N.Z. ARMY PROBLEMS

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 October 1942, Page 6

N.Z. ARMY PROBLEMS

GENERAL PUTTICK’S REVIEW CALLING-UP OF MEN WELLINGTON, October 21. Problems affecting the Army m New Zealand were discussed by Lieutenant-General Puttick, G.0.C., when interviewed to-day. General Puttick made plain his wish to do whatever lay in his pow,er to make the public well-informed, within the limits of security, about the Army, its achievements and difficulties. Questioned as to whether New Zealand was not calling up more men than the population warranted, General Puttick replied that, when faced with the possibility of an invasion, especially by a yellow race, the only aim was the maximum. The alternative might be to bow to every Japanese. What direction effort should take was a matter for the Government —whether on the service or the industrial side. The use of soldiers for wharf labouring, bridge building and strengthening, the preparation of fords, digging new tactical roads, the improvement of camps and so on, was admittedly destructive of progressive training, he said, but much of the work was directly or indirectly for the Army, and the civil labour population could not fully cope with it. It was not always possible to see that all of the men engaged on these works had already engaged in some form of soldier training. The rapid expansion of the Army had placed such demands on accommodation, said General Puttick, that every camp had to be used -to its capacity and men were posted direct to units instead of first undertaking recruit training at special camps. The Army had had to be ready for a sudden break in the strategical situation which might endanger the country, and it had to chance some of the men being engaged before they had had the necessary training. The formation of labour units, to make use of men who were not employed to the best advantage as lighting soldiers, was under consideration, replied General Puttick, to a question as to whether such units would not solve the problem of calling on the fighting units .for labour jobs. Because of circumstances over which the Army had no control, men had to be diverted from the permanent camp into which it was intended to place them, and to be placed in areas specially selected, and to other sites suitable for nonpermanent camps. These men had to do much work themselves in establishing the camps, with a consequent minimum of training. There was no lack of desire or of effort on the part ol' the Army to see the men were comfortable, but. with the tremendous demands on civil defence construction authorities, all work had to be clone on the basis of priorities. The shortage of civilian labour and of materials, as well as the distribution of the available labour, had to be considered. By next Winter, improvements should have been effected m the types of open-air camps referred to. The men could expect roads and paths in the camps to avoid mud and wet; also dry living conditions, small huts (tents would probably remain in the temporary camps), and a gradual improvement in the recreational facilities. 10,000 MEN WITHDRAWN Questioned about withdrawals from the Army, General Puttick replied that in a period of three months, 10,800 men had returned to civil life, to re-enter primary and secondary industry. Many were out permanently. io the extent that they would not return, except in a crisis. The withdrawal would not have been so bad if all the men had had sufficient training before they went. Asked if the stabilising point had not been reached. General Puttick said that he could not, for the present, see im end to the withdrawals. He had heard criticism of squadtraining, but his own experience was that it had a good physical and mental effect. When he returned from the Great War as a LieutenantColonel, he did three months of it. Physically it made a wonderful difference, and mentally the effect was astonishing. It put a man properly on his mettle to be one of a squad facing a smart instructor, and not knowing what the next order was going to be. It was his personal decision, though the practice was common throughout the British Empire to limit the granting of first appointments to the commissioned ranks to men under 30, said Brigadier-General Puttick. The rule, however, was not hard and fact. For instance, in the officer cadet training unit at present more than 30 per cent, of the personnel were over 30. All had been selected under the present regulations, which gave senior commanders an absolute discretion in the matter. It was not the best of conditions to find a subaltern of 35 under a company commander of 23. Such disparity could not be avoided in the ranks, but could be to a large extent in the case of officers.

There were distinct advantages in having men under 30 as second lieutenants. On active service they had an extremely hard part, since at the end of the day, when the ranks were resting, the officer still had a lot to do, and this called for special physique. An artificial bar had to be fixed, but these existed in all walks of life. Divisional and District Commanders were empowered to send men over 30 for training as officers provided that they had the same qualities of leadership, physique and strength of character as the younger candidates. His aim was to get the best leaders, and no question of sentiment, economics or other considerations could be allowed to enter into it.

REPORT TO PARLIAMENT. WELLINGTON, October 21. “Latterly the equipment situation has improved beyond expectations, with a consequent improvement so far as the Home Guard is concerned,” says Lieutenant-General E. Puttick, General Officer Commanding the New Zealand Military Forces, in this annual report to the House of Representatives. “The undesirability of disclosing, possibly to the enemy, details of the equipment situation, led to obvious deficiencies in the equipment of the Home Guard being accepted by the public as an indication of the state of the Army as a whole,” the report adds. “This was far from being the case.” The health of the troops during the year had been good. Epidemic diseases, though rather heavy in some camps, had been mild in severity, the main epidemics being influenza and mumps. The daily incidence of admission to hospital for the whole of the Dominion had been 2.68 a 1000, which ,taking into account that men were admitted to hospital for ailments which in civil life would be treated in the home, could be considered as most satisfactory. The supply of .303 small arms ammunition was in a satisfactory position. The position of camp equipment was fast improving, and deliveries of general equipment from overseas had been very substantial. Discussing wet canteens in certain camps, General Puttick reported that the services provided were beneficial and definitely filling a need, and the incidence of drunkenness in camps where canteens were installed was markedly low compared with that in camps without wet canteens.

The report went on to say that a large number of tanks had been received during the year, together with a proportion of spare parts and equipment, while a considerable number of armoured carriers and armoured cars had been produced in the Dominion. A heavy programme of coast defences was forecast last year, and it had been proved to be even more extensive than was then envisaged. As a result of the recent extensive mobilisation of trqops it had been found necessary practically to double the existing accommodation for brigade group camps, and several new camps were under construction. “The magnitude of the tasks which confronted the Army and the elements of defence problems of New Zealand are gradually becoming known to the general public, and the Army now feels that it has the interest and practical support of the whole nation in its work,” the report concluded. “This is valuable encouragement to all ranks. I also wish to refer to the splendid manney in which the men of the forces have adapted tnemselves to the strange and often arduous conditions of Army life. Their keenness and application in their training are also worthy of special note. . “Women are being employed .in various capacities to an increasing degree, and the work of those now with the Army makes it evident that they will perform their duties with the most complete efficiency wherever they are employed. .. “The Home Guard units or the Army have shown admirable spirit in preparing themselves for war, and with the additional equipment now in their possession they are capable of playing an important part m the defence of the country.” .