is hoped that the training of tho New Zealand staff corps will be so far advanced, and the first batch .of cadets will be so near the completion or" their period of study at the Australian Military College, that in many cases these Imperial officers may he replaced by officers of the New Zealand Staff Corps:-General Officer Commanding the Forces and assistant-mili-tary secretary, for five years; director of staff duties and military training and director of military operations, for foup years; director of ordnance and artillery, director of supplies and transport, four third-grade general staff officers, assist-ant-director of ordnance and instructor in artillery duties, one instructor in mounted' duties, three instructors in infantry duties, for three years. Four cavalry and four infantry non-commissioned officers as sergeant instructors for mounted rifles and infantry respectively have also been obtained from Home on a fiveyears' engagement. New Zealand Staff Corps. "The New Zealand Staff Corps, as recommended by Field-Marshal Viscount Kitchener (strength 100) has been formed with an establishment of three colonels, six lieut.-colonels, thirteen majors, twentysix captains, and fifty-two lieutenants. In addition to the twenty-two officers nnd the thirty-five warrant and non-commis-sioned officers of the local permanent staff who wero here previously, forty-one officers snd forty-two non-commissioned officers have been already appointed locally. The New Zealand Staff Corps will eventually be brought up to its full establishment by the influx of cadets from the Australian Military College". It was decided to throw open by competitive- examination the ten cadetships available at, the 'Australian Military College for Ne>y Zealand candidates, to any boy in the Dominion who fulfilled tho necessary physical qualifications and was well recommended as regards character, etc. Tht notice given was of necessity very short, and the syllabus at first sight appeared rather alarming. These two factors account for the fact th'atonly fifteen candidate.? presented themselves for examination,', and of these only eight reached a standard sufficiently high to warrant their being sent to the - college; tho remaining two vacancies were filled by nomination. The next examination for a. similar number of candidates will be held in December, 1911, in connection with the matriculation examination. The syllabus and results of tho last_ examination have now been widely circulated, and it is hoped that a largo. number of candidates will be forthcoming. Our thanks are duo to the University, of .New Zealand for holding the last examination at short notice, and for undertaking the next. Appointments of Officers. "Appointments as territorial officers will go to tho most suitable and most deserving from the ranks, or to those who show most proiriise as senior cadets. Every recommendation for a commission will bo made in the first instance bj; the officer commanding the unit or corps in which the.officer is to serve.. No officers will be promoted, even provisionally, unless they have . passed tho prescribed examination for the next higher rank. The promotion examinations will in future, be held on exactly the same lines as at Home. ' It was decided that the formation of bffi-' cers' training corps should not bo proceeded with, as it was not considered that the officers of a citizen army should necessarily be drawn from any particular corps or class of the community. The Officers' Training Corps was an organisation primarily designed to supply a want in a voluntary system, and has no place now that this Dominion has accepted the principle of .universal obligation for military service. One officer of tho New Zealand Staff Corps is now at tho Staff College at Camberley, and I am glad to be able to report that for the first time there axe candidates in the Dominion for the examination for entrance to the Staff College. Four officers sat at the examination held this month. One vacancy is . promised for the Staff College at Camberley, and it is hoped that another may possibly be obtained. Six officers of tho New Zealand Staff Corps have been sent Homo for a.year's training, and application has been made for four officers to be sent foT six months' training to India. Arrangements are also in progress for sending a certain number of citizen officers to India for training, and for the exchange of officers of the New Zealand Staff Corps with a corresponding number of permanent officers from Canada,and Australia.

Annual "Brushing-up" Essential. "In the future I think it is, imperative that the officers and non-commissioned officers of the Nejw Zealand Staff Corps and the Permanent Staff should bo assembled annually, to brush up their military knowledge, as was done at tho beginning of this year at the' camp at Tauherenikau. The nature of tho duties of these officers and non-commissioned officers under tho new scheme, and their isolated positions in the areas, make it very diflicult for them to keep themselves up to date or to exchange ideas on military subjects. The same applies to the senior officers of tho territorial forces, and I think that an annual assembly in camp, not only, of the officers and non-commis-sioned officers of the permanent staff, but al?o of the territorial brigadiers and commanding officers, should be held. Similarly, tho 100 officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the Royal New Zealand Field Artillery, who will be scattered in the various cadres of the territorial field batteries throughout tho Dominion, should be assembled annually and trained as a battery. Classes of instruction for junior territorial officers and non-commissioned officers have been started in districts,' and will bo held regularly, and I hope shortly to mako proposals for the establishment of a school of musketry. Encouragement for Junior Officers. "I wish to call your particular attention to tho ages for retirement for officers V)olh of tho New Zealand Staff Corps and the territorial forces as laid down by tho regulations. These must l>o most strictly enforced, if the proper efficiency of the body of officers is to be maintained. In the past it has been a great discouragement to junior officers to find that their chances of promotion and advancement were blocked by the retention of officers beyond a reasonable age limit Forts v. Mobile Army. "I have inspected all the harbour defences of the Dominion, and, though exception may be taken in some cases to tho siting of the forts, I. am of opiniun that the existing defences are in excellent order and are. sufficient fr>f our present needs. The new works at' Wellington and Auckland have been practically completed during the year. The works and armament are vory well kept and cared for by the Royal New Zealand Artillery; tho personnel of tho Territorial Garrison Artillery is- excellent, and will be able to efficiently man these defences; and I do not iTcommem! that'at present any considerable expenditure should be uuderi taken witli regard, to the harbour defences.

