THE DEFENCE FORCES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20640, 12 August 1930, Page 8

THE DEFENCE FORCES.

In His annual report on the defence forces of New Zealand the commandant makes no reference to tho suspension of compulsory training, now made effective. Ho deals, of course, ojily with the events of tho year ended March 31, therefore subsequent happenings have rendered much of what he says out of date. Yet, perhaps for that reason, General Young's remarks have a very distinct value in relation to the new defence policy instituted in the name of economy, without consulting Parliament. He might not have been so emphatic 1 had that policy been announced when he wrote. The interest, willingness and effort all ranks put into their work were enthusiastically eulogised by General Young, whose opinion on that point has since been fully endorsed by nonprofessional officers in the citizen forces. It is well to be' assured that the other picture, of sullen youth driven reluctantly to military exercises they hated—a picture usually presented by people whose knowledge was mostly founded on hearsay—should not pass unchallenged. The commandant also disputed the common contention that the training of the territorial forces was on obsolete lines, with little practical value. He gave an emphatic assurance to the contrary. A great deal of argument has been built up on the assertion that territorials arriving in the Expeditionary Force training camps during the war were told by tho instructors to forget all they had been taught elsewhere. From this it has been seriously suggested that territorial training is and always has been useless. Anyone who knows the peculiarity and outlook of tho instructor—the historic "drill sergeant "—knows exactly what he meant, and can well imagine these same recruits, passed out of Trentham as efficient and sent overseas, being told by instructors at, say, Sling Camp, to forget all they had learned in New Zealand. The army instructor tends always to say that, but he appreciates having men already past the recruit stages to handle none the less. But, apart from such details, the question that naturally arises is whether those who decided to suspend the training process for at least a year appreciated what such an interruption would do to the spirit of willingness "and the pitch of efficiency the commandant describes. • If, as most people doubt, any attempt is made to resume active training after this year, can the old position be restored 1 It is very doubtful. It is easier to break down than to rebuild, and the state of the defence forces will probably prove it before long.