ARMY TRAINING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25364, 23 October 1943, Page 4

ARMY TRAINING

HOME DEFENCE SCHEME EARLY CALL-UP EXPECTED (Special) AUCKLAND, Oct. 22. Army reservists throughout New Zealand who are liable for training under the revised home defence policy may expect to be called up for service during the next few weeks. The men affected include single men and married men without children between the ages of 18 and 40 who are medically graded 1 or 2, and married men up to and including 30 years of the same grading who have one to three children. , x , , - Steps are being taken to select the men and to post them to various units. The selection is being made in cooperation with the National Service Department so that the least possible disturbance to industry will result. Many of the men affected have already been engaged on home service, but, with the reorganisation of the army earlier this year, they were demobilised and pbsted to area pools. The actual dates on which men will be called up have not yet been decided upon, nor has Army Headquarters at Wellington given specific instructions as to the nature of the training or employment of the men. It is believed that many reservists in various districts will be used for harvesting and other essential farm work, power to employ the men in this way being contained in the Defence Emergency Regulations, 1941.

The National Council of Primary Production recently asked district councils to submit their labour requirements for harvesting and stated that army personnel from mobile camps would be available. As most territorial units have only skeleton cadre organisations, it would appear that mobilised personnel for harvesting will have to be provided from the men to be called up.