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02news

www.army.mil.nz

armynewsThe Army News is published fortnightly for the Regular and Territorial Force and civilian staff of the New Zealand Army.

Editor: Lorraine Brown, phone 04-496-0225 or DTelN 349-7225, fax 04-496- 0290, email lorraine.brown@nzdf.mil.nz

Asst Editor: Anna Norman, phone 04-496-0224 or DTelN 349-7224, email anna.norman@nzdf.mil.nz

Website: www.army.mil.nzPrinting: Hawke’s Bay Newspapers, Hastings.Layout and design: Steven Fright and Elisha Bunn, DPRU

Editorial contributions and letters are welcomed. They may be sent direct to the Army News and do not need to be forwarded through normal command channels. Submit them to The Editor, Army News, DPRU, HQ NZDF, Private Bag 39994, Wellington, or by email with a hard copy signed with the writer’s name, rank and unit. Hard-copy submissions should be typed, double-spaced and printed on one side of the paper only.

Nothing in the Army News should be taken as overriding any NZDF regulation. Readers should refer to the relevant service publication before acting on any information given in this newspaper. ISSN 1170-4411

Letters to the Editor are welcomed.

Post or email your letters to the editor, who reserves the right to edit for readability, or not to publish.

Dear Editor I refer to the subject article published in

Issue 347 of Army News, 07 February 2006, on page 12.

I respectfully make the comment that of the armoured vehicles mentioned as in service in NZ after World War II, the following omissions were noted:1. the Daimler (“Dingo”) Scout Car was still in service until it was replaced by the Ferret.2. the much larger Daimler Armoured Car with turret was also in service at this time.3. the Ford V8-powered Armoured Wheeled OP was in service with some RNZA units. While this vehicle was apparently not used by the Armoured Corps, it was an armoured vehicle nevertheless. It is believed that this vehicle type was not used by the British Army but somehow came to us from India. For what it is worth, one example of this type is currently undergoing meticulous restora-tion by a private military vehicle collector at Weedons, Canterbury, not too far from Burnham Camp. This man has carried out extensive research on this type, and knows the history of the one in his possession. This may (or may not) be of interest to some.

I enjoy reading your publication.Regards,Lyell KermeenCAPT (Retd)RNZEME

Response:Lyell Kermeen is correct in that we used

the Dingo & Daimler Armoured cars (in training). The article was extracted from a booklet we put together for our recent events weekend and so, as it stands alone, it looks a little out of context.

We later mention the Ford Armoured LPOP and Mr Kermeen might like to know that we possess an excellent fully restored example in our collection (see photo).

Although we were fully aware of the Dingo and the larger Daimler’s service in New Zealand, we did not mention them as were trying to provide a general overview. In hindsight, we should have included them in the article.

RegardsMr Windsor JonesCuratorArmy Memorial Museum

LETTERS

Dear EditorReference my article on the Army CP Discretionary

programme printed in Army News, Issue 347, 7 Feb 06, page 13, article on “New Equipment”.

There are some key points I would like to add that were not included from the original article:

• CP Discretionary, at $4.1M, is a small dollar value programme but it is easily accessed by indi-

viduals/units and delivers benefits relatively quickly and easily

• If you require further information on how to access this programme for the next financial year (current year is effectively committed) then please contact Major John Govan, DTelN 349 7471

• All 73 projects and those not yet approved can be viewed on the Army Intranet, Army Links, Army General Staff, Resources, Shared Documents, CP Discretionary Programme 05 06

MAJ John GovanGSO2 DSI

AGS

With an accent on how to learn rather than what to learn, the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) Command and Staff College (CSC) approaches Professional Military Education (PME) in a uniquely New Zealand way.

Gone are the days when students sat in ranks passively absorbing the wisdom of “experts”, and then regurgitated as much as they could remember at the obligatory end-of-course exam.

At the CSC, students are expected to discover facts and concepts by themselves. “We want students to develop their ability to be creative, to critically analyse situations, to understand equipment and doctrine, and how to employ it in any given situation, and to explore new ideas and challenge assumptions”, says LT COL David Strong, the college director.

Why this approach? Staff courses during the Cold War years concentrated on complex but largely set-piece plans against a known enemy. The modern era of volatile, uncertain, and ambiguous conflicts is more complex. Developing adaptive, lateral-thinking personnel is particularly important in the New Zealand context, says Directing Staff member SQNLDR Murray Simons. “We often don’t know where the NZDF will be deployed next, the nature of the operational environment, and who our partners will be. Our officers need to be imaginative and responsive to change. In New Zealand’s case, world-class trained and educated personnel are arguably our best contribution to global security.”

The post-Cold War environment demands a greater understanding of political, social, economic, international and religious contexts.

Learning the New Zealand wayA case in point is the 9/11 attack on the United States:

[Deputy Secretary of Defence, Dr Paul Wolfowitz] wondered why so little thought had been devoted to the danger of suicide pilots, seeing a “failure of imagination” and a mind-set that dismissed possibilities.

The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004“Failure of imagination” is no longer

tolerable in military planning. The college runs a number of courses

for NZDF officers but its main effort is a tri-service Staff Course for major and lieutenant colonel-equivalent officers, and their civilian equivalents. Up to a third of the positions may be taken by officers from regional friends and allies.

The seven-month live-in course takes up to 30 officers. It aims to develop leaders who can command, manage, and plan at their rank level, within a joint operational and strategic environment. For some, getting into the college’s self-learning education mode is a challenge. “In the first week we put the course members through what we call ‘mental boot camp’, which is, in a sense, the opposite of traditional boot camps. Here we encourage the course members to debate, challenge, argue and express their views”, says LT COL Strong.

The course does not focus on either grades or peer ranking; the emphasis is on collaborative learning. Unlike most university courses, the Staff Course encourages students to share ideas and support their peers. This improves real-world staff skills and teamwork. Instead of competing for rankings, students are encouraged to help each other, contribute to discussion, and extend themselves.

Despite that, the course is no push-over. At times the workload can be demanding and includes essay writing, research, debating, and syndicate discussions on subjects as diverse as leadership development, contemporary

military operations, media trends, project management, and international relations. In the middle of the course, the student group goes on an overseas study tour. In 2006 it is going to New Caledonia and China.

So, just how successful is this approach? LT COL Richard Taylor, who was Dux of the Staff Course last year, says the course, without a doubt, is one of the best things he’s ever done. “After Staff College I became CO of the Military Studies Institute, and I’m already finding that having a better understanding of how Defence operates and how the different parts interact makes it easier to do my job, definitely.”

He says he found parts of the course intense, which was good. “For all those

that attended, in some way, shape or form, the course would have taken them out of their comfort zone … But the beauty of the course is that by bringing together a range of different people from a range of different backgrounds, it enables those who are stronger in certain areas to be able to teach and coach their classmates through.”

He also said the college’s environment lent itself to different learning styles. “Regardless of their backgrounds, all those who participated would have gotten something out of the experience. It wasn’t an environment where people would have gotten left behind. The staff put a lot of effort into creating flexibility in the programme.”

Reported by Grant Carr

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The Command and Staff College at Trentham Military Camp

LT COL David Strong

CP Discretionary Programme The Dingo and the Daimler

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ISSUE 348 21 FEBRUARY 2006

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SERGEANT MAJOR OF THE ARMYWO1 JOHN BARCLAY

Dedication, courage and a desire to help ones kinsman beyond the call of duty, are the reasons Lieutenant Colonel Oiroa Kaihau, Lance Corporal Bobby Hunn, and Sapper Shannon Ferguson, received Chief of Army Commendations on 16 February. Chief of Army, Major General Jerry Mateparae, presented the awards during a visit to Headquarters 2 LFG Linton Army Camp.

MAJ GEN Mateparae spoke of the courage, the impact on family life involved in working long hours, and the ability to do the right thing under sometimes harrowing circumstances, were what set these three apart.

Commendations from Chief of Army

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SPR Shannon Ferguson, LT COL Oiroa Kaihau and LCPL Bobby Hunn, with their commendations

LT COL Kaihau was posted to HQ 2 LFG in December 2001. He received his commendation for playing a significant role, and leading the logistic planning for the largest formation in the NZ Army while posted there. He was a key planner for a number of large and complex logistics movements in NZ and over-seas: the deployment of NZ Forces to Iraq and the Solomon Islands, and the first overseas deployment of a NZLAV equipped unit to Australia.

LT COL Kaihau achieved this while displaying excellent technical, planning and leadership skills in meeting tight deadlines with his small team. LT COL Kaihau was also recognised for his interpersonal skills, willingness to have additional responsibility often at the expense of his personal life, his profes-sionalism, ability to maintain the morale of a team that has an extreme workload, and as a leader setting an excellent example to his subordinates.

The Army Band, along with other local bands and vintage cars, marched through Hastings recently to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Hawke’s Bay earthquake.

The earthquake struck at 10:46:46am on Tuesday, 3 February, 1931. Measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, it comprised of two earthquakes totalling 2.5 minutes. The earthquake was one of New Zealand’s biggest. It killed 256 people, and the ensuing fires destroyed most of Napier’s commercial business district. Hastings was also extensively damaged.

Marking the quake

A small team of workmates and friends from 2 Engr Regt and SME went to assist SGT Rangi Ngati search for her missing fiancé. Rob Hewitt had been diving off Mana Island over Waitangi weekend and failed to surface. SSGT Linda Manuel, SSGT Jude Clendon, LCPL Gareth Jones and LCPL Daniel Burton, along with WO2 Brian O’Connor, went to Wellington to join the search team, and provide comfort for Rangi.

SSGT Warren Hodge, from Trentham JR mess, provided catering support for up to 100 Police, Navy and civilian searchers. On Tuesday the team were out in a boat searching the waters around Mana Island for a body, in what was a long, 16-hour day. In atrocious conditions on Wednesday, the team headed for Mana Island to walk the entire coastline. It took five hours to complete as it was over sharp rocky terrain. The team even managed to kill four cellphones along the walk, due to water damage from the rain.

