A GOOD RESPONSE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 74, 24 September 1938, Page 11

A GOOD RESPONSE

CIVIL AIR RESERVE

REGISTER OF SKILLED MEN

The announcemen*, by the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, of the broad outline of the Civil Air Reserve, to form, with the four Territorial Air Squadrons at the main centres, another essential auxiliary of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, has been followed by a very good respouse and even | though there should be a glowing down in the number of applications for regis-? tration, the total initially aimed at should be reached well within the six weeks estimated as necessary for the preliminary work of compiling the register. ; The applications, whjen are made on forms obtainable at all Post Offices and at the f office of the Air Department, are being grouped in the general classifications of professional, skilled trades, and administrative as they are received by mail, and the more detailed classification will follow. Group 2, skilled trades, for instance, covers fitters, fitters' mates, sheet metal workers, welders, electricians, W.T. operators, W.T. mechanics, armourers, photographers, instrument makers, carpenters, and fabric workers, with further subdivisions into special! sections of such trades. The professional group will consist of men with special administrative and technical qualifications for employment in executive or supervisory capacities and as instructors in engineering, armament, navigation, signals, and photography. The administrative group will be built of men competent to carry out clerical and accountancy work, storekeepers, etc. BASIS OF EXPANSION PLAN The purpose of the Civil Reserve register is to enable the Air Department to take stock throughout the country of skilled and competent men who will offer their services for home defence should emergency conditions necessitate rapid expansion of the Air Force, the organisation of which, due to the combination of so many technical activities, is extraordinarily, complex. A comprehensive register—sooo applications are invited—will make possible the preparation of a plan for the most effective co-operation of men whose skill in civil trades could very quickly be availed of in parallel Air Force activities. The present registration entails nothing beyond that survey of possible skilled assistance and co-operation in home defence. The opening of this register has naturally stimulated interest in application for enlistment in the Regular and Territorial Air Forces, for which the qualifications as to age and physique are much more stringent. The Civil Air Reserve is open to men between the ages of 22 and 55.