The Dominion. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1941. CIVIL QUALIFICATIONS AND THE ARMY

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 45, 17 November 1941, Page 6

The Dominion. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1941. CIVIL QUALIFICATIONS AND THE ARMY

Many people will have found themselves in sympathy with the writer in our correspondence columns a day or two ago, who pleaded for more systematic recognition by the Army authorities of the civil qualifications of recrpits. The case quoted in the letter was that of . a young man holding a degree of Master of Science, with honours in mathematics. Though he had “done all he can to get into a part Army where he can use his attainments for his country’s good, he remained in a branch of the Service where “all he needs is to be able to count up to six.” In this particular case. other factors, of course, may have had important bearing on the posting of the recruit. But the question is whether his qualifications, and those of other men who have special skill or knowledge, were in actual fact taken caiefully into account before the postings were decided. Examples are frequently quoted in private, of valuable occupational training being wasted; indeed, the expression, a round peg in a square hole” comes easily to many tongues when this admittedly difficult side of the problem of Army recruitment is discussed, brom time to time official references have been made to the problem, and the public has been assured that the information contained in the personal files of the men is not overlooked. No doubt this is the case when personnel is required for special units such as forestry, railway construction and mechanical repair work. Where the system may be open to criticism is in the routine classification of all recruits, so that those with mathematical skill may be considered for the lery, those with mechanical aptitude ■or inclination foi mechanized units, those skilled in the handling of supplies for various commissariat branches —and so on. If this routine is thorough and mattei-of-course the Army authorities are being subjected to singular .injustice by the many relatives and friends of soldiers and soldieis themselves —who instance all manners of misfits, some of a ludicrous But the time is passed when any such shortcoming to efficiency should be regarded lightly. In the past the qualifications for soldiering were comparatively simple, but a new era of scientific warfare confronts us. It is no longer a wry joke if a professional lorrydriver is overlooked by the A.S.C. or a skilled draftsman or accountant given no opportunity to fill an appropriate position. Instead, it is an indication that the up-to-date reorganization, of Army training has not been accompanied, to a sufficiently business-like extent, by.a more selective method of posting and a less tortuous and discouraging process of dealing with applications foi tiansfei. What are the methods by which the Army today divides its raw material for training in the many branches of the Service? To what extent are these methods an improvement on those of a quaitei of a century ago? Enlightenment on these points would be appreciated by the public, and by those thousands of civilians who, before the. war is over, must themselves expect to offer their various civil qualifications for Army appraisal.