Returning to the wharf at about 4.00pm, Rangi was waiting for us in a frenzy, yelling hysterically “they found

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him, they found him, and he’s alive”. Everyone was shocked and it took a minute for the good news to sink in, then the jubilation started.

The outcome was nothing short of miracle; we were looking for a body, but not a live one.

Contributed by WO2 Brian O’Connor

Robert Hohepa Hewitt’s fiancé SGT Rangi Ngati, hugs a Navy diver following Robert’s rescue

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ZPA

LCPL Hunn was deployed on Exercise Predators Gallop in Darwin from 27 June – 14 September 2004, and seconded to the Joint Movements Control Centre

to provide Movement assistance to the Australian Defence Force for Ex Predators Gallop. While there, he was directly involved with the discharge of New Zealand Defence Force vehicles.

During a discharge of the ship CEC Spring at East Army Wharf on 29 June 2004, civilian contractors had been employed to use equipment to cut lashing points off the removable pontoon deck. Below were 18 stowed NZLAVs and various other vehicles. Sparks fell between gaps in the pontoons and ignited two tyres on one of the NZLAVs. While the civilian crew and stevedores evacuated the hold, LCPL Hunn and ACPL Lowery (who also received an award) attempted to extin-guish the fire. The immediate action of the pair prevented the fire from spreading, with the potential loss of most of the deployed NZLAVs.

Travelling back to Burnham Army Camp in a Light Operational Vehicle (LOV), passenger Sapper Ferguson witnessed an accident between a civilian car and a cyclist. Those in the vehicle stopped and gave assistance, providing traffic control, calling emergency services and comforting the distressed driver who hit the cyclist.

SPR Ferguson was the first person to assess the cyclist who had lost consciousness and was turning blue. He gave the cyclist immediate life saving first aid. Later, ambulance staff commented that SPR Ferguson’s actions had saved the man’s life.

The commendations were a surprise to the recipients who were very modest about their actions. “I had no idea, and actually feel really embarrassed as I have a lot of staff who deserved recognition”, said LT COL Kaihau.

Reported by Caroline Williams

Being reported on is always a hot topic. No one likes to have a report that is inaccurately written, submitted or processed late or not at all. Let’s have a look at this.

If a report is inaccurately written then the soldier (junior or senior) will suffer. An overly inflated report may result in setting the individual up for failure; conversely, under-reporting will affect morale and may deny the soldier of deserved develop-ment and advancement. Absolute honesty is the key; honesty to the soldier and to the organisation.

A report that has been submitted or processed late, smacks of haste. Haste may result in inaccuracy; once again the individual and the organisation will be the loser.

There is nothing worse for the individual, the organisation and those who are responsible for making decisions on development and advancement, than no report at all.

It is very obvious why all forms of reporting should be accurate and completed on time. For those reports that are not, who is responsible? Obviously, the reporting officer, regardless if it is the platoon commander’s notebook or an annual report.

Indeed, reporting falls within the NZDF competency framework: “Personnel Development – provides timely guidance and feedback on performance”. Responsibility also lies with the person being reported upon. Yet I have heard from a number of soldiers who have complained that their reports have been late, or weren’t written at all, and yet had not done anything about it.

Two areas I want personnel to be very aware of. Firstly, those of you who have experience in the Army, you are responsible for following up your own platoon commander notebook, and your own annual report. You know they should be written, that you should sight and sign them – if you haven’t, ask: where is it? If you don’t get an answer, go to someone who will find the answer, you have every right to do so.

Secondly, for those that have subordinates, you need to make sure that they are reported on in a timely fashion, don’t you become part of the problem. I am not defending the reporting officer; what I am saying is, that it is a two-way responsi-bility: that of the reporting officer and the person being reported on.

In the next few months the FPABs, CDABs and the WOEB will be conducted. MCM and others who will be attending will be doing their best for those under consid-eration, and in a wider sense, doing what’s best for the organisation. Reports are central to accuracy.

Just think: would you – as a person who has worked hard, honestly, and for the good of the organisation – be satisfied if your boss had not bothered to write a report on you, and it contributed to you missing out on an advancement or devel-opment opportunity? Perhaps the opposite may also aid retention?

Responsibility – it’s a two-way thing

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04deployment

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A 43-strong platoon of infantry soldiers arrived in Honiara in early February, most of them deploying for the first time. The soldiers, all based at Burnham Military Camp, are providing security for the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands.

The platoon completed intense pre-deployment training for the work they will be doing in the islands. It was especially interesting for Private Dominic Afua, who has been in the Army for just one year.

“We did a lot of work with boats, getting into and out of them safely with weapons, that sort of thing, because that’s what we’ll be doing in the islands”, he says. “We also spent quite a bit of time improving our communication skills, because we’ll be talking a lot to the local people too.” PTE Afua will celebrate his 20th birthday in Honiara this month.

The platoon, led by Lieutenant Graeme Dill-Russell, will carry out daily patrols in Honiara, at various locations on the island of Guadalcanal and, where necessary, on other islands within the chain, such as Malaita.

It will also provide support to supplement the participating Police Force effort, as well as supplement security at nearby Rove Prison.

New Zealand’s Senior National Officer in Solomon Islands is Territorial officer, CAPT Greg Moyle.

The Regional Assistance Mission in Solomon Islands (RAMSI), began in July 2003 following a request from the Solomon Islands government for help to restore law and order. The New Zealand contingent initially comprised four RNZAF Iroquois helicopters and the personnel to operate and support them: a team of New Zealand Army engineers, and a support team. A 123-person infantry company was deployed to help with planned operations against former militants,

Solomon Islands aviation guard Alistair Melaqu has seen dozens of plane-loads of Police and Defence Force personnel arrive in Honiara during his career, but it is the Kiwis who “always gladden my heart”, he says.

Alistair, who has a wife, and five children aged between two and 10, has worked at Honiara Airport for 20 years. “I have made so many friends, but the Kiwis are special.”

At the height of the troubles he was lucky to be paid every three months, he says. Now, he receives his salary regularly, every fortnight. The peacekeepers have made a huge impact.

“Before”, he says, gesturing around him, “people didn’t come out much. They were frightened. Now, everything has changed. The clinics and schools are working and full, people are walking around and they are happy and feel safe.”

Reported by Judith Martin

Kiwis gladden hearts

RAMSI

Alistair Melaqu and Joy Haomae, security personnel from Honiara airport

and with the general security of police in remote outposts.

As law and order returned, the threat to police declined, and participating nations gradually reduced their presence there. Headquarters staff and military personnel are drawn from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga.

Some 246 police from 11 countries, including New Zealand, Australia and Pacific Island nations, remain in Solomon Islands.

Reported by Judith Martin

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A. PTE Dominic Afoa prior to departure to the Solomons

B. MAJ GEN Lou Gardiner signs the goodluck banner prior to the contingent departure

C. PTE Dan Bristow and PTE Tim Adams, (Dunedin) on arrival at Honiara Airport

D. Soldiers deployed to Solomons

E. PTE James Renolds, PTE Robert Blake, PTE Paris Harrison, all of Gisborne, examine the map of Honiara

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ISSUE 348 21 FEBRUARY 2006

deployment05

Five current or former members of The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery are currently serving in Afghanistan as part of the NZPRT. The NZPRT boasts an array of skills and experience, more usually centred around the engineering and humanitarian tasks for which the PRT are justly famed.

The gunners fill a variety of appointments, which are somewhat different to their respective artillery backgrounds: LT COL Morgan Proctor is the deputy contingent commander; MAJ Graeme Tod the New Zealand liaison officer at Camp Salerno; SGT Dave “Bulldog” McIntyre is the quartermaster sergeant; LCPL John Crofts is a driver with one of the “Kiwi Patrol Teams” and I’m the finance officer. Although it is some years since any of us have served on the gun line, we are all proud of our gunner affiliations, and readily swap stories of personalities, exercises and incidents we have been involved in.

The Afghanistan deployment has been a testing one. Sub-zero temperatures are the norm, and road and air access around the Bamian Province and out to other locations are difficult at best. Although snow had been promised since the team’s arrival in early December, it was New Year’s Day before it finally arrived, and has re-visited in earnest.

The NZPRT fosters local confidence by actively patrolling the area, talking to the locals and dropping off humanitarian aid to areas of need. Among other activities, the Kiwi Patrol Teams recover arms caches, supervise the destruction of unexploded ordnance, help with the building of wells or repairing bridges, and accompany New Zealand Police members of the NZPRT and relief agency workers into areas where additional security is required.

My role as finance officer may lack the glamour of the others, but it has seen me visiting the National Support Element at the US airbase at Bagram, hosting pub trivia nights in the mess, attempting to teach English to a class of 60 local children, and observing the destruction of opium resin.

Gunners in the ‘Ghan

Joining the engineering officer CAPT Neville Mosley, on meetings about the clearing of roads and mountain passes, and reviewing tenders for reconstruction contracts may seem hardly relevant to the global war on terror, but such mundane activities help to build local confidence. They reinforce the idea that there is a future for the people of Bamian without conflict, and that others are sufficiently interested in their fate to keep investing in the province.

Contributed by CAPT Patrick McInerney

CAPT Pat McInerney checks out the breech of a Russian D30 122mm howitzer, a relic of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979 - 89)

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The 93 Linton-based personnel deploying to Afghanistan on the next rotation, completed their Annual Weapons Qualification for the Steyr and shoot on the P226 pistol.

“It’s important for us to have our weapon skills at a very high standard before we deploy”, said MAJ Brendon Jull, 1 RNZIR. A total of 52 personnel from 1 RNZIR are preparing to deploy, and Air Force and Navy personnel preparing to deploy also completed the AWQ.

