DEFENCE TRAINING

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160740, 28 August 1920, Page 2

DEFENCE TRAINING

NO ’COUNTRY PARADES. (By Telegraph—Special to “Herald”). WELLINGTON, August 27. Members have persistently demanded to know what policy of military training the Defence epartmnet proposes to pursue in future, a.nd they got the first clear indication from' Sir H. Rhodes, Minister of Defence, when he was piloting (i the Departmental estimates fo'j A 550,593 through committee to-day. Sir 11. Rhodes said he was following the lines suggested by the general officer commanding, though he had asked that the estimates be cut down. Wo do not intend to train beyond the age of 21 or 22 years, continued the Minister. Our present system is for seven yeqrs but we will cut it down to three years. We will, of course, keep cadet training up to the ag© of IS years and ihen give them a period in ' camp after which they will be drafted to their units, giving them a choice, as far as possible, in the various branches of the service. We propeso to give them, so many days a vear in camp, but there will be no barracks system and no training for months. It has been suggested that the period of genral training in camps will be from a fortnight to six weeks and that further training be remitted if the man proves efficient. Personally, I think a fixed period in camp would be better than the half day and whole day parades which have made the system an irritation to employers. We propose to* do away entirely with parades :n the country,, but it would bo more convenient to Territorials in town to attend half day parades which will reduce the period of camp training. There can be no training camp this year, and we also have suspended it the year after and the year following that.