TERRITORIAL FORCE OFFICERS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 85, Issue 237, 8 October 1941, Page 5

TERRITORIAL FORCE OFFICERS

MANY REQUIRED IN N.Z. REASONS WHY THEY CANNOT SERVE OVERSEAS (Press Ason.) Wellington. Oct. 7 The overseas service position of Territorial Force officers was explained to-day. when inquiry was made a' .the Central Military District he.n' quarters. ; The p- nt raised in the inquiry was lib rot< *. 'ii on home sendee of many single Territorial officers which he.* resulted in their not entering Expeditionary Force camps a- the same lime as other men of the same class of th* First Division of lhe General Reserve. It was staled that many Territorial I officers and n. <*.”.’> volunteered al the 'outbreak of war. and up to cessation of the voluntary system. Their seivic*s had been most valuable in officering the First, Second and Third Echelons, and. to a lesser degree, subsequent reinforcements. Thea volunteering for overseas had the result however, of seriously depleting the strength of officers for the Territorial force, which was New Zealand’ tirst line of defence. After tlm di« patch overseas of the e<heions Ih»' ofli( er requirements for the Second N.Z.E.F were much reduced. As a result of a decision to train from the personnel overseas all but a minimum of N.Z.E.F. officer requirements. the small number of officers taken with each reinforcement bore no relation to the number of Territorial officers who were willing and anxious to take their place* overseas. They were called in ballot* in the same way as other citizens, but except as needed, they were not be : ng permitted to go into the Expedition i\ Force: not; could these officers re* . n their Territorial commissions as a means of doing this. It was recognised that many Territorial officers are anxious to go overseas and were not satisfied with Ihi« position hut it was considered In the best interests of the home d* fenc? system. The same position applied tn those who had volunteered and those who had been balloted. Another factor was that such few officers as were reouired from N ' Zealand were invariabh jun'or ofll cers. There was also the point that a number of men had been com mi s-

stoned be had reached oversea* military age since the ce.'.salion of volunteerin'. The introduction of the , ulre system. absorbing one-sixth of the office:.- and n.c.o.'s. and the nen scheme of Teriilorial training made the services of all active Territorial ollicers more neic<-nry and valuable. They were doin„ a good job as soldiers in doing what they ere told to do and nil ism of them based on a situation heyonu their control was unfair and unwarranted.