MILITARY TRAINING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23829, 8 June 1939, Page 12

MILITARY TRAINING

COMPULSORY SYSTEM ADVOCACY OF DEFENCE LEAGUE POOR RESPONSE TO RECENT APPEAL (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 7. The conviction that only universal compulsory training would provide the trained man-power which was essential in the interest of defence was expressed in a statement of its policy approved by the annual conference of the New Zealand Defence League in Wellington to-day. Having regard to the seriousness of the situation as disclosed by the Prime Minister, the league expressed its conviction that the establishment ol 16,000 men for the territorial force was entirely inadequate, and it urged complete restoration of the territorial units as they existed before 1921, with an establishment of no fewer than 25,000 men.

The text of the statement is as follows:

“ This conference, having considered the text of the speech made over the air by the Prime Minister on May 23, 1939, desires to thank the Prime Minister for his solemn and impressive appreciation of the present international situation. It specially notes the Prime Minister’s statement that we must prepare ourcelves one and all to be able at a moment’s notice to concentrate our energies on the business of the nation’s defence. The paramount requirement will be the capacity in our men to take up weapons of war and use them skilfully, confidently, and effectively against any aggressor that may come against us. but to do this our men must be trained in the use of arms and in the varied movements and manoeuvres of war. With these sentiments the Defence League is and always has been entire sympathy. Government’s Proposals “ This conference has carefully considered the proposals now being made by the Government to bring New Zealand to the stage of preparedness indicated by the Prime Minister as the paramount requirement. The conference feels it necessary to point out that mere expenditure on aerodrome and military quarters and mere enrolment of men in the Territorial Force and Reserve falls far short of the objective of men trained in the movements and manoeuvres of war. even on the assumption that the Territorial forces of this Dominion were recruited up to the establishments now proposed, and that the recruits remained with their units and regularlv attended all exercises of their units for three or four years. It must still be remembered that the training at present prescribed cannot hope to produce men trained as they should be trained if they are to meet successfully troops against which they may be opposed. The present annual training laid down for a Territorial comprises six days in camp and a series of week-end and night parades, totalling a further 14 days of training. How can this training be compared with the two years’ regular service undergone by Continental armies, plus, perhaps, a year in a labour corps and military training almost from infancy upward? “The Defence League, therefore, adheres to its advocacy of the minimum period of training laid down at the last conference of the league, namely three months’ continuous recruit training, followed by four years’ service in a territorial unit It should be pointed out that this involves only about 146 days of training in a man’s whole life, a small price to pay for national security. Poor Response to Appeal " The conference has noted the very poor response to the Prime Minister’s call for volunteers and remains convinced that only universal compulsory training will provide the trained man power which is essential in the interests of defence. The complete inadequacy of the numbers during the past eight years or so of voluntary training, the failure to reach even the former inadequate establishments during the recent crisis, the fact that there is no guarantee that the training will be continuous and that recruits will remain with their units till they have passed beyond the recruit stage, and finally the extremely

disappointing response which has been made to date to the Prime Minister’s appeal for 6000 more volunteers for the territorial force all confirm the league in its conviction that the training of men for war must be put on a universal compulsory basis. “The league cannot advocate too strongly the fact that while training is on a voluntary basis men can and do withdraw from their units after so short a period that the time and money spent upon them is practically wasted. No more eloquent example of this can be found than is provided by the case of one city area where after a prolonged and intense recruiting campaign 1000 recruits were obtained, but no fewer than 500 of them immediately after enrolment failed to respond to communications from the defence authorities. “ Having regard to the seriousness of the situation as disclosed by the Prime Minister, the League is convinced that the establishment of 16,000 men for the territorial force is entirely inadequate, and it urges complete restoration of the territorial units as they existed prior to 1921, with an establishment of not less than 25,000 men.

Practical Measures

“While gratefully acknowledging the decided advance which has been made by the Government in its recognition of the paramount necessity, for trained men, the Defence League would be failing in its duty if it did not stress the necessity for the adoption of practical measures to ensure that the required degree of training may be achieved. The measures so far proposed will not achieve that end, and the league desires the co-operation of all citizens in its efforts to rectify the shortcomings which are now so abundantly apparent, and it urges on the Government the urgent necessity for taking steps to ensure that, in the words of the Prime Minister, we shall ‘ one and all prepare ourselves.’ Surely this means that universal service which is involved under the national register advocated by the Defence League. “In view of the foregoing statement the league is convinced that a system of compulsory universal national service is the only just and

effective method of providing an adequate defence system, but in the meantime it urges all citizens to respond to the Prime Minister’s appeal and enrol in the national military register.”