EXCHANGE OF AIR FORCE OFFICERS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 171, 16 April 1937, Page 10

EXCHANGE OF AIR FORCE OFFICERS

Britain and New Zealand SPECIALIST TRAINING COURSES By Telegraph—Press Association. Dunedin, April 15. The Minister in Charge of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Hon. F. Jones, stated to-day, in an interview, that the Government had. in furtherance of its policy of providing an efficient air force working in close co-operation with the Royal Aif Force and other Dominion air forces, arranged for an exchange of New Zealand officers with Royal Air Force officers. The first officers to proceed to England under this agreement will be Squadron Leader M. W. Buckley, M.8.E., at present commanding the Royal New Zealand Air Force base at Auckland, and Flying Officer H. W. Duffey, at present stationed at Wigram Aerodrome. In order to overcome the difficulty of providing the necessary specialist officers, the Royal Air Force has agreed to send in exchange a specialist engineer and a specialist signals officer. It is, however, necessary that officers serving in the Royal New Zealand Air Force be trained as specialist officers and the first step in this direction is being made by the dispatch of Flying Officer C. C. Hunter to England to attend a long signals course at the Royal Air Force electrical and wireless school. An officer is also being appointed to specialise in engineering duties. An advertisement regarding this appointment appeared in the Press of the Dominion on March 18. When selected, this officer will receive nine months’ flying training in the Dominion and will then proceed to England to attend a long engineering course. The conditions under which these exchanges and attachments have been arranged were discussed during the Imperial Conference of 1926 and an agreement was reached between the two Governments in 1927. The existence of this agreement has greatly facilitated introduction of the present scheme which enables New Zealand officers to receive very valuable experience abroad, and provides the specialist officers essential to the Royal New Zealand Air Force at the present time.