A FIGHTING SOLDIER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 4 August 1941, Page 4

A FIGHTING SOLDIER

AN excellent choice has been made by the Government in the appointment of Brigadier E. Puttiek, D. 5.0., as Chief of the New Zealand General Staff. A fighting soldier of the last war, where he won his decoration, Brigadier Puttiek was well and favourably known throughout the Dominion before this war as an efficient staff officer. Going overseas this time in command of the First Echelon he became prominent even before the New Zealand Division went into action, being appointed second-in-command to Major General Frey berg. But nowhere did his bravery and ability stand out more than in his command of the rearguard during the evacuation from Greece. His work in this hazardous operation earned for him unstinted praise from both men and army authorities. In Crete he commanded the New Zealand forces while General Frey berg was acting as Commander-in-Chief. A New Zealander by birth. Brigadier Puttiek now returns from the Held of battle to take charge of our New Zealand army. In this post there will be plenty of scope for his ability as an organiser. No one knows what lies ahead of our Home Defence forces, but everyone agrees that there is no time to be lost in welding them into a strong fighting unit. Towards this end much has already been accomplished. There may. however, be further changes to come from the recommendations of the British adviser, General Sir Guy Williams. If so the Chief of Staff will be on hand to put them into operation. As a result of the arrangements Mr Coates has been able to make in the United States, combined with what we and Australia are succeeding in doing for ourselves, modern arms and equipment should be much more readily available than they have been. This will enable a further revision in training methods to be made and the first-hand experience of Brigadier Puttiek should give army training in New Zealand a more up-to-date touch than has so far been possible. Both he and General Freyberg have had as much experience of parachute warfare and modern blitzkreigs as perhaps any two officers in the Empire armies. It has been gained in a hard school during the past few months. When the new Chief takes over in New Zealand it will not be surprising to find further stiffening put into army training. As a staff officer in peace time the Brigadier never took soldiering lightly. Since then he has had to fight his way out of some tight corners and he is not likely to forget that those soldiers for whose training he now becomes responsible may be called on to do the same.