DEFENCE MILITIA INCREASED

Southland Times, Issue 23648, 25 October 1938, Page 2

DEFENCE MILITIA INCREASED

FURTHER EXPANSION LIKELY SYDNEY, October 8. On the recommendation of its expert advisers the Federal Government has decided to increase the authonzea personnel of the volunteer militia forces from 35,000 to 42,000. It is tentatively proposed that, as soon as possible after the militia units are raised to the new level, plans should be prepared for a further expansion. . Announcing the decision, the Minister of Defence, Mr Thorby, said that a recruiting campaign to enrol the 7000 additional militiamen would probably be begun in about a fortnight The Defence Department expected that the additional forces would be provided witliout difficulty. It was known that many men were waiting for an opportunity to enlist. In selecting the new recruits preference would be given to volunteers who had already been refused enlistment because the forces had reached establishment level. It was intended that the additional 7000 men should be taken into existing Ul The strength of the militia forces was fixed at 35,000 men several years ago, largely because equipment and personnel available did not permit effective training of a larger establishment, and at that stage it was beheved that available defence funds could be used more advantageously than on an imediate expansion of mihtia units. That stage had now passed, and both equipment and personnel were available for training a greate.' number of men.

COASTAL DEFENCE EXERCISES Defence exercises began at Port Stephens, north of Newcastle, yesterday and were continued today. About 4000 men were encamped in the Newcastle area, and at dawn yesterday they were rushed 60 miles to the coast in buses to I'epel an invading force under normal field conditions. Originally co-operation was planned with naval vessels, but it was decided to confine the exercises to army and air force units. Aeroplanes assisted both “attackers” and “defenders.” In an effort to achieve realism, hessian targets represented boatloads of troops landing under fire from cruisers. The targets, after being towed several hundred yards from the beach, were gradually drawn inshore. All the latest engineering, radio, and signalling military devices were used in the exercises.