SURPLUS OFFICERS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 5 July 1943, Page 4

SURPLUS OFFICERS

COMMISSIONED RANKS RELINQUISHED SOME TRANSFER TO AIR FORCE Wellington, This Day. Satisfaction with the way in which the surplus Army officers and non-com-missioned officers affected by the reduction in the home defence forces had cooperated in the solution of a difficult problem was expressed by the General Officer Commanding the New Zealand Military Forces, Lieutenant-General E. Puttick, in a statement at the week end. The officers, he said, were given the opportunity of volunteering for the Royal New Zealand Air Force as prospective pilots—subject to their proving suitable after undergoing test and instruction — or for service overseas in the Army as temporary n.c.o.’s. The officers had responded splendidly, nearly 300 entering the Air Force and over 500 relinquishing rank for overseas service in the Army. These included majors, captains, lieutenants, second lieutenants, and a good many of them had attended the Staff College, Tactical School, and various courses of instruction. “This loyal recognition by the officers of the problem created by the reduction in the home defence forces and their ready acceptance of the sacrifice and disappointment involved are most praiseworthy and are a tribute both to the strength of character and common sense of the officers concerned and to those responsible for their initial selection for commissioned rank,” said General Puttick. “Once the situation was understood, there were remarkably few complaints from either officers or their relatives, despite the fact that many of the latter must also have suffered keen disappointment. “One very fine instnace of unselfishness and sense of fair play has come to notice. Before the decision to reduce the home Army a number of officers had been selected for overseas service as officers, but they readily agreed to join the pool of surplus officers so that the selection could cover a wider field. “The same fine spirit shown by the officers had also been displayed by warrant and non-commissioned officers, who have been transferred to overseas drafts. Owing to the voluntary reversion of officers and there being insufficient vacancies for all W.O.’s and n.c.o.’s, it was necessary to post them with lower rank. “It was natural that the W.O.’s and n.c.o.’s should feel their reduction just as much as the officers, but it is to their credit that they accepted the position ‘in the same understanding manner as did the officers,” the general continued. “The careers of all these men will be watched with considerable interest, and the good wishes of the Army in New Zealand will go with them wherever they may serve in future.” —P.A.