Reported by Caroline Mitchell

AWQ preps troops

CPL Hayden Giles takes TPR Ringa Dalton, from 1 RNZIR, through pistol drills. In the background, LCPL Richard Hughes takes LCPL Damon White, a plumber from 2 Engineer Regiment, through pistol drills

LCPL Jones, TPR Montgomery and PTE Brown completing the AWQ for the Steyr

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While Waitangi Day was a normal working day for the members of the NZPRT, the catering team and their helpers cooked a true Kiwi feast, which was enjoyed by Kiwis, Americans, Afghanis and others.

There were fewer Kiwis than normal in Kiwi Base for most of Waitangi Day. Two patrol teams were out on long-range patrols and the engineers and next PRT Command Team returned from conducting a recce and an ammunition cache clearance in the north of the province. However,

Waitangi in AfghanistanKiwi Base was still very busy, with Taskforce Commander US Colonel Pat Donahue and his entourage, visiting overnight.

Preparations for Waitangi Day began a few days earlier, with a hangi pit being prepared. A team of workers was on hand thoughout Waitangi Day to prepare, put down and then lift the hangi.

After eating lunch, COL Donahue was taken on a tour of the proposed site for the new Bamian town centre, behind Kiwi Base. A patrol then

took him out to Tupchi Returnees Camp, 17km to the east of Bamian, where he met with the Head of Shura and discussed various aid projects in the village, as well as the village’s future.

Back in Kiwi Base, PRT caterers SSGT Lance Ball, LCPL Emma Geange and Able Chef Phillip Te Pairi, assisted by Padre Ross Horton and SGT Abe Pourau (both former military caterers), prepared additional side dishes, desserts, and various other foods for the evening meal.

Prior to dinner, invited guests from the Bamian Provincial Government and non-government organisations arrived. These included the local Chief of Police, Chief of Security, Deputy Governor and the Governor of Bamian Province, Habiba Sarabi.

The engineers and the next PRT Command Team arrived back in Kiwi Base and a work party was called to assist with unloading the recovered munitions before dinner.

After dinner the Senior National Officer, Group Captain Steve Moore, spoke about the meaning of Waitangi Day to New Zealanders. The Governor of Bamian Province also spoke. She thanked New Zealand, in particular the members of NZPRT, for the assistance they have given to Bamian Province.

LCPL Emma Geange checks the cooked food

PO Henry Abraham, SSGT Lance Ball and SSGT Steve Parry lift stones from the hangi pit

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06our people

“People today don’t necessarily want a full-time [Army] career for 30-odd years. They come in, get their training, get their deployment, get life experience, come back [from deployment] and then away they go. But, if you want to carry on and stay on, and if you have the application and a little bit of luck, there isn’t much you can’t do”, says Major Quartermaster Malcolm Nowill.

With a career in the NZ Army stretching back 30 years this May, plus six years’ service in the Australian Army, MAJQM Malcolm Nowill is – according to his observations – one of an increasingly endangered breed: the Army lifer. Entering the Australian Army in the early-70s to “do something different”, many doubted that young Malcolm would last long in the Army. But he says, true to his expectations (almost) every day has been different. “You generally change jobs every three years; if you work at it you get promoted and get more money, and obtain a bit of a reputa-tion for whatever you do”, he says, explaining why he has stuck around. “It’s especially exciting to be in the Army now, with so many operational deployments.”

MAJQM Nowill’s first deployment took him to Vietnam in the early-70s, where he caught the tail end of the Vietnam War (“I seem to get to most of these places just as they’re closing down”). Twenty years later, on deployment to Cambodia, he returned to Vietnam – but not as a soldier.

“I was lucky to be able to jump across the border and go back and see Vietnam as a tourist, with all its charm. It was only really because I was there; I had no real desire to go back, no burning issues that I needed settled or ghosts to lay to rest. When you get there you can almost visualise it how it was; you close your eyes and everything is the same, even though you’re standing knee-deep in a banana plantation.”

Post-Vietnam, the Australian Army downsized quickly and dramatically. MAJQM Nowill decided the New Zealand Army was a better option and applied for entry, with the support of his New Zealand wife. Then a car accident forced him to take a civilian job. “I had been out of the Australian Army for a couple of years , and about two-and-a-half years later I asked the New Zealand Army if the job was still open. It was, and it was the same offer they’d given me a couple of years previous.” So in May 1976 he came to New Zealand.

MAJQM Nowill was originally sent to 3 LFG as the bombardier storeman, and from there worked his way through most stores positions. He moved north, spending about 12 years in Auckland: first in Papakura and Hobsonville with the SAS, as the adminis-tration officer and later quartermaster, and then in Takapuna, with Land Force Command. After Land Force Command closed he moved down to Wellington in 1998, becoming the first OC of the Trentham Administration Centre. After returning from East Timor he worked at Joint Force Headquarters in the J1 personnel branch, then moved to Log Exec for his current role as Project Officer Special Operations. He is currently involved in a large project to bring special operations equipment “up to speed”.

“There is just so much equipment being bought. I think for young people coming into the military now, it’s a pretty exciting time.

“In the 70s we were still wearing 1940s-, 1930s-type dress uniforms, but nowadays the personal clothing [is excellent]; the combat clothing is some of the best in the world. I’ve been on operational deployments where people were eyeing up our wet weather kit and our boots – so there have been some very major changes.”

He may still speak with a slight Aussie accent, but he says he’d never consider returning to Australia to work. Working beside the Australians in East Timor made him feel particularly “Kiwi”. “[The Australian attitude] is not within our culture, what I consider my culture now, because I’ve been here long enough to consider myself all things Kiwi – except the Bledisloe Cup, and that will never change!”

Reported by Anna Norman

The Army lifer

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If one single individual could tell you the changes in Army equip-ment, vehicles and clothing over the last 20 years, then Allan Riddle would be that person.

Last week in Dunedin, the Commander of the 3rd Land Force Group, Colonel Dave Gawn, presented Mr Riddle with a 20-year certificate in appreciation for his role as the civilian storeman at 4th Otago and Southland Battalion Group.

Mr Riddle said the presentation took him by surprise, and was much appreciated.

Mr Riddle began working as a storeman in 1986 alongside a store staff of five others. Today he works alongside just two.

“Everything we did back then was done manually, with ledger cards and filing cabinets”, he said with a laugh. “And so when the computer systems came along, it was a real time saver and made it easier for us to find the required information.”

Prior to being employed by the Army, Mr Riddle had been a TF soldier for 11 years, giving, in effect, a total long service period of 31 years with the Army.

Mr Riddle said that when he started, the stores were still issuing the odd Battle Dress (BDs) from WWII along with the SLRs as the main weapons, while Bedfords were the main Army troop and store trucks.

“The clothing side has seen some interesting changes and the soldier now has never been better equipped”, he said.

Although he still carries the same job title and still works in the

Twenty years of changes

COL Dave Gawn congratulates Allan Riddle and presents him with his 20-year certificate

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same office on the ground floor of the Kensington Army Hall, Mr Riddle has successfully met a number of different challenges such as uplifting ammunition, and supporting training activities outside his workplace. “I have been fortunate to receive help from the staff in Burnham over the years”, he said.

Mr Riddle served in the TF for 22 years from 1975-1997 and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant, with firstly 31(B) Battery, before transfer-ring to 4 O South in the early 1990s.

Reported by Carey Clements

LCPL O’Kane, previously based at 1 RNZIR at Linton Army Camp, decided it was time for a new challenge. However, still enjoying the life of a soldier and not quite ready to let it go, he decided to transfer to the 5th Wellington, West Coast and Taranaki Battalion Group, based in Wanganui.

“I really wanted to pass on information that I’ve learnt in the RF, and there are a lot of things I enjoyed about Army life. Transferring to the TF enables me to still be a soldier and repre-sent the Army in sport, [but] have a civilian job and lifestyle”, LCPL O’Kane says.

LCPL O’Kane plays in the Linton Rugby League team and has represented the Army at the Inter-Services tournament. He is also the coach for the Army Central Region and the Linton Cobra’s Premier Rugby League teams. Transferring to the TF allows him to continue playing and coaching for the Army. (TF personnel inter-ested in joining an Army sports group need to contact their cadre Non-Commissioned Officer.)

LCPL O’Kane attended his first TF exercise in January, Ex Northern Kiwi, and was impressed. “Most of the soldiers taking part hadn’t completed their Corp training, so I was able to assist with basic soldier skills. Their enthusiasm to learn really

Move to civi streetimpressed me and I have no doubt that they would easily fit into an RF battalion”, he says.

“The real highlights, were being integrated into an Australian platoon and meeting people from another country. The highlights for me, were instructing the soldiers, which I hadn’t had to do to this extent before, motivating them and keeping them happy. The weather was bad most of the time and many of them hadn’t worked in conditions like that before, so it was a new experience for us all”, he says.

LCPL O’Kane is training to be a lifeguard. The shiftwork will fit in well with his TF responsibilities, which require him to complete at least 20 days’ service a year. He says his employer is happy to have a territorial employee, especially as his TF training will cross over into his job as a lifeguard.

LCPL O’Kane acknowledges it’s not easy to let Army life go. There’s the security of the Army family, with great medical and dental care, and cheap accommodation. However, the TF makes the transfer into civilian life easier. “I’ve met up with quite a few ex-RF soldiers already. As an ex-RF NCO I am given more respon-sibility, which I enjoy”, he says.

Reported by Caroline Williams

Defence Regional SkillEXNZ’s ultimate work skills challengeWELLINGTON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY25 March 2006

WILL YOU BE: Under 21 as at 31 December 2006?

