J-FORCE VIEWS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21963, 6 March 1946, Page 3

J-FORCE VIEWS

SCOPE FOR TRAINING OCCUPATION POLICY COMPULSORY SYSTEM (Official N. Z. Correspondent With J-Force) (10 a.m.) KURE, March 4. Among the troops who have been, in Japan for some time there is a growing opinion that, if (he occupation of this country is to be ns they think it should be —a long-term affair—every effort should be made to allow the young men of the Pacific nations an opportunity to see the eastern aggressors in their homeland. In other words, if. as seems probable, some form of compulsory military service is instituted in the Dominions and America, portion of the training time should be served in the occupation of Japan. Their argument has several angles. First, as one New Zealand captain has suggested, "If you have never seen a wasp, you have only a vague Idea of what to watch out for in order to avoid being stung,” Secondly, it would make the comparatively brief service period a definite military commitment instead of “a Burnham bull-ring and week-ends at home reminiscent of a Boy Scouts' camp.” Thirdly, it would be a broadening and educative experience for youths and would tend to waken realisation of (he important fact that the Pacific these days is not such a vast place as it appears on the map. Fourthly, it would offset potentially dangerous parochialism and insularity bv permitting a glimpse of the outside world and giving contacts with the men of other nations. This view is also shared bv thinking Americans, despite the recent clamour of sections of. the American occupation troops for immediate return home. The suggestion contained in a letter to the editor of the American forces newspaper, Stars and Stripes, that occupational commitments could be met by recruiting an army of international mercenaries was generally regarded as a typical expression of self-indulgence and lack of understanding of the international duties which must be combated.

A silver Dakota flying a general’s flag above its cockpit brought LieutenantGeneral Northcott, commander-in-chief of the British Commonwealth occupational force, to Hiroshima airfield on February 26 to take over command of the British area. The general was met at the airfield by senior staff officers. There was the usual sprinkling of inquisitive Japanese civilians on the edge of the airstrip watching without expression as the general inspected the smart Australian guard of honour.