MILITARY AND NAVAL NOTES

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15308, 22 May 1913, Page 10

MILITARY AND NAVAL NOTES

X;%'f';-]. *Z : -r'■'■/■'■'. BY SENTINEL.

The annual naval and military tournament :.'•' will 156 ; held in Auckland on Saturday and <"; Monday, January 3 and 5, 1914. . '' His' Excellency the ' Governor has., been pleased to approve of the award of a colonial auxil&iv forces long service medal to Cap-; '■: .'., tain James Richard Derrom, who has a total ' service record : of over 20 year*. Captain R. J. S. Soddon, who has been ■■£ "' undergoing a course ot instruction with the './Imperial forces, will, on his return to-New : Zealand, bo posted in the Auckland military . > district, with.headquarters at Paeroa. As the month of June is set apart for posting* and administrative purposes, no drills ; . will be held "during that time. ■Company commanders are expected to devote the month'-t-o writing up their roll books, record bookstand ledgers. Tho names of all the men liable to serve, who have become un- ■'■-''.- traceable, must bo forwarded to headquarters, together with an account of what steps have been taken to find them. j

Parade cards for the months of July to January inclusive will bo ready for issue to each man at the first drill in July. The district orders remind company commanders that care must be taken to see that the dates of drills and parades do not, fall on public holidays. It is also suggested that the most suitable time to hold whole-day parades is between the football and cricket seasons— an idea which the men are sure to fall in with, i '';■'■■ ,'..,-.„. ■

In honour of the King's Birthday, the battalion and band will parade at the Alexandra Park (Eosom) on Tuesday, Juno 3. All the units of-ttho' Auckland Garrison will be inspected by the general officer commanding. This parade i will count as the first whole-day parade for ..;' tho military .year 1913-1914. Tho commanding officer will only grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. .It is intended to hay© as full a muster -as possible on thus occasion, and personal notices to attend have k already,, been sent to the officers commanding companies for issue to the men.

In time, when military aviation becomes more advanced, it will be necessary for the defence forces to study the subject in all its branches; Tho prominence which has of late been given to aerial war fleets has caused local military enthusiasts to take quite an interest in the problem. The engineers, ■whose duties cover many branches of field work, would probably be called, upon to take tho subject up. If anything of the sort is established, there is sure to be no lack >f volunteers to experiment with any models or real ; ; machines that might be supplied to them.,':.;'■>;■,':• /-J../, .•:-;:;;■:■;..

• Additional regulations; are gazetted for those desirous of obtaining exemption from personal service. ';" A member of tho military forces desirous of obtaining exemption from personal service on ; the grounds that : undue hardship is caused by the requirements of such service (Section 32 (n),; Defence Amendment. Act, 1912), will first-give 1 14 v days' notice rftb the officer 1 commanding ,his unit; and at;'the expiration of that period the applicant will "make written application to fthe*-?''nearest Magistrate's S Court. :■- The officer commanding the unit will inquire into the merits of I each ease, and within the- 14days w-nl notify the clerk of the Magistrate's ; Court Whether he recommends or intends to I oppose £the application." -~■■■ ■■ ■ ... |

The ; full strength allowed by' Parliament for force is 50.000. The actual Genres* showing the number of officers and men undergoing training at the prsent tuna are of some interest. The actual number of •; territorials is 25,322. Added to these are . 22,985 .senior cadets, - and; 4708 i mem; attached ■:; to rifle*.club% ■'-making a total -of just :over :. 51,000.itiThe'.. number of .permanent ' officers (exclusive of 10 who are undergoing training with the Imperial Army in '.Britain or in India) is 66, besides 20i> permanent non-com- ■:., missiotjSd officers. This total of 271 officers ■' moans that there is one permanent officer'or non-oommissioned officer to every 163 terri- -, torials ;or cadets in' training. ,'■■ There.-.' is, vof j : ; course, «* the assistance of the ; Permanent j Artillery, as well., The R.N. Z.A, numbers 111 V ■ officers in the Dominion at the present time, j ;| (and 315' men.v Including,these, a proportion -. of one -officer to every '& men is obtained.

■ The problem of cooking.for a largo num- ! ber ■of in-camp is one' that requires !--• experience.-i What is known as the Aldcrshot [v . , oven formed in the shape of a mould - :~ of clay and bricks, with a sheet-iron It ■-■ ■ is stacked with fuel, lit, and- then closed. ,■■:> After rjje fuel has burned: down the cinders . are removed, and the food—bread, meat, or ; v : !-"" "whatever it may placed j inside, and the entrance again closed, the ? clay and'" bricks holding* the heat for some hours. This cooks j the i food thoroughly. ' The Marois have 'a • . mode of cooking, 'The advantages . /,, of this kind of oven ; are various. It is not necessary to.carry it about with thei transC port;: one can be built anywhere with stones ! ' ■ and clay big item when the transport is ■-■_■ alreadyTa serious problem in a campaign; ■ an even ■ heat is . distributed over, the oven, ~_'.-. and; this enables the food to >be cooked --;;. thoroughly and evenly. '■'. The chief disadvan- ; tages '-are: ■'. It can only - cook ' for a small ..,:■• number of people, and only roasts and bread . can be'cooked in it. A new] type o£ oven, ; , called the Salamander, has been, invented by Lieutenant Roberts, and bids fair to revolu- . '.tioniso'.'carhp-eooking.' ?■ This new oven has : been used .-with the greatest success at the s.~" Oringi .-camp, and will .probably]; in future -<, exclude, all other : types. The new oven is ■ enough to cook for 500 men. In the ;• . front is the opening for the fire,* which, runs over : the top of the oven > proper to the .. middle of the stove, where it is divided into two by ' a V-shaped 'obstruction. It then :■■" runs down''. the back of the oven, and up •'" the flue.. The fire - thus heats three sides of ,- the oven—the front,; the top, and the back and this causes an, even distribution'of: the '.■;■> heat. The consumption of fuel, when com- <:■'£■ pared with that :of the others, is very light, " . only about lewt of wood or* coal per day being used to cook for 500 men. There are -'; two . ovensone on each side—running half '■. the length of .the stove at the back end. To ■ the front are placed two .boilers, again " one on each side. * Rising above the ' ' surfaced, of the stove - between these, and directly oyer ; the fire, is placed ■•y' : < a ■'! movable steamer,,; about 3ft in depth; ' -i and 3fK in length! The back of the stove is left free for the heating, of irons or th© ?' - drying 'of clothes. •'~ The stove is * made of sheet iron, '• riveted together, with two handles '[ ■- at each;end, to enable it to be carried anywhere at will There is but one fault, and ■'-. that■■:: is-the weight.; This could easily_ bo ?* w overcome by :■ making the stove in « sections and using bolts instead of rivets. ,;■