Competition Categories:Automotive technology, carpentry, cookery, electrical wiring, fitting, restaurant services, welding

Contact: Dana Arcus, 3 Wksp Coy, Burnham Camp Telephone 03-363-0035DTelN 337-7035

Compete against your peers! Then be there to represent the NZDF at the National SkillEx Finals, Wellington, September 2006

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ISSUE 348 21 FEBRUARY 2006

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ABOVE: PTE Gilbert Bates prepares a lesson plan for his next class

TRADE TALK

The decision to become an educator for the New Zealand Army has given Private Gilbert Bates the opportunity to combine his interest in fitness with a passion for learning. Since joining the Army in April last year PTE Bates, posted to the Military Studies Institute at Linton, has already taught many Army educa-tion courses and is thriving on the challenge.

“It can be hard getting up in front of a classroom of up to 40 people, but our senior personnel give us confidence. They help prepare lessons, sit in on classes, and provide feedback”, said PTE Bates.

PTE Bates enjoys the creativity and input he is able to give in his workplace. The unit has weekly meetings where staff discuss and bounce ideas around for future courses and training within the unit. He also helped design the Communicate Effectively course – one of the highlights of his career so far.

Once you enter the trade, you will be expected to study through a university or polytechnic. To become a good educator you need good communication, public speaking, and people skills. “We are constantly dealing with high-ranking people and have to be approachable, offering advice and tutoring”, said PTE Bates.

A lot of PTE Bates’s day revolves around lesson preparation, writing letters and basic administration. The remainder of his time is spent instructing courses such as Communicate Effectively, Study Skills, Exam Techniques and Time Management. He also liaises with education providers on behalf of soldiers, checks assignments or essays before they are handed in for official marking, and conducts one-on-one tutoring.

Although PTE Bates’s job is mostly office bound, he has already taken part in two field exercises and adventure training. One was a MSI field exercise that focused on leadership, navigation and basic soldiering skills. The other focused on ambush and basic soldiering skills. The adventure training focused on building teamwork and “leaving your comfort zone”, with white-water rafting, tramping and mountain biking.

Educators are also able to instruct at the Language Centre once they have passed their ESOL papers at university. Block courses for SPELD are also available.

PTE Bates enjoys teaching in a classroom and says being an educator is a great way to develop life skills, increase confidence and expand your abilities.

If any soldier is interested in the trade of an educator, and would like further information regarding a possible trade change, contact your local Army recruiter to discuss entry and testing requirements.

Reported by Caroline Williams

Good communication, public speaking and people skills

When: 6-8 Mar 2006 (inclusive)Where: Disposal Section, Shed 74, Trentham Camp Hours: 1030-1400 daily

Goods available for sale: sleeping bags, two-man tents, crockery, jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts, sockets, parkas, PVC wet weather gear, entrenching tools, tools, office furniture, computer packages, packs, socks, boots, generators, blankets, overalls, berets, running shoes, and lots more!

Access to the Shop-Online can be gained through the Army Intranet site.

Army Sales outlet

Minister of Defence, the Hon Phil Goff, was the reviewing officer at ATG Waiouru on Saturday, 18 February when 19 Territorial Force officer cadets graduated and a further 83 cadets entered the next stage of their training.

Mr Goff said he had seen TF soldiers working alongside RF soldiers in overseas deployments during his nine years as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he had been impressed by their contribution.

Five hundred TF soldiers had served overseas since 2003 and the civilian skills they brought with then had played a valu-able part in supplementing the work of the NZ Army, he said.

Mr Goff congratulated all the officer cadets for their efforts over the past few weeks. “You have all performed to a very high standard, to achieve graduation level”, he said.

The Commandant of OCS, LT COL Paul Curry, RNZE, said the cadets had developed as individuals and as a team. The individual determination they had developed was epito-mised by 2LT Alana MacDonald, he said. “Her biggest worry, when she was lying on a track a week ago with her leg shat-tered after a fall, was how she was going to be able to get to today’s graduation.”

2LT MacDonald was able to join her fellow trainees at the parade, after leaving hospital only three days earlier. Using her crutches to hobble onto the parade ground, she received her epaulets with the other cadets and, at midnight, her commission as a specialist officer.

Reported by John Archer

Big day in WaiouruThe Hon Phil Goff, at ATG Waiouru

The Hon Phil Goff congratulates 2 LT Sam Valentine

2 LT Alana MacDonald and her mother at graduation

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Prize-winners:Charles Upham Sword for highest level of excellence in all facets of cadet life2LT Ian Auld The Commandants Prize for the Cadet who has displayed the best infantry skills2LT Ewan SinclairThe Territorial Force Advisors Prize for the cadet who displayed the most improvement throughout the course2LT John Aitken

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Abseiling down a 15-metre high tower may seem like a bit of a lark, but for students on the Basic Fire Fighters Course held at Linton Army Camp, this skill may help to save a life. The first course this year, from 17 January – 12 April, teaches students basic fire fighting techniques including basic line rescue and motor vehicle crash rescue techniques. The course is designed for Army and Air Force fire fighters and is largely practical based.

On the first week of February, New Zealand Fire Service personnel introduced the students to the basic line rescue techniques needed to rescue victims down a cliff or steep hillside. “This phase is designed to help students become familiar with the equipment and have confidence in it”, said SGT Tim Hunt, the instructor for the courses.

They also covered the motor vehicle crash phase, where NZ Army instructor, SGT Dave Murray, introduced students to rescue tools, including the Jaws of Life. “This phase prepares fire fighters for what they could be faced with at a car crash”, said SGT Hunt. They learn stabilisation of a vehicle, glass management and tech-niques for using rescue equipment.

Students on the course include Senior Fire Fighter Lotu, from Samoa, who is on a mutual aid programme with New Zealand, and SGT Kiape, from Papua New Guinea.

Reported by Caroline Mitchell

LAC Tim Wilson receives instruction from NZ Fire Service trainer, SO Royce Tatham, as he prepares to abseil down the fire station tower

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SGT Dave Murray instructs SPR Sam Thomson from Waiouru Fire Section, to carry out a dash role

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Three services – one Force

P-3 ORION UPGRADE

The Air Force’s P-3 Orion Upgrade Project continues apace at L3 Communications Integrated Systems facility at Greenville, Texas, USA. Following induction, the prototype aircraft, NZ4202, is now undergoing equipment and system removal phase. The aircraft’s tactical rail, flight deck and aircraft rotable equipment has been removed and brought back to New Zealand. Once new data management, sensor, communication and navigation systems have been installed, P-3 Orion 4202 will be extensively tested before being delivered to the RNZAF in mid-2008 with its new designation, P-3K2. The remaining five P-3 Orions will be upgraded by Safe Air in Blenheim, and are due for completion in 2010.

RNZN’s MRV LAUNCHED

The Navy’s new Multi Role Vessel (MRV) was launched on 11 February at the Merwede shipyard in Rotterdam. This was not (as is common in ship building) a ceremonial event, but rather, a low-key part of the production process. Immediately after the hull was launched, it was towed to another yard where the superstructure modules had been assembled. The big blocks – which incorporate the cabins for Army personnel – were lifted by a 900-tonne capacity floating crane and lowered into place.

The MRV will have a maximum speed of 19 knots, and be capable of transporting the Army’s NZLAVs and Light Operational Vehicles, as well as 250 troops, one Seasprite and four NH90 helicopters. It will have two 60-tonne landing craft for situations where port facilities are not available.

At the time of the launch, the Defence Minister stated that the rigorous tank testing conducted late last year showed that the MRV fully met its sea-keeping requirements. “It is designed to be fully operational in harsher conditions than the weather that keeps the Cook Strait ferries in port. Obviously not sailing due to inclement weather is not an option when you are patrolling seas where there is no shelter.”

The ship will remain in Rotterdam for more fitting-out work until July, when she is scheduled to be sailed to Melbourne for the final fit-out.

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HUEY HOEDOWN

The Air Force’s No.3 Rotary Squadron will hold their regular get together for past and present Iroquois pilots and crew on Saturday 24 June 2006. This year’s event – presented by the Huey Old Boys – celebrates 40 years of Iroquois operations. Well known for their entertainment value, the event promises a good time for all. Given the Huey’s likely replacement by NH90 helicopters, this could be one of the last times its operations are celebrated. For more information email: gregory.jane@nzdf.mil.nz

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Site safe with SitesafeBRIG Rhys Jones and

Iris Clanachan, executive director of Sitesafe, sign a Heads of Agreement between NZDF and Sitesafe, while Alan Kemp, Paul Alcock, Jeff Shrampel and John MacLachlan look on. As a result of the signing, contractors for all NZDF tenders will be required to have Sitesafe “passports”, certifying that their contractors are safety trained. Mr Alcock said that the agree-ment means that people working on construc-tion sites for Defence are working as safe as they can be.

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azam bersama09ISSUE 348 21 FEBRUARY 2006

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A. SGT Glenn “Ox” White of 1 Tp QAMR awaits the order to continue the advance in support of Brunei Coy in the Nevis Valley

B. Troops from the 2 Cant NMWC Bn Gp debus from NZLAV

C. An early morning troop insert by UH1H Iroquois Helicopters in the Nevis Valley. No. 3 Sqn, RNZAF, provided three airframes in support of this exercise and also used the opportunity to conduct some mountain flying training throughout the Central Otago and Queenstown lakes areas

D. LT COL War wick Duncan, Commanding Officer 4 O South Bn Gp (far right) discusses the plan for the advance with Commander 3 LFG, COL Dave Gawn (far left). Looking on is, from left, Bn 2IC MAJ Lance Nicholas, S2 CAPT Phil Wood and S3 CAPT Grant MacMillan

COVER: Troops from the Royal Bruneian Armed Forces in single file during a training exercise near Kingston

COVER INSET (R): Land Component RSM WO1 Bo Ngata discusses exercise operations with members of CSST, 3 Log Bn

COVER INSET (L): 1 Tp QAMR await orders to continue the advance in support of Brunei Coy 4/2 Bn

More than 400 Regular and Territorial Force New Zealand and Bruneian soldiers participated in Exercise Azam Bersama in late January/early February – the biggest exercise held in the lower-half of the South Island in more than a decade.