I consider that we should rely for the defence of the country upon an efficient mobile force rather than upon fixed defences, and that our energies and money should be devoted first and foremost to (ho creation of an efficient mobile territorial army. What is required, rather than guns of position, is an efficient mobile artillery which can be sent to meet a possible invader who might land anywhere round the coast. It is impossible to attempt to defend all tho innumerable ports and harbours in the country, and our best chance of dealing effectively with an, invader is to go to meet him while he is landing ov after he has lauded. Our Field Artillery. "With this object the Koyal New Zealand Artillery has been reorganised sothat a considerable portion of it (100) has now been converted into iieid artillery. This'field artillery portion will provide, the permanent enrtres for the Territorial Field Artillery batteries, and will, 1 hope, bring them to the same pitch of excellence as that to which they have brought tho Territorial Garrison Artillery, in tho past. . Tho Garrison Artillery portion of tho Royal New Zealand Artillery will luutjnuo to form the instructional cadres at the defended ports. Three extra batteries (each to consist of/four guns) have been raised in the Dominion, making a total of eight batteries. These have been formed into four brigades, one brigade being furnished from each of the four military districts. Twenty-four of the new 18poundw field guns have been ordered from Homo for six of these batteries, and eight of the latest pattern field howitzers' for the remaining two. The provision of an extra mouutain battery is also under consideration. Tho first consignment of the 18-pounders is due to leave England this month, and it is anticipated that all the 18-pounders will have reached the Dominion by next February. Artillery hordes are now being purchased for the Field Artillery cadres, and the training of the K.N.Z.A. in field artillery work will shortly be completed, fo that, as the' guns arrive, the permanent cadres will be ready for the immediate commencement of the training of the batteries. Order Out of Chaos. "The heterogeneous mass of scattered squadrons, batteries, and companies of which the forces have hitherto consisted has been sorted out and reorganised. A mounted rifles brigade of three regiments, an infantry brigade of four and an artillery brigade of two batteries' are now allotted to each of the four districts', making a total of twelve mounted rifle regiments, sixteen battalions, and eight batteries. Territorial Coast Defence Commanders have also been appointed, with permanent officers of the Royal New Zealand Artillery as their staff officers. Regiments and battalions will be commanded by local Territorial officers, who will have permanent officers of the New Zealand Staff Corps as their adjutants. It will thus be seen that the principle is for citizen officers to command all units of the Citizen Army, and to bo assisted in so doing by Permanent officers. A Makeshift Abandoned. "The establishments of tho forces li3tc been raked to practically the same strength for peace as for war, and hovo now been issued in detail. This provides for the force of 30,000 men recommended by the War Office, and also enables us to take, into the Territorial Array all those who will be available for service. It has therefore been decided, for the present, that'thc General Training Section will not be necessary. This section was only a makeshift to provide for the men available for training who could not be embraced by the original low peace establishment. ■ All Must Train. "The registration of all youths available for service has been completed, with the following result, up to July 17:—Territorials, 21,838; Senior Cadets, 29,991. To arrive at the numbers available for trafnti:ese must be added to the Territorials now serving as follow:—Under twenty-one years of age, tCiO'J; those over age desirous of and permitted to continue service, 2SG2; making a total of 31,009—practically just the strength required for the new α-rniy establishment of 30,000 men. A certain percentage of these (it is impossible to say how many) will be eliminated by the results of the medical examination, which is now proceeding... Wo can, however, well.afford to be below our full establishment at first. The training is to be as far as possible universal, and it is hoped that, in the cadet stages, many weaklings will derive benefit from it. Tho standard of rejection will therefore be a light one, and only those likely to bo injured in any way by the training they have to undergo will be rejected. The only exemptions permitted are those who are physically unfit as above, and those who are employed, under tho Education Department, in a military capacity as instructors for Junior Cadets, •Special Railway and Post and Telegraph Corps are being formed for railway and post office men. These Hajlwayi and Post Office Corps will bo of great value (o the Army. A few sparsely inhabited areas have been exempted from training for the,present, but, with the exception of those iiving in Ilicso ureas, all males between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one will be posted to units for training, however far they may be from town or railways. Villages! farms, etc., will be visited by. officers and non-commissioned officers of the Permanent Staff'for the purpose of carrying out tho necessary drills, and all will be aspernbled for regimental drills and battalion camps. v The General and the People. _ "I have personally visited all districts in the Dominion, and by meeting employers of labour, citizens, farmers, and, as far as possible, all classes of the community, have, 1 hope, succeeded, in removing and allaying misunderstandings and misapprehensions on the subject. Wherever 1 have been I have received the most cordial support from all with whom I have como in contact. During my tour I have inspected a considerable number of the old volunteers and senior cadets, and have l>eeu very much struck with tho excellence of the material which they represent, and Tilth the spirit in which "they are entering into tho new scheme. I am glad to say that many of the officers non-commissioned officers, and men of tho old volunteer forces are remaining in the new citizen army, and I feel sure that they will prove a valuable nucleus to the force. The situation as regards the relationship between the Boy Scouts and the Senior Cadets is most satisfactory, and arrangements have been made for tho Boy Scouts who are incorporated into the Senior Cadets to wear their distinctive uniform, and to do their Senior Cadet training as far as possible in Roy Scout units. In future Hoy Scout uniforms for these units will be provided, by the Government.