ARMY MOBILE SQUAD
To Assist In Farm Work (7.45 p.m.) CANBERRA. March 27. Five thousand Australian servicemen under the age of 19 are being drafted to an Army mobile squad for rural work. The squad will travel to various country areas to assist in seasonal jobs. The scheme will not entail any drain on reinforcements for combat stations since, although the minimum legal age for Australian troops is 18, soldiers under 19 cannot be sent to fight outside Australia.
“The Army realises that civilian food supplies must be maintained, but the Army is also short of manpower,” said the Minister for the Army (Mr F. M. Forde), announcing the formation of the mobile squad. "There is a constant demand for reinforcements to relieve men in the tropical operational areas. This makes it impossible to release enough men to give more, than partial relief to primary industries. At present 4000 soldiers are doing seasonal work throughout Australia. In the last year 30,000 soldiers have been released temporarily to assist in primary industry with a maximum of 15,000 available at one lime.”
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19430329.2.23
Bibliographic details
Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22542, 29 March 1943, Page 3
Word Count
180ARMY MOBILE SQUAD Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22542, 29 March 1943, Page 3
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