Ex Azam Bersama was held in the barren northern Southland areas of Lorne Peak Station, near Garston, and the Central Otago station of Craigroy in the Nevis Valley. The exercise was set in the mythical Celtic nation of “Avalon”, which had been troubled by nationalist insurgents.

The mission of the combined battalion group, from 4th Otago Southland and 2nd Canterbury Nelson Marlborough West Coast Battalions (4/2 Bn Gp), was to assist the local authority to suppress nationalist insurgents, under a United Nations mandate.

The main aim of the open-country exercise was to test the reaction of soldiers and officers to hypothetical situations at platoon and section levels, whilst also introducing them to operating with NZLAV, and Iroquois helicopters from 3 Sqn RNZAF. The exercise was a good opportunity for officers within the Bn HQ CP to continue to train their soldiers, and plan for the tactical second phase.

Exercise planning began in early-2005 and involved almost every unit from 3 LFG. Once into the exercise proper, troops from 4 O South Bn Gp, 2 Cant NMWC Bn Gp, 2/1 RNZIR, Queen Alexandra’s Mounted Rifles, 3 Log Bn, 3 Sig Sqn, 3rd Health Support Team and Burnham Regional Support Centre, were initially hosted in the Lorne Peak Station area for build-up training. The training focused on integrating the NZLAV from QAMR, and Iroquois, of 3 Sqn, before the tactical phase of the exercise began.

Being the largest exercise held in the area for a number of years, public interest was high, and a number of groups visited the exercise. While the exercise focused on training at the section and platoon level, some real-time Civil Military Affairs operations were conducted. Members of the BRSC Fire Station, who were in the area supporting the exercise, helped suppress a large scrub fire on the outskirts of Alexandra, and extinguished a smaller scrub fire that had gone unnoticed by members of the public and local fire agencies.

The tactical phase of the exercise began with C Coy, 3rd Bn of the RBAF, beginning their advance up the Nevis Valley. For many Bruneian soldiers, this was their first time out of their home country. So to be deployed into the wide-open spaces of Central Otago to conduct operations against a determined insurgent enemy was a difficult task. However, they quickly adapted to the situation. After initial hesitation due to the lack of tree cover, the Bruneian forces began rapidly advancing through the valley. The first day culminated in a quick attack against an insurgent stronghold halfway up the valley. Day two began early for C Coy and, with intelligence provided from 2/1 Bn Recon Pl on the enemy dispositions, C Coy were able to conduct a Coy cordon and search on the insurgent village.

Following a day behind the Bruneian Company, Kiwi Coy, made up of territorial soldiers from 4 O South and 2 Cant NMWC Bn Gps, began advancing up the valley. The soldiers’ familiarity with the terrain made things easy for

them at first, but their commanders soon found excellent training opportunities for their sections and platoons as the enemy party started halting their advance. The tactical phase of the exercise culminated with Kiwi Coy conducting a cordon and search on the insurgent village at the head of the valley, supported by NZLAVs and Iroquois helicopters.

Following the tactical phase, troops conducted live firing for three days in Craigroy Station, at the head of the Nevis Valley. They initially focused at the individual and pairs fire and movement, before moving onto section and finishing with live platoon advance to contact drills.

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A combat service support team from 3 Logistics Battalion took to the road in support of Ex Azam Bersama. The multifunctional, 73-strong CSST included 21 TF from 4 O South and 2 Cant NMWC Bn Gps. The CSST provided real-time support to the exercise, and training for TF logistics personnel.

Throughout the exercise, training focused on developing basic skills and teaching procedures. Feedback from TF personnel was very positive, and all commented that it was rare and rewarding to work alongside their RF coun-terparts. Territorial NCOs and officers were pleased to be able to command a mainly RF organisation.

Based on an insurgent threat in the Nevis valley, two infantry companies advanced through the valley to clear the enemy. The NZ Coy worked alongside the RBAF Coy, both employing Helo, NZLAV- and TCV-mounted operations.

Personnel from the CSST were involved in the live firing and live-firing counter vehicle ambush drills. For many – both TF and RF – it was their first experience with field firing.

With the enemy threat destroyed and the exercise finished, all that remained was the journey back to Burnham.

Contributed by LT Dan Hedley

CSST in support

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After the live firing phase, a cultural event was held around the Craigroy homestead, where former participants were given insight into cultural differences between Brunei and New Zealand. New Zealand soldiers were shown a display of precision drill, using the Bruneian issue M16, and Bruneian martial arts. Kiwi Coy, on behalf of the New Zealand exercise participants, performed two songs in response and then performed a spirited haka from the 2 Cant NMWC Bn Gp.

2 Cant NMWC Bn Gp band wrapped up. Then some Bruneians took over the musical instruments and performed some of their own popular songs, which were widely applauded by the New Zealand soldiers.

Ex Azam Bersama was a huge success. It gave the visiting Bruneian forces experience operating within an open-country environment, while Territorials from 3 LFG gained first-hand experience operating within a combined-arms environment.

Contributed by CAPT Stu McLean

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azam bersama11ISSUE 348 21 FEBRUARY 2006

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A. NZLAV from 1 Tp QAMR provide fire support following the dismount of troops from Canterbury Platoon as they conduct a quick attack on an insurgent enclave. 1 Tp provided mobility support to the exercise

B. A Convoy of C Coy RBAF escorted by NZLAV (head of column) move into the Nevis Valley to begin their advance against insurgent elements in “Avalon”

C. CPL Rees, 2/1 Bn RNZIR is restrained by elements of the Canterbury Platoon, Kiwi Coy, following his capture as the result of a Platoon quick attack on an insurgent village. 2/1Bn provided personnel for the enemy party, reconnaissance and safety staff

D. LSW Gunners provide fire support for attacking troops during the clearance of a suspected insurgent village

E. SPR Ioane Ma’auga, Engineer Section of 2 Cant NMWC Bn Gp conducts a search of a suspected booby trapped residence within an insurgent village. PTE Ma’auga is attempting to locate any trip wires around the perimeter of the building before a detailed search of the building is conducted

F. Troops from Canterbury Platoon, Kiwi Company restrain Avalonian dissidents prior to conducting a quick at-tack on a settlement believed to be sheltering insurgents. 2 Cant NMWC Bn GP and the 4 O South Bn Gp combined to form Kiwi Company. The troops were tasked with dealing with insurgents trying to overthrow the ruling Monarchy of “Avalon”

G. Troops from the 2 Cant NMWC Bn Gp debus from NZLAV

H. Commanding Officer 2/1Bn RNZIR LT COL John Boswell, Land Component Commander Brigadier Warren Whit-ing and 2 Cant NMWC Bn Gp Honorary Colonel, Brigadier Rick Menzies, with Royal Bruneian Armed Force troops following a live-firing activity on Ex Azam Bersama. The exercise concluded with a three-day live-firing period where the Bruneian troops gained experience in conducting open-country conventional operations

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Several of the soldiers on the exercise were involved with two real-life fires and a car crash.

CPL Todd Miller, from Burnham Fire Station Regional Support Centre, said while he and another soldier were travelling in convoy to the Nevis Valley they were called on to assist with a fire in Alexandra. They were also the first to arrive at the scene of a vegetation fire near Kingston, which took fire crews three hours to put out. CPL Miller said it was common for soldiers to help out at emergencies if they were in the region at the time.

Later, the soldiers assisted at a car crash near Kingston, where they helped with communications and liaison.

training for real

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12northern kiwi

Ex Northern Kiwi was a major infantry, medical and commu-nications training exercise. It was also an opportunity for many units to increase their skills.

Young officers were trained in their tactical skills; headquarters staff handled hundreds of orders; the mobile battalion HQ staff kept control of the attacking forces; drivers drove long distances at ungodly hours; commanders of reconnaissance Land Rovers practiced their stealthy cross-country navigation skills; loggies learned to sling loads beneath Iroquois helicopters; the mechanics, cooks, cleaners, fire fighters and mobile shower team worked efficiently to ensure everything ran smoothly; and the honorary colonels came, observed and gave wise counsel.

Variety …

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A. Waikato Mounted Rifles cammed-up V8 Land Rover headling out on a reconnaissance mission. Driver LCPL Erin Gibbons, crew commander TPR Chris Jeffries, gunner TPR Arron OxenhamB. Two WMR troopers packing up gearC. LCPL Erin GibbonsD. Lone Wolves. Students and instructors of Waikato Mounted Rifles Commanders Course E. Boat commander SPR Sturgeon, at speed on Lake TaupoF. The work of the ringawera in preparing a hangi for 400 soldiers G. PTE Kylie Provan 5WWTC, and PTE Stephen Motum RWAR working at the mobile Battalion HQ, H. SIG Greg Williams and team move a VHF antenna to a “remoted” site, away from the strong interference of nearby power linesI. CAPT Lisa Caulton, a TF dental officer with 1HST, works on a patientJ. NZCF Officer sustained a “serious eye injury” while in CAPT Brooks’s Weta Workshop make-up roomK. So realistic was this accident, in which a pressure cooker exploded in Iwitahi Camp’s kitchen, that the medic called to the scene thought it was realL. CAPT Trish Baker, PTE Donna Hammond and LCPL Pauline Lesta managing a “head injury” in the emergency treatment section of the FST

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At the Brigade Main Command Post at Iwitahi, and the Combat Service Support centre at Taupo Airport, 38 signallers installed secure VHF and HF radio links to other places around Taupo. This included Tauhara airstrip, Hinemaiaia Forest and the mobile Brigade HQ, and a distant link to the Forward Surgical Team at Hastings.

They maintained contact with the Waikato Mounted Rifles, who were constantly moving throughout the Taupo area. New “retrans” (re-transmitter) stations had to be installed as the need arose.

They installed landline and satellite phones, laptops, printers, fax machines and internet connections. TF signallers were brought down for a weekend in November, to test the required comms links, and plan where to place retrans detachments. 2LT Hollie O’Brien said that this was added encouragement for them to participate in the January exercise.

