The Dominion THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 1942. ARMY SERVICE FOR WOMEN

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 270, 13 August 1942, Page 4

The Dominion THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 1942. ARMY SERVICE FOR WOMEN

Two points of difficulty, likely to occur to some women who are considering Army service, were referred to in a news article published yesterday. The first was the condition of enlistment requiring women “to attest for service for the duration of the war and 1months thereafter, unless discharged.” The second was the liability of recruits for service in any part of this country. In certain cases these conditions, if insisted upon, would no doubt represent hardship. For example, soldiers’ wives who themselves had entered the Army would wish to be free to obtain an early discharge in the event of their husbands returning to civil life before the end of the war. Inability to do this might represent a very real domestic handicap. Similarly, voting women with home ties might be loth to accept transfers to distant centres, whereas they would be eager to serve continuously in local units. It is, however, hard to believe that the Army would, in practice, permit hardship to be imposed in such special cases. Formal conditions of enlistment can be waived if good reasons are forthcoming, and in all probability the authorities would consider individual cases on their merits. But whatever may be the official policy, it should be stated. The recruitment of women for the Army services seems to be disappointingly slow, and the various causes of this should not be disregarded or under-estimated. If women are avoiding the recruiting depots, not merely because they are disinterested or otherwise employed, but as the result of some particular prejudice against Army service, they are unlikely to be won over in the mass by a recruiting campaign consisting mainly of conventional appeals couched in genera and often vague terms. If the Army seeks to recruit more and yet more suitable women, and to compete successfully with other branches of national service and industry, its proposition should be more specific and explanatory. It is not enough to provide full information only after an intending recruit has presented herself. All pertinent details of Army service for women require to be made familiar to the public as a whole, so that husbands and wives, and parents and daughters, may understand and discuss them. Apparent difficulties, such as those confronting married women and girls with home ties, would be better dealt with as part of the recruiting campaign. Thus a fair understanding of the advantages as well as the obligations of Army lite would be arrived at, not merely by those who come inquiringly forward in response to platform appeals, but also by the many who hold back, and who may be influenced by ill-informed gossip concerning the practical application of formal rules and regulations.