NOT PREPARED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23431, 22 August 1939, Page 10

NOT PREPARED

DOMINION'S DEFENCE COMMENTS BY MINISTER VITAL POINTS REMAIN FORCES MUST BE TRAINED

Tho statement of the Minister of Defence, Hon. F. Jones, published yesterday commenting on articles in the Herald concerning tho inadequacy of the defence preparations has not eased tho apprehensions of those who have given serious thought to the issues raised Overwhelming all other ideas, there obtrudes the knowledge that the manner in which the. Territorial Force is being trained does not square wit t tho huge expenditure and the apparent vigour displayed in other directions, notably in the provision of equipment, in building aerodromes, the construction of a mobilisation centre near Auckland, and, not by any means least, the enrolment of the veterans of the last war in an emergency service. If this equipment and these urgent' measures are needed, so are trained men to use them. Credit for Territorials There is little need to discuss the Minister's comment that the points brought out "tend to discredit the men who are sacrificing their time and energy in preparing to maintain our security and safety." The issue is, and it is not disputed, that the training the young men are given and that which is projected for them is not such as will maintain security and safety. Nothing has been raised to discredit the young men who have seen the line of duty; they have been given full marks for that, although what they are doing is no more than what was done by their elder brethren, and is being done again by over 16,000 of them. Protection by Navy Tho right to refer to protection that may be afforded by the Navy is questioned on tho grounds that only those with full knowledge of the Empire dispositions can do so. The Minister can not make these plans public, but enough information on the subject has been published in authoritative works to allow any intelligent person to arrive at the conclusion that the problems confronting the British Navy are causing grave concern. It is a matter of simple arithmetic 'to add the number of capital ships, cruisers and other light _ forces possessed by each of the nations, and to compare their armaments and their speeds. Such a comparison very quickly exposes the parlous situation of New Zealand should the Empire become engaged in war against three Powers. Training of the Air Force There is a suggestion'of an attempt to make political capital of the Territorial Air Force in tho statement that it was being built upon a foundation which was entirely lacking when the Government took office. As with the spirit of the young Territorials, full marks have been given the Government for its efforts in acquiring material. Most people will recall that, prior to 1935, disarmament, not rearmament, was the issue; there was no Hitler menace, no Mediterranean question; and no Far East problem in those days! Britain was giving the lead in disarmament and tho Dominions were following suit. The vital problem, however, is not what has been done but what has been left undone, and that is to train the Territorial Air Force so intensively that the young men in it are given a fair chance to do their work. It is not enough that tho aeroplanes should be able to fly out to sea; the officers must be trainod navigators. It takes some months of hard study to qualify in navigation. for tho Board of Trade certificates, and the officers who will have charge of the aeroplanes have not been given the opportunity to make this study. It is repeated that the Territorial Air Force has not pilots trained in this necessary work. . No Bombing Experience There aro other deficiencies, notably lack of adequate experience in bombing and machine-gunning and in handling escort craft to bombing aeroplanes. Incidentally, it still remains to bo proved that aeroplanes can deal with cruisers equipped with, efficient anti-aircraft protection.

There was little disposition yesterday to accept as final the official comment's concerning the ages of the present Territorials, and the Minister was invited to give the average age, as an example, of the First Battalion of the Auckland Regiment, exclusive of the officers. Should it happily prove to be tho caso that the average age of those who have enlisted since the recruiting appeals were made in April and July is in the vicinity of 24," it still does not dispose of the very grave point that they aro not trained. Spasmodic Training Mention has been made that 8000 out of last year's peace strength of 9500 attended the annual camps. That is a virtue, but spasmodic training provided by an annual camp and evening parades has not and cannot make efficient soldiers. Tho men who have enlisted since April to .make tho force up to 16,000, it is repeated, have not yet all gone through their six days' elementary recruit training. They also may do their evening parades, and also n number of week-end voluntary parades, again, this is not a tithe of the training required to fit them for war. When this point is grasped, the absurdity of the statement that there nro enough men trained to deal with raiders becomes obvious. The question of tho likelihood or otherwise of New Zealand having to deal with tho "fantastic bogey of invasion" and of tho time that would bo available to meet such a situation is tho subject of comment in tho leading article in to-day's ITeuat/d. General Weygand's Terse Comment

This article, nntl the series, can he on (Tod fittingly hv drawing the attention of the authorities to two profound statements. The first was made by General Maximo Wevgand, Foch's chief-of-stafir and late Commander-in-Chief of the French Armies, in May of this year. He said: "It would be criminal to scud inadequately trained and equipped units on to the modern battlefield." Tho other is by Liddell Fart, the noted military historian, who, in discussing failures of British strategy and tactics in the last war, said: "The root of the trouble would seem to be that the statesmen did not understand war."