A 24-hour radio watch was kept at all links throughout the exer-cise, and there was much excitement when the “EndEx” signal finally came through and their long watch was over.

At its height, exercise Starlight Avenger 2 boasted 85 personnel: TF, RF, Royal Western Australian Reservists (RWAR, including three medics from Ex Tasman Reserve), and civilians. The exercise was organised by the Health Support Team (HST) from 2nd Health Support Battalion (NZ). (Last year’s Starlight Avenger 1 was cancelled due to the NZDF deploy-ment to Banda Aceh.)

HST gave real-time health support to Ex Northern Kiwi, and its Forward Surgical Team (FST) conducted a surgical programme on the grounds of Hawke’s Bay Hospital, in Hastings.

The FST consists of a team operating a portable MASH-like tented surgical facility. Fifteen civilians from the Hawke’s Bay region had “minor surgery” in the FST and a number of simulated military casu-alties were transported from the Taupo area to Hastings, to practice the chain of evacuation. These “patients” consisted of Army cadets from the Napier Cadet Unit, and recruits-in-training. Their “injuries” were prepared at Iwitahi Camp by the training cell of 2 HSB (NZ), and then taken out into the field where Ex NK soldiers were exer-cising. The “moulage” injuries were prepared with assistance from Weta Workshops.

The troops applied first aid and took the casualties to the nearest RAP for treatment by doctors and medics. They were then transferred by ambulance, or RNZAF Iroquois helicopter, to the FST in Hastings.

The HST’s health support was provided by a medical section, an ambulance detachment, an environmental health team and a dental section.

As well as treating the minor injuries – insect bites were common – the medics did a number of training exercises, including how to put a catheter into a vein at night, using only the light from a shaded cyalume.

The environmental health team assisted in the Taranaki Tiger scenario (report Army News #347, pg 9), by sign-posting poisoned water supplies and testing the purity of new supplies from the engineers’ bores and filters.

The integrated RF/TF dental team did a survey of TF oral hygiene status and practiced routine dentistry in the field: examinations, x-rays, scaling and fillings. The dental tent lacked the heat-reflecting roof of the FST and so, on hot afternoons, provided good training for equato-rial dentistry.

Reported by John Archer

NORTHERN KIWI

… communications …

… and exercise Starlight Avenger 2

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Visitor from Timor LesteThe Timor Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL) Chief of Logistics, Tenente Coronel Filomeno De Paixo De

Jesus, has been visiting New Zealand. NZDF officers have been serving in Timor as advisers to the F-FDTL for some time, and the NZDF is about to embark on a formal Mutual Assistance Programme (MAP) with Timor. During his visit, the Colonel, better known to Kiwis as “Meno”, visited Waiouru, Linton and Trentham to familiarise himself with NZ Army training systems and institutions. Whilst in Wellington, LT COL Meno discussed ways the NZDF could continue to assist the development of F-FDTL under the MAP.

MAJ Saen O’Brien (right) shows LT COL Meno the Trade Training School on his visit to Trentham Military Camp

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Reunion Radian IIOver a long weekend in January, 35 serving and non-serving personnel returned to Burnham Military

Camp for a reunion of Operation Radian II. Op Radian II deployed to Bosnia from 26 February to 22 September 1995. From the original 249 members of the deployment, 103 were still serving in the Army. Ex-soldiers travelled from throughout New Zealand to attend the reunion and one travelled from Townsville, Australia. Many others sent messages.

WO1 Alan Cunningham stated that “it was great to catch up with the various ex-serving soldiers who had left the service. Without exception, all have done extremely well since the day they returned from Bosnia. For example, Peter Broughton completed an apprenticeship and is now a qualified gas fitter and turner. Terry Davies is now an IT Manager with NZ School of Travel and Tourism.” Everyone who attended had news of other contingent members and their successes.

WO1 Cunningham went on to say that many stories were told and a lot of laughs were had over the weekend. “Including the infamous Busovaca First 15 Saga. Ten years later the story was still worth telling, not to mention new facts being uncovered”, he said. “We now know about the one that got away! Don’t worry Trooper Drake, we have your number!”

The weekend ended with a buffet dinner in the Burnham Warrant Officers and Sergeants Mess, and was attended by COL Lofty Hayward, the former Officer Commanding of Kilo II Company.

The reunion organisers wish to thank all those personnel and those behind the scenes, who made the weekend a great success and especially to those who made the effort to attend.

Reported by Alison Comrie

Top Row: L-R S McClay, JH Rapana, LA Caleb, TR Sorensen, D Hetutu, LJ Hebbard, MH Harrison, NL Russell, S Herewini, P Broughton, T Peck, T Wijohn, JR Good, JC Williams, GA Pithie. Middle Row: L-R CZA Trevella, JC Shalfoon, CL Allen, M Ashworth, ELW Keelan, MC Firmin, R Poasa, A Bain, A Jackson. Front Row: L-R AD Cunningham, M Dean, D Kimber, DA Barker, DJ Bulmer, AA Lasika, B Cutler, W Menzies, M Giacon, T Davies

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Navigation, first aid and signals are some of the many skills soldiers from 1 RNZIR learn to keep them equipped for life as an infantry soldier. In a week of intense training at Linton Army Camp, 12 privates, based at 1 RNZIR, learnt and were tested on these skills to complete their Band 3 training. Once they have passed their Band 3 course they receive a pay rise and are eligible for other specialised courses.

The soldiers are not only tested on their combat skills, but also life skills. As part of the Defence First Aid (DFA) testing, one of the scenarios is being first on the scene of a car accident. “The skills the soldiers learn are very diverse and may be used inside or outside of work hours”, said assessor CPL Blake Maskill from Reconnaissance Platoon, 1 RNZIR.

The DFA tri-service course has recently been modified to include scenarios involving child and infant CPR tests, miscellaneous emergencies including a heart attack scenario, and scenarios that are service applicable. The DFA is in line with the NZQA standards and is run with a new Training Management Plan first tested January this year. At the end of the Band training period, the Regimental Aid Post (RAP) would have tested 72 soldiers for DFA. Reported by Caroline Williams

Band 3 testingPTE Daniel Hansen attends a car accident and applies CPR to PTE Dylan James who had a heart attack, while PTE Matthew Wade has spinal injuries

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Burnham Military Camp recently received a visit from the Senior Enlisted Leader for the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), Sergeant Major William T Kinney, US Marine Corps. He was welcomed to the camp by a Powhiri, managed by SSGT Joe Murray.

SGT MAJ Kinney joined the US Marine Corps in September 1975. He was posted as the First Marine Expeditionary Force Sergeant Major during March 2002 and deployed twice to Iraq for combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He assumed his current position in June 2004.

After the welcome SGT MAJ Kinney gave each welcome party member a coin, specially produced from his Marine Corps unit. The manner in which each member received the coin from him, and the coin itself, harks back to the Crusades era and heraldry.

His tour of Burnham included a brief to 3 LFG, a visit to Queen Alexandra’s Mounted Rifles, 2nd Canterbury Nelson Marlborough West Coast (CNMWC), and the Brunei contingent here on their annual exercise. He was also welcomed into the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess where WO1

Malcolm Dean presented him with the 3rd Land Force Group Medallion.

SGT MAJ Kinney presented the President of the Members Committee (PMC) WO1 Kevin Foster, with a state-of-the-art US medical pack and regaled the mess with his experiences of New Zealand so far. This included a tale of walking up to the top of the gondola at Queenstown, as he found the price of the gondola trip too expensive!

He admired the system of training employed by the New Zealand Army for their Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and Senior Non Commissioned Officers (SNCOs).

SGT MAJ Kinney also declared that the US military is having a renaissance with their basic training at entry level and throughout their other ranks positions. The term used was ‘Strategic Corporal’. This is due to several unfortunate incidents in Iraq where training was the underlying factor in a breakdown of command and communication.

Reported by Alison Comrie

US Pacific CommandSGT MAJ Kinney accepts the challenge from PTE Vokaty of Delta Company, 2/1 RNZIR, while SSGT Joe Murray advises

PMC WO1 Kevin Foster accepts the US medical kit from SGT MAJ Kinney

PTE Shannon Edwards accepts the Marine Corps coin via a complicated handshake from SGT MAJ Kinney

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news15ISSUE 348 21 FEBRUARY 2006

Large crowds gathered to watch 45 old Army vehicles put through their paces at the Army Museum over Waitangi Weekend at Waiouru. Ten members of the Historical Re-enactment Society, dressed in 1940s New Zealand battledress, were carried in Lloyd and Bren carriers. They joined American and German WWII troops in battle, supported by advancing Walker Bulldog and Scorpion tanks.

Nicola Bennett, marketing manager of the Army Museum, said that 29 old Army vehicles had been restored. But, until the museum’s new Tamitea wing was built, the vehicles were kept in sheds inside the Army camp one kilometre away. The Wheels Around Waiouru weekend gave people an opportunity to see them all in action.

There were another 12 restored vehicles on display, brought from all around the country by military vehicle enthusiasts. These included three jeeps and three Bren carriers, one of which was sporting a Holden automatic engine.

About half of the Historical Re-enactment Society’s members came down from Auckland for the weekend. Their president, John Taylor, said the society started in 1996 with collectors who wanted to display their military gear. Their aim was to represent New Zealanders’ contribution to WWII. A German unit, representing mountain infantry who fought the New Zealanders in two campaigns, was on display to demonstrate a comparison to the Kiwis.

“We are not glorifying war. We are trying to gain a better understanding of our forefathers’ sacrifice”, said Mr Taylor. The sombre expression on their faces, as they were carried into battle in the rear of the Lloyd and Bren carriers, showed that being in these vehicles gave them an increased awareness.

The “gunners” from the Military Vehicle Collectors Club (MVCC) loaded and fired their 25 Pounder with great precision and the Rangitikei Ruapehu Army Cadet Unit did a great job of crowd control.

