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Regrouping of the Army The Army in peace should be so organized, trained, and equipped that, in the event of war, it can undertake rapidly and efficiently the tasks which will fall to it. Based on this principle, units and formations have been regrouped as follows : Army Troops, including Army Headquarters, Army Schools, and base units. District Troops, including District and Area Headquarters, Coast and Antiaircraft Artillery. N.Z. Division. In general, Army Troops contain the machinery for the higher command and administration of the New Zealand Army ; District Troops the home defence and elementary training element; and the N.Z. Division is the mobile striking force for employment within or outside New Zealand as the situation may demand. Compulsory Military Training The young men of eighteen who come forward each year under the Military Training Act for their initial training will be in camp for fourteen weeks. It is obviously not possible for Territorial officers and non-commissioned officers to attend these camps. They are all volunteers devoting only part of their time to service in the Army, and they cannot be expected to be absent from their civilian employment for fourteen weeks each year. Initial training, therefore, must be undertaken by Regular officers and noncommissioned officers. This is the primary reason for the large increase in the Regular Force establishment as compared with what it was in 1939. The object of the fourteen weeks camp is to train the recruit to become a proficient individual soldier. On completion of this training he will be posted to a Territorial unit, in which, during each of the next three years, he will be required to carry out twenty days' training, fourteen of which will be in camp. The three years unit training is an essential part of the compulsory military training scheme, in which individuals will be welded into trained and efficient units capable of undertaking military operations. The success of this training will be almost entirely dependent on the enthusiasm and efficiency of the Territorial officers and non-commis-sioned officers of the units. They have a heavy responsibility. Fortunately the response to the appeal for ex New Zealand Expeditionary Force officers has been excellent, and for non-commissioned officers very satisfactory, with the result that every unit and most sub-units are commanded by men who have been proved in the hardest of all testing grounds—the battlefield. This augers well for the future of the New Zealand Army. Many of these officers and non-commissioned officers are continuing to serve at considerable personal inconvenience. It can well be said that they have already discharged their obligation to the country by their war service. Nevertheless, they appreciate that their knowledge and experience are essential for the post-war Army, and they are prepared to continue serving until others have been trained to take their place. These men are deserving of the country's gratitude. Regular Force Training During the year an intensive series of courses covering all arms and services was held throughout the country to refresh Regular officers and other ranks in up-to-date methods of instruction and in special-to-arm subjects included in the compulsory military training syllabus. To ensure that the standard of trailing at the camps will be high, all instructors attended courses in subjects which they would be required to teach, whether or not they had previously qualified in those subjects. On completion of the programme early in April all officers and other ranks posted for duty with the first compulsory military training intake moved to their respective camps.
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