THE HOME GUARD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23883, 6 February 1941, Page 11

THE HOME GUARD

Sir, —May I, as the originator of this long discussion of the Home Guard's role, explain that my only motive was to offer constructive criticism. Those who have set themselves to counter it have, almost without exception, insisted on the need for, and value of, orthodoxdrill. With all their efforts none has shown why it is necessary that a Home Guardsman should be able to present arms. To find this being taught so early in the training suggests more than tlic minimum of drill extolled as indispensable—it smacks of ceremonial drill and surely nobody can prove that to be appropriate to the Home Guard. Anyway no one has attempted to deal with the real crux of my argument, that if the Home Guard were to be called on in earnest, ways and means of doing its job would simply have to be improvised. From that it was suggested that the latent capabilities of many potential Guardsmen should be assessed and plans made for utilising them. Kven Major Short in his reply has ignored this aspect of the suggestions. From what ho said it appears that no thought has been given to sorting out experienced men to be entrusted with explosives, retired or working farmers to handle barbed wire, horsemen to establish emergency transport should petrol supplies break clown, and al! the other things that would be required if a real emergency arose. Those responsible for the Home Guard should read a book called "The Awakening" by Captain (J. D. Mitchell. M.C.. an Australian with a distinguished record in the last war. Admittedly it is fiction, but it is full of valuable suggestions none the less, and deals vigorously with the sort of situation the Home Guard might be called on to lace —one in which everything would have to be improvised from the ground up. Why not face this possibility boldly and make the best of it. instead of risking having the Home Guard a pale imitation of the Territorial Force and the National Military Reserve? Signalman.