MILITARY TRAINING.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14660, 30 January 1912, Page 2

MILITARY TRAINING.

EOTV IT SHOULD KB OAREIED OUT. SOME INTERESTING VIEW^ Tho following suggestions in regard to military training under the new defence scheme are condensed from an article by Captain C. S. Kichardson, New Zealand stuif corps, in the newmilitary journal:— In the training of a company of citizen' soldiers it is .necessary to work on similar principles to those employed in training a iootball team, in that wa require:—(1) A definite object or goal u> aim for: (2.) Uogulur attendance at. tiie weekly practices or drills: (3) Kvery member to work not for his own individual benefit, but for the good of the ivholo: (4) perfect discipline and ready obedience to authority. CADETS.

It should be btirue in mind that the desired goal differs somewhat in the senior cadets from that required in tlie Territorial Force. With the former, where every boy in the Dominion is concerned, the goal should be—(a> To improve the character of the New Zealand youth and train him to habi*s of discipline and respect for authority : (b) To build up his" physique: (el' 'l\> prepare him to take his place in the ranks of the Territorial Force. As the responsibility for training in the senior cadets naturally rests w : tfh the Company Commander, it will ba seen that- he has an important ami difficult but nevertheless a sacred duty, and one which offers splendid opportunities for initiative and resource. In the past it has not been the custom to look upon the Scir'or Cadets seriously. The services of good officers were difficult to obtain mid the training suffered in From the commencement of our j:ew scheme, therefore, we should 1 ay special attention to this brunch of the service: for the youths are <vr future recruits, and their early tiaining will be refiec'.ed iu the efficiency of the Territorial Force in years to Come. N"i-. v ci'iv sheii'd th.i-e oTiers .'vv:;!;; witli the Cadets iater-st t-he'c.'elres m the welfare of these hoys, hut i-vcry "ffi-er and N.C.O. iu the Territorial jor.e shou'd look upon it as his duty not only te> assist hiit t-y take an interest iu the cadets when tl ey are off duty, arid check any irregularities on the nart of the boys when off parMie «.v in puhlic nlaces. Oorrectioas of this kino should be made by kindly •"'vi •• nr.d I'M-.mple. rnd r.ot 'iy lr:r.-!i niethotls ur.lcss absolutely necessary. I The Department has acted wisely iu I giving officers serving with tile senior cadets the same status as officers servj ing witli the Territorial Force: for. w!rl,, it imnortont thut good officers should be employed with tho latter, in many respects it is perrorns even more important that Senior Cadet c.ffic«rs should 1)0 specially selected men. Boys are influenced far more by example than by nrecent, and onlv" such officers a.s are capable of setting manly examples worthy of imitation should be permitted to serve with the Senior Cadets.

A word of advice to those who will eoTry out Cadet training may n.-t be out of pla-e. Your for drill are too few; therefore wir>n tie aojv ere under your ctaitrol it is i:al that they should he Irept firlv emi.loyed for the whole periofl c[ the pai-.ide. At the suno time, do not rn-ncccs-ianly fatigue them. Maie the •ror.; interesting. Do not "'aste. a minute: and, even when vour luvs Pie n'mbig at ea::p, keep tlieir attention oy giving an intercst'ng 'o-t-iretto en seme military instructive übject. C«-ii-s:ant nractice of the si me ■iper.i;io.i at ilrili f.iVga-.-s a Iwiy's mind ni.-J hxo : trn : iii:ig should therefnro be v.ivi-'l. The uaiur- and hir.irion of exercise? siuaild he adapted to the n::c. and powers of the different b.T s. If this he iie;,le- ted it will 1,0 imrxmsible to keep the beys' attention conctntrated on their work, and the discipline will fall of? in coitsoqueure. Company Commanders should npPrcciat? the fact that from foiirfeO'i to cighreeii years of age is '.r.e mest •-njnes.'-ionnhle period of a I'te. and tint lessons lenrnt ihoa are not forgett-'ii. Therefore ihry shcild not miss r.pporruu'ti's of ci'u-

