OFFICERS FOR ARMY

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 86, 10 April 1924, Page 14

OFFICERS FOR ARMY

THEIR EDUCATION

DEFICIENCY OF ENTRANTS

FIEST-EATE BRAINS WANTED.

(FROM OCR OWS COUKESPONDEKTO

LONDON, 7th February. In '1922 a Committee was appointed, ■ffSlh Lord Haldane as chairman, to inqninß into tho. system of education and training of Army officers. Tho Committee, in tiicir report, discuss tho difficultaes m tho way of obtaining an adequate niiiiuicbefr of cadets, arid submit various suggestions and recommendations directed t» widening the area_ of supply, to JQExaasing tho efficiency of the training, ■and to improving prospects for enfcranja of exceptional capacity. As the young officer can now live on Jse pay, there is a larger field to-draw mi for candidates. "In these days," it is remarked, "it is neither necessary nor dfisirablo to confino the selection of officers to any one class of the community, lie typo of secondary school education available for the children of parents in comparatively humble circumstances is now higher thari it has ever been, and barriers, social and intellectual, have been and daily continue to; be broken down. Our first aim, therefore, was to ensure that the supply of officers for the Army-should be drawn from more available sources, and that with this in view, a higher standard of intelligent interest and! intellectual curiosity among cadets , should be attained maintained. The problem of efficiency depends on. securing the right types of candidates in sumcint quantity, and on the. provision for, these ..of satisfactory education at'colleges where military instruction, is given. Of these conditions the first: is as important as tho'second. Excellence in subsequent education at cadet colleges or elsewhere cannot make up for deficiences in the quality and the quantity of the candidates coming forward. We think, therefore, that tHe primary problem is concerned not merely with education^ subsequent to o.itry, but with the'attraction of suitably educated candidates. . ; CAPACITY FOE LEADERSHIP. "There is a second consideration which is hardly less important. It is much to desired that first-rate brains should bo attracted into the Army. .It is hot necessary, -nor is' it wholly.' desirable, •that all, or even the majority of regi-' mental officers should be intellectuals. In the case of all, however, it is necessary that there should be. certain qualities 6f character, of which the capacity for leadership is" the most .obvious. example, iln consequence, "a'yerj difficult:problem has '. to; be •. solved in; part ■. by. ■ attracting a certain number of boys of high lectual ability and in-securing the proper opportunities' of further education for these,. and for'the. rest by attracting and■.:educating a large number, of _boys in regard to whom stress is laid on-char-acter rather than,on high intellectual qualifications." '". r . '» ' ' ;■'... ; ' .The evidence submitted to the "committee makes it clear .'that tlie present mode of supply cannot be relied'on as likely to prove sufficient in-the future. It is obvious that much will have to be done ..in order to ..mitigate;.;the operation of factors whjiaK-S^ycit'iej^nily proi'duced a deterrent: effect. The causes which appear to have operated in diminishing the number of candidates are: ■1. Frequent moves of regiments on account of the variety of the nation's commitments all over, the world—involving long separations from families and service in unsettled and expensive'stations. 2. The unpopularity of service in India. .. .... '■.'■'■ 3. The recent cuts in establishments, involving the compulsory retirement of ■officers and the fear that other cuts are imminent, and th,e,' consequent uncertainty. , :•-.';■■ . .4. The reductions of pay to be , effected in 1924. : .'. :' 5. The reaction after the war. 6. The heavy faes. at the military colleges. These have recently been increased. ' '.'■•': - ■ ':■ 7. The fact that some : teachers are definitely anti-militarist, and recommend their best boys not'to take up a military career. ; TOO MUCH. DISCIPLINE. The committee are" not satisfied that raising the fees at the-military colleges to £200 a ySar was in the best interests of economy. Again,, as. regards promotion, although "we know that the principle of promotion.by .merit has been accepted by the, Army 'Council in theory, in practice there is very, little promotion by selection. In the.'junior r^nks it does not exist." On the subject of pay, 'the committee "cannot too strongly emphasise that the rates of staff pay should be adequate'to attract officers of ability." Of Woolwich, the opinion is expressed that "the atmosphere is too oppressively military, and '-that even from the /point of view of military discipline, the stiffening is too great; As an instance, it does not appear to- us necessaryf that the cadets should fall in and march to their meals." Of. Sandhurst and VJoolwich it is remarked that "it is inevitable, and probably not undesirable, that: the intellectual level of cadets at the Ijpyal Military College should on'the average be below that of, the Woolwich cadets.1' '• A' GREAT OPPORTUNITY. "We attach the greatest importance to the whole question, of providing at every stage adequate rewards for exceptional capacity.. We believe liberal provision in this direction to be essential, with a view to encouraging able boys to-become officers, and -■ we are unanimous in our opinion that a great opportunity. exists at the. present time to initiate the suggested reforms. It is not too late to convince the public that the lessons of the twar/are" being taken seriously, to heart by the military, authorities, arid-that"it is..their firm intention to make the Army an attractive career'for men . of' talent. 'If we wait much longer the public will feel that the Army is such a hopelessly conservative institution that no. vital change- is. possible in the principles on which the postwar Army is organised." The record of the General Staff in'the educational advancement of the officer .during1 the last few years is one of which thoy may'well; be proud. At the'same time, the! Committee is of opinion that tho pendulum has- swung too far in the .direction indicated in"the' reports of the Akers-Douglas Committee. It does not believe'that it is necessary in peace time to turn out a technically completely-' .trained'-.officer; 'further,' "it is satisfied tliat - tho endeavour/-to attain that end in the past has resulted in the premature arrest of intellectual development, and has reduced the output of officers.lit to rise to the highest positions in the Army. Better-educated cadets can best bd.secured, not by giving much more time to academic subjects at Woolwieli and Sandhurst but, primarily, by keepingboys longer at their schools and. by seeking to improve competition. It was suggested. to the Committee that there would be great educational advantages in bringing together, for. the purpose of; instruction,, the .cadets at Woolwich and Sandhurst. In its opinion, however, real amalgamation is impossible in view of the different standards and courses reguked i and, mbre-

over, the proposal is ruled out on financial grounds. It is pointed out that the sleeping accommodation at the Royal Military Academy is insufficient, and that the laboratories are inadequate. RAISE THE AGE LIMIT,. The chief recommendations are-:— The lower limit of age of entry to the cadet colleges should be raised to 18, the entrance examination reconstructed, and the length of courses at Sandhurst and Woolwich should be reduced to IS months. The R.A. cadets should complete their technical training by combined courses of instructions at the Schoolof Artillery Larkhill. . "' The R.A. cadets should complete their technical training by combined courses of instruction at the School of Military Engineering, Chatham, and at Cambridge University. ■' ' ■ / . A system of granting commissions in the Regular Army to the officers of the iemtonal Army should be. introduced. Grants of additional remuneration should be made for educational, -professional, and technical ability. Education authorities and schools should be asked to allow scholarships and exhibitions tenable at the universities to be tenable at Sandhurst and Woolwich A small percentage of R.A. officers snould undergo a course at Cambridge in order to lit them for special duties in connection with research, design, ballistics, etc.