Warrant Officers and Staff Serjeants

(22) As soon as a WO or S/Sjt is evacuated beyond RAP, a vacancy exists for a temporary promotion (2 NZEF Regs J 11–13). Substantive vacancies are created in a number of ways, further details being contained in Regulations for 2 NZEF, Para J2.

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(23) If either temporary or substantive promotion is required a recommendation will be forwarded through the usual channels to HQ 2 NZEF. If so desired, pending the result of the application, acting rank may be given at once by the authorities enumerated in 2 NZEF Reg J 28.

(24) If there is in the Reception Depot or in the Training Depots a man of substantive rank into which it is desired to make the promotion, and who in the case of Infantry has been a member of any of the three linked Battalions of the group, and in the case of other arms comes from the appropriate Corps, his name will be submitted to the CO concerned. If there is available a WO or S/Sjt on X (iv) list with the Training Depot concerned and if such WO or S/Sjt was originally on the strength of the unit showing the deficiency, he will be sent forward as a replacement with the first draft. If he is an ex-member of another unit, the CO may submit reasons why he should not be sent forward, but unless the reasons include lack of technical knowledge for the proposed employment, the man must normally be accepted as the replacement.

(25) If a S/Sjt or WO is to be sent forward from Training Depots, a temporary promotion of the man whom it was desired to promote will be approved, on application being made to HQ 2 NZEF, to stand until the arrival of the replacement.

(26) If there is no man available to be sent forward the promotion as applied for will normally be approved. In the case of a temporary promotion HQ 2 NZEF will arrange for a man holding the substantive higher rank to be sent forward at once should any such become available, subject to the same right of comment by the CO as in (24) above.

(27) The reason for this procedure is to ensure that too great a number of S/Sjts and WOs does not exist at any one time. As will be seen later, COs are at liberty to make substantive promotion up to the rank of Serjeant, without reference to the fact that at the moment there may be fit Serjeants in Training Depots. Should Serjeants later come forward with replacement drafts, a temporary surplus in a unit can be carried pending absorption of the surplus; whereas in the case of WOs and S/Sjts, it is most undesirable that units should be carrying a surplus or that fit WOs and S/Sjts should spend too long at the Base pending vacancies. The supply of WOs and S/Sjts thus requires a degree of regulation in some respects resembling that of officers.