This was the inaugural Wheels Around Waiouru event, and the battle re-enactments were so successful that plans are afoot for more a elaborate event next year.

Wheels around Waiouru

A small group of volunteer mechanics and drivers contributed to the success of Wheels Around Waiouru. Families of dedicated enthusiasts have been coming to Waiouru about one weekend a month over the last two years, to help repair the veteran Army vehicles owned by the Army Museum. They all turned up again on the weekend to drive the machines in the processions, on joy-rides and during re-enactments.

Mr Sam Hunter, a diesel mechanic from Palmerston North and a member of the MVCC, said he his family had been coming to Waiouru to help restore the museum’s M41 Walker Bulldog tank, after an invitation from his boss Graeme Blackly. Mr Hunter said he had wanted to drive tanks ever since he played on the dozens of war-surplus tanks stored on his uncle’s land in Australia.

After driving the M41 along smooth roads in parades on Saturday and Sunday, and taking part in three battle re-enactments (driving slowly so the foot soldiers were safe), Mr Hunter’s dream came true on Monday when he was able to put the 24-ton beast through its paces around the rough cross-country track behind the museum. The engine of the T41 runs much better than during its last outing, during the farewell to QA Squadron. The volunteers have learned how to tune its two magnetos, and then its two carburettors. The old tank’s engine uses far less Avgas since Mr Hunter installed a jet that had been missing from one of the carburettors.

Along with stalwarts Gavin and Brent Delaney, Mr Hunter and other volunteers will use the knowledge they gained on the T41 to restore the old Centurion tank currently stored at Waiouru camp. A pristine Centurion engine owned by the museum will be installed.

Mr Hunter and several other MVCC members, who had been assisting the museum, also brought Army vehicles they had restored at home, with Bren carriers being a favourite.

A large contingent from the Rotorua Land Rover Enthusiast’s Club is at Waiouru restoring eight Army Land Rover variants belonging to the museum. Their favourite is a stripped-down variant armed with a .30 machine gun which was used by the New Zealand SAS during the Malaya campaign.

Reported by John Archer

Volunteers …

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TOP RIGHT: Volunteer workers; tank driver Sam Hunter gives his two sons a ride on the T41 which they had all worked on for more than 20 weekendsABOVE: Rotorua Land Rover Enthusiasts Club, posing with SAS Land Rover they restoredRIGHT: With ammunition exhausted, US paratroopers and German alpine troops close in for hand to hand fightingFAR RIGHT: Members of Historical Re-enactment Society show pre-battle anxiety of their 1943 fellow US paratroopers, as an old Kiwi soldier drives them to the front line in a Lloyd tracked carrierBELOW: WW2 Kiwi infantry advancing with the support of the T41 Walker Bulldog tank

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THE SMOKO QUIZQUIZMASTER: BARRY ALLISON

CROSSWORD BY MIKE DUNCAN

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1. What names did the Allies give the beaches they landed on in Normandy in 1944?

2. What name had the German propaganda machine given their invasion defences?

3. Why is 21 October Infantry Corps Day in our Army?

4. What British soldiers’ song begins with “There’s many a troopship that’s leaving Bombay”?

5. What is a “pyhrric victory”?

6. Where was the Battle of Marathon fought?

7. Who invented Morse Code?

8. What is “Zulu” Time?

9. What type of aircraft can operate from land or water?

10. What is a cutlass?

ANSWERS1. Gold, Juno, Omaha, Sword and Utah 2. The Western Wall 3. Because the Battle of El Alamein, recognised as the last infantry battle, began on that date in 1942. 4. “Bless ‘Em All” 5. A victory won at a cost perhaps more than the victory was worth and so no “victory” at all. 6. On the Plain of Marathon, 34.5km north of Athens 7. American Samuel Morse. 8. Greenwich Mean Time, essentially 12 hours behind NZ time if daylight saving at both ends is ignored! 9. An amphibian 10. A short sword with a thick, curved blade and much favoured by sailors of yesteryear

16Entertainment★ stars

★★

AQUARIUSJan 21 to Feb 19Someone may be trying to take advantage of your generosity. Luckily for you, you haven’t got a brass razoo. That should stuff up their plans.

PISCESFeb 20 to Mar 20Living in the past just isn’t of any use to you. Unless you are an historical figure, which of course makes it totally fine.

ARIESMar 21 to April 20Don’t attempt something you don’t have a lot of experience doing. Unless you feel you need the experience.

TAURUSApril 21 to May 21A walk down memory lane may stir up some old emotions. Unfortunately they’ll probably be the ones you have been taking the pills to control.

GEMINIMay 22 to June 21You can rely on friends, but not family members at the moment. That all changes next Thursday when you should treat all your friends as social lepers and give them a wide berth for a while. They’ll understand.

CANCER June 22 to July 23You may think you will know what you’re doing, but the panel of experts called in will not be so easily deluded. Just smile and cop their comments sweet. You know where they live …

LEOJuly 24 to Aug 23You could be hiding your inner-most feelings as a form of self preservation since any sign of humanity would be ruthlessly exploited by twisted, emotional sadists for their own twisted sense of fun. Still, that’s what family holidays are all about.

VIRGOAug 24 to Sept 23Try not to intervene in the problems of others. Problems are like glue and stick to anyone who gets within meddling distance.

LIBRASept 24 to Oct 23A romantic encounter may leave you feeling confused. Which would be better than the one that left you concussed.

SCORPIOOct 24 to Nov 22So many idiots, only one large stick.

SAGITTARIUSNov 23 to Dec 20Accomplishment will come easily as long as you are honest about what you can and cannot do. Or perhaps realistic is a better word. You honestly believe in a lot of things that haven’t done you a scrap of good.

CAPRICORNDec 21 to Jan 20

You will have some very unusual ideas that you will try to develop. Those around you with high levels of self-preserva-tion will attempt to thwart you at every turn.

seeing★

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ISSUE 348 21 FEBRUARY 2006

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“I want to write the book that explains it: the horror, the terror, the shame, the mind-numbing boredom; and the joy and the honour. Down to the goriest and most degrading detail, down to the suicides, the anorexic despera-tion, the promiscuity, the comradeship, the tedium, the bravery, the violence.”

As an ex-punk, Chomsky-reading liberal, Kayla was an unlikely candidate for the army. But at 23, newly unemployed, single, and seeking a fresh start, Kayla enlisted in the US Army as an Arabic-speaking linguist. Then came 9/11; in February 2003, Kayla deployed to Iraq.

Attached to various infantry units and moving from Baghdad, to Mosul, to a remote, mountainous outpost on the Syrian border, Kayla’s year in Iraq changed her life.

Although she lists 25 ways to prepare for deployment, such as showering every two weeks, there was no way she could have prepared for Iraq.

At one time the only female among 200 men, Kayla’s male colleagues are juvenile “fraternity boys” who assign female soldiers to one of only two groups: sluts and bitches. However, Love my Rifle is no feminist text. Kayla understands and forgives their behav-iour, saving her most scathing words – not for the soldier who nearly rapes her – but for a female commissioned officer who, Kayla slams for brushing her hair non-stop, flirting constantly with the infantry, and blaming her incompetence on PMT.

Kayla also saves plenty of venom for her blunt attacks on the US military. Faced with the frustration of working under yet another incom-petent team leader, she concludes that the US military is a communist institution, where people do as little as possible and “scam their way up the bureaucratic ladder”. The book is littered with examples, from the lieutenant who needs an interpreter to talk to a Baghdad monk, even though the monk speaks perfect English, to the colonel who forces her to inter-rogate a dying civilian about “these ragheads” after a roadside bomb.

Despite their patriotism and loyalty to the army, troops knew there was no connec-tion between 9/11 and Iraq, says Kayla, and weren’t expecting to find any weapons of mass destruction. She also depicts the army as ill-prepared for this type of conflict. In

such a messy war, with no clear separation of bystanders and combatants, soldiers started hurting the people they were supposed to be helping. Even Kayla, her nerves frayed by months at war, began to see Iraqi civilians as the enemy.

After witnessing interrogations that crossed the line between interrogation and torture, and touching on Abu Ghraib, Kayla offers something of an explanation: “All of us, guys and girls, were in a situation in Iraq where we were powerless much of the time. And then we found ourselves in this situation where we had all this power over another person. And suddenly we could do whatever the f*** we wanted to them”, she writes.

Yes, her memoir is laced with profani-ties, and is composed of patchy, incomplete sentences. Kayla is also irritatingly narcis-sistic, peppering her book with self-congratu-latory phrases. But looking past this, and read almost like a series of emails to a friend, the book is a frank, unflinchingly candid insight into a soldier’s deployment to Iraq.

After watching a fellow soldier die for a war she claims no soldiers believed in, and expe-riencing the kindness and generosity of the Iraqi people, in spite of their poverty, Kayla returns to the US a changed person. “The only things people were interested in were beyond my comprehension. Who cared about Jennifer Lopez, while the story of soldiers getting killed in Iraq got relegated to a little banner across the bottom of the screen?”

She describes how, in her parent’s gated community, the biggest issue was the arrival of a pre-fab house. “Everyone was aghast: ‘What about property values?’ I thought: Who are you people? You have electricity. You have phones. I just came back from a place where people wanted my cardboard boxes for flooring. What the f*** is wrong with you?”

For eight days at Yalta in February 1945, World War Two is technically over, but the battle for the spoils of war – the “peace negotiation” – is on. The three victors and wartime allies are now fighting their own corners on Russian soil: Churchill, aware that he’d gone to war to save Poland from the Germans and he was losing it again to the Russians; Roosevelt, desperate for his precious United Nations; and Stalin, deter-mined to take Poland and destroy Germany.