'•■itir.j: hovs morallv as well .".3 ;.hvsica!ly. TERRITORIAL FORCE. In the Territorial Force the j.' r^a l should be to train tho men t.> that state of etf-eieu.y which will en;.bio them to meet our hkely ioes '-n Ojiial terms. In the past it. has been impossible to tram units up to this standard, because of tl*3 .l:fficiiity oi getting men to fill tho ranis, too little tirnj devot-ed to training, .md tiro jmpossibility or keeping men lons •.■imutli to ensure their eifKen.y, in au-'iicn to the difficulty ut educating c t.it-n officers and N.C.O.'s to that Mantturu necessary to enable them to propii-ly carry out the training of those under their command. There is ::o duut.t that tho first endeavour to roa, h <-ur goal should he to raise to tne higlvst attainable level the p.oftsSaional v.lue of tlic officers. The officers are the moral backbone <:? tho whole scheme; they are the moving spirits, the • 011tio'ling power, llie intelligent- guides to the force. 'Without knoivl.tlge the officer cannot inst-ru.t his men, ai-ii therefore it is his duty—the iuty of c-vorv member of tho Stuff—lo rncri-tl.-te himself t-o impart kuo-v't'-iire to the citizon officer, for upon In?:i iho success of the whole B.heuir- h'rgcly depeuds. Having secured good officers, the next thing is to ensure that titer commands are kept up to <-tren.;Ui, and to give the officers an opportunity 'of handling men ai:d learning their werk Company, Regimental, :i)d Brigade Commanders must all ho j-ivoi opportunities of lnr.dhiig then- o.rnuuinds, to ensure otficien.y . ' The attendance at drills m tho future, as iu the pact, depends not only unnn the employer, but upon the mdv vidual concerned; and therefore Commanding Officers must not forget to instil into tho. minds of their men that obligatory military training is the law of the land, and should not fail to e::eri-ise their power.} of inllietiiis; ]>enalties in cases of wilful offond-o-s. Those powers, .however, should l>? u&.d with moderation; and endeavours made to educate men to attend parades from a sense of duty. At tho same timo 1 would urgo the necessity of molting drills interesting and attractive by arranging an instructive syllabus. Nothing sickens men moro than attending drills week after week, and receiving no further instruction than beiiie marched round 'i drill-hall like, o machine. Tito New Zealander likes drill, and is not ufraid of hard work: but it must he shown to him that there is some object in the work lie in called upon to Jo. otherwise he takes no intelligent interest in it, and does not look forward to his weekly drills with pleasure, and will not endeavour to attend regularly. The inculcation of the military spirit is most essential, for it is obvious from a Study of the Regulations that to reach our goal in the Territorial Force is impossible if the attendance at the limited number of parades is unaccompanied by keenness \ra the part of the "men. It has been suggested that under obligatory training tjie men will bo less keen than !hey we<re as Volunteers, hut this depends entirely uprin' the officers. Keenness can bo "timnlnted partly V "c-lnirHniT the men work for high -.,, i. „_.i „- r uv l»v .- •'•tSu healthy '•" -"i units

through competitive *csts. The education of tho men is vitbin the province of the Company Commander. The organisation of corripotilions is a matter for District, Brigade, and Regimental Stall's. Oue of the essentials to the success of universal tra:n : Es is that the people should take an interest and a pr.de in tho array, and particularly in their local Territorial units, in the same way that "hev now do in their local football tean& This interest can be created partly ny compctitons, which are a means :>:" promoting keenness, stimulating esprit do corps, and causing the men to work for the good of their regiment and, iu a Terrrtor'ai Force, for the honour of the district to wlr'ch thev lielontc. In doing; this they benefit the force as a whole, and increase the interest of the- publ'e in military work. Such eon:pct.*tionb should bo arranged in districts by the D'strict Staff, and should embrace annual searching in essential subjects—such as shunting, manbing. discipline, :uid drill—in order to classify the units er.'-ird n<j to their efficiency, and to a.;;-.::, ui (\) :!;.■ best battalion in the district.-, (-'. the b.'Si Artillery company or battery in the district, (3) the best company in each battalion. A few words of advice to company officers on the training of the Territorial to reach that coal for whvh we are working may not be out of place:— We are commencing a new scheme, wh'ch must, develop s'o.vly therefore do not expect overytlrng to be supplied to you at once. If you have- not a drill-hall, do not. wait for its construction and growl at the dolav. but Ret- your men tinder inslructViri as soon as possible, and liill them in tha most strtable place for ".ra-'ning soldiers —viz.. in the own air and in the field. The chief aid t.-i company officers in learning their duties is :u>t the forma-t-on of tact : cal classes, war crimes, or staff rides, but tho liandMuc of tlieir in the field. Therefore, let every officer handle h"'s men <n al! possible occasions. Make the most of t!k» limited time available for training, and attempt nothing that -vjll not>be no-d----ed for war. Apival to the ;nto!lijjpnee of the men. -.nd exn'a'n tha of all that you "do and thereby increase their i.iterest in their work. T)n your utmost 'o inculcate ; n the minds of your r>:en i mi ,: tary sp'rit—to be proud of tlieir uniform and their corps; in other words, create espr:t dc corps.