ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE

Taranaki Daily News, 5 December 1930, Page 13

ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE

FULL TRAINING CONTINUES, ENLISTMENT FOR THREE YEARS. Although the territorial system has been suspended and the force reduced to a bare skeleton of cadres of questionable value;* the New Zealand Royal Naval Reserve remains a vigorous force at practically full strength—four divisions with a total strength of GfiO men. The common assumption is that the force owes its continued existence to the fact that it shelters under the financial wing if the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, the vote for which did not suffer severely. The real reason, however, is that New Zealand, in common with all the other Dominions, has undertaken the definite obligation to ■provide for its local naval defence in time of war and from the ranks of the Reserve alone can come the nucleus of such a service. In the event, of war the two cruisers would not remain on the New Zealand coast, but probably would at once join the China Squadron, part of the duty of which would be to guard the long ocean trade routes. The defence of the coast, which would involve mine-sweeping and mine-laying, the manning of defensively-equipped and coast-watching merchantmen, would be a local responsibility and an import--ar t one in view of the experience in the 1-i.st war of mine-laying raiders. For this duty the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve is being specially trained and to have suspended the training or abolished the unit would have been a "breach of the country’s definitely assumed responsibility. It may soundly be argued that the same obligation rests upon the country to provide a military force for overseas in time of war, even though the arrangement may not have been sealed and signed, and that for the same reasons as applied to the Naval Reserve the Territorial Force should not have been reduced to a shadow. However, that is not the question of the moment. The members of the Naval Reserve are under no obligation to serve as far as the Defence Act and territorial regulations are concerned, but when youths elected to join this unit in preference to a y territorial unit, or were transferred to it from a territorial unit, they signed an undertaking to serve for three years, notwithstanding the fact that they might exceed the age of freedom from the obligation to serve before that , time. Thus the force continues as a purely volunteer one under these conditions.

The suspension of the Defence Act has by no means diminished the number of recruits offering. Waiting lists are the rule in the Reserve. Ofter the boys presented are too young to be accepted, the joining age being the same as tbtt 1 of the territorials—the year on which the youth’s ISth birthday falls. Probably the majority of the reserve men joined directly upon the completion of their senior cadet training.

Particularly for youths in whom the sea sense is stro.ng, the Naval Reserve has much greater attraction than a military unit. Part ’of the training is an annual cruise on one of the cruisers or on the mine sweeper, which is the kind' of thing to appeal to British youth. The force is not a costly one. There -is only one permanent officer, Captain J, R. Middleton, D. 5.0., -who, from Wellington, controls the four divisions — Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago. It is a small force that is doing splendid work. The youths now enlisting naturally are looking for an interest and some fun, but behind it all is the urge to fit themselves to be of service to their country should the need arise. Some of them say so very definitely They have no wish to take advantage of the - suspension of the Defence Act to avoid what they feel is a duty-. Several recent applicants have been territorials, two or three being officers who are ready to join as seamen.

It is a thousand pities that the cadre remnants of the territorial force cannot fill their ranks with youths of such spirit. Naturally the officers and non-commis-sioned officers who continue possess it, but there .is not enough room for all those who would remain, and there are no “ranks,” hence no chance for the raw recruit. - The continued enthusiasm of the-Naval Reserve is a subject upon which some politicians might reflect and it may be added that most of the employers of these youths have continued to grant them leave for training cruises, the equivalent of camp leave for territorials, although they are no longer under* a legal obligation to do so.