For Poland, the war may be over but the blood continued to be shed, as Russian “liberators” enter and rape what is left of the once-beau-tiful country. Running parallel to the story at Yalta is the fictional tale of the Polish town of Piorun and one of its residents, Marion Novak, a former member of the Polish aristocracy and cavalry and a survivor of the Katyn massacre. He tells the personal side of the war, of losing his daughter and wife – indeed, his entire life – to the retreating Germans and the advancing Russians. Still clutching at hope, he makes his way to Yalta and begs Churchill to save his country.

However, in the face of the empire-building dictator Stalin, and lacking support from the aging, ineffectual dreamer Roosevelt, who is being flattered by Stalin, Churchill realises he

CHURCHILL’S TRIUMPHBy Michael Dobbs

Hachette Livre NZ$36.99Reviewed by Anna Norman

is unable to save Poland. Although the Russian dictator guarantees free elections to the Poles, no one trusts him. Churchill “had come to Yalta in the guise of one of the most mighty men on the planet, yet the young Pole (Nowak) had made him realise it was little more than a sham”.

Through clean, sharp dialogue, and the author’s keen appreciation of history and eye for detail (down to Stalin’s pepper vodka), the three characters come alive in Churchill’s Triumph. Churchill, his grandiose speeches more of a hindrance than a help, is looked down upon as an old-fashioned imperialist by Roosevelt, depicted as weak and self-righteous; and Stalin, a cunning bully. Because this is what it comes down to: years of war and sacrifice, millions dead, billions squandered, centuries of architecture up in smoke – three exhausted old men, their strength of char-acter and political skills, deciding the shape of the post-war world.

BOOK REVIEWS :

LOVE MY RIFLE MORE THAN YOU Young and Female in the US Army

By Kayla Williams

Fraser Books $35.00Reviewed by Anna Norman

reminiscing

Bewildering friendship between Aussies and Kiwis in KoreaOf all the friendships that have been formed in Korea there is no more close – nor more bewildering – than

that between New Zealander and Australian.Troops from other countries never cease to be perplexed at the relationship between Digger and Kiwi, for on

the surface there is little to suggest amicability. Whenever the wearers of the floppy slouch hat and the sloppy khaki beret get together, the insults that pass

between them would precipitate a blood-letting brawl in any other company.“Bludgers — long-range snipers (alluding to the Kiwi gunners)”, jibe the Aussie infantrymen. And the Kiwis,

with cutting reference to the Aussie slouch hat, retort “— thieves … Syngman Rhee’s cowboys!”Only the nicer expressions, it is regretted, can be quoted. That excludes the ones commonly used. Despite this, the spirit of the Anzac has never been endangered. Digger and Kiwi are merely carrying on with

unprecedented enthusiasm the intense but entirely friendly feud started by their fathers in World War I, and pursued ever since by troops of both Dominions.

At one time they used to hurl more than insults. Earlier on it was mud and clods of earth. Rotten eggs were favourite missiles, and even custard was hoarded until it turned a mouldy green.

No Kiwi dared pass an Aussie camp in an uncovered jeep or truck. But this was a bit tough. Inevitably there were some casualties, regretted by all. By mutual consent, “mud-

slinging” in its literal sense was abandoned.Behind all that outward show of enmity, however, there are strong and comforting links, forged by experiences

and memories of the past. Aussie and Kiwi have a deep admiration for each other’s fighting qualities, a feeling engendered in World Wars I and II, and so much strengthened in Korea.

Excerpt from Army Journal Vol 1, No 1, 1 July 1954

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18sPORT

On Waitangi Day, primary next-of-kin and family members of deployed personnel were fortunate to attend a training session of the Canterbury Crusaders rugby team at Rugby Park, Christchurch. They were treated to a half-hour game of soccer followed by touch rugby, after which several players made their time available to meet and sign autographs. The group from Burnham met several of the players: Greg Sommerville, Chris Jack, Rico Gear, Ruben Thorn, Richie McCaw, and a big thrill for most of them, Daniel Carter.

The occasion was organised by Carol Voyce, the Deployment Services Officer (DSO) from 3 LFG, Burnham Military Camp. The afternoon spent with the Crusaders was one of the many things that Carol does to help keep morale high amongst those left at home. It was a great success and will be remembered fondly by those who attended.

Reported by Alison Comrie

Crusaders in training

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A. Shaun (in blue jumper) and Brendan, stepsons of SSGT Paul Connor, 3 Transport Company, in Sinai, have just had their caps signed by Greg Sommerville

B. Matthew and Daniel Marriott , sons of SSGT Marriott, with Daniel Carter

C. Daniel Carter with Kayla Te Aika, daughter of MAJ Shane Te Aika in Sudan

D. Ritchie McCaw starts the long but happy process of signing caps, flags, t-shirts and photographs

E. A sure collectors item in years to come, Kade Gates, son of SGT Matthew Gates in Afghanistan, has his first birthday celebration with Daniel Carter

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ISSUE 348 21 FEBRUARY 2006

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Fitting farewellThe Wellington Half Marathon, in late January, was the last run

together for SGT Alex Mckenzie (Macca), Mr Don Calder and CAPT Steve Hall.

Don Calder and CAPT Hall are departing overseas. Don is moving to Canada at the end of February and CAPT Hall has taken a year off to go sailing around the southern hemisphere. The three, all from HQ JFNZ, have run together for some time and have taken part in a number of events together, with good results. This run was no exception. CAPT Hall came in with a time of 1:27, SGT Mckenzie 1:34 and Don 1:41, placing them 2nd, 5th and 9th in their categories, out of a field of approximately 400.

It wasn’t all work and no play. At the end of the run they returned to CAPT Hall’s yacht where they were joined by friends and work colleagues. CAPT Hall and Don enthusiastically passed on their exper-tise and encouragement to SGT Mckenzie for the next up and coming event: the Great Lakes Relay in Taupo this month, where a team of runners from HQ JFNZ will take part in the 160-kilometre event.

L-R: SGT Alex Mckenzie (Macca), Mr Don Calder and CAPT Steve Hall

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Crusaders in trainingThree Army officers conquered the Coast-to-Coast chal-

lenge this month, completing the gruelling 243-kilometre race across the South Island.

CAPT Ruth Cornelius finished 9th in the women’s (18-39) section of the one-day individual grade, and 81st overall – out of a field of more than 1000 competitors. Her time was 13 hours 38 minutes. CAPT Kirstine Collins finished 17th in the same grade, and 129th overall, in 15 hours six minutes.

The third Army competitor, CAPT Robin Francis, finished in 89th in his grade in the men’s section of the two-day indi-vidual grade, and 152nd overall. He took just over 16 hours to complete the event.

Completing the gruelling event is an enormous task, and their placings were impressive. The Coast-to-Coast traverses the South Island from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea to Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean. During either one or two days, competitors cycle 140km; run 36km; and kayak 67km, through the Waimakariri Gorge.

For the two-day event, competitors camp overnight at Klondyke Corner, between stages one and two (a 3km run, 55km cycle and 33km mountain cycle across the Southern Alps) and stages three and four (a 15km cycle, 800m run, 67km kayak and 70km cycle).

For CAPTs Cornelius and Collins, this was their first chance to tackle the elite one-day race, known as the World Multisport Championship. CAPT Collins completed the two day event last year and CAPT Cornelius the two day in 2004.

“When you’re on the kayak, you fantasise that you could pull over and get the jet boat guy to take you out”, says CAPT Cornelius. “But you don’t ever seriously think about not finishing.”

Conquering Coast-to-Coast

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CAPT Ruth Cornelius after completing the Coast-to-Coast

She says the race has a great atmosphere. “Even though competitors are racing, everyone is very supportive. And as you come in on the last cycle leg, the whole way in, there are people sitting outside their houses cheering people on – it’s wonderful, and it really does help.”

CAPT Collins agrees. “It’s really the only race where you get the public supporting it. Even people who were just going about their business would stop and clap and give you encouragement.”

CAPT Francis says he’d wanted to do the Coast-to-Coast since growing up in Christchurch. He competed in the two-day team grade in 2004.

CAPT Collins had her training interrupted by inju-ries, including a shoulder injury for two-months before the race.

Spending six to eight months training is a huge commit-ment and a juggling act, CAPT Cornelius admits, admit it is hard on friends and family. However, she loved it. “The training is awesome. You’re going and looking for places to train that are off the beaten track; you don’t go and run for three hours on the road, you go and look for inter-esting places.”

When CAPTs Cornelius and Collins were studying in Waiouru last year, they trained together, running around Mount Ruapehu over two weekends.

“I like the variety [of multisports]”, says CAPT Collins. “I encourage other people to give it a go because you don’t need to be the fastest person in any of the legs, you just need to keep going!”

Reported by Anna Norman

Race registration begins on Thursday afternoon, and as I queue up for my race pack I try to ignore the horror stories being told about the low river level “rocks you’ve never seen before…”, “…broke his new boat in half…”.

The two-day competitors start at 7.00am on Friday, while the one-day competitors spend the day sorting out gear, sticking on stickers, cleaning bike gears, going for a light run and ride.

Race day starts at 2.00am on Saturday, when I get up to eat my first breakfast. I am already exhausted, having raced the course several times over in my sleep. I go back to bed until 4.00am.

Race director Robin Judkins counts down and the race starts. We scramble blindly up the rocks, it’s 6.00am and pitch black. A rapid change of shoes at the cycle transition sees me with a small bunch of riders. With a bit of work we quickly catch the lead bunch, where a steady pace is set.

This 55km cycle leg is undulating. I find the pace too slow, because the top competi-tors are resting their legs for the run. I end up in the lead, which is not part of my race plan. I know I should be behind someone else to avoid working too hard, but for the moment I revel in the feeling of being in the front, and fantasise about being first or second woman home to Sumner.

Every now and then I try to focus on how my body is feeling, whether the pace is too fast, and whether I am over-exerting myself, but I feel great. With 3km to go the top racers pull into the lead and race to the transition area – about 40 cyclists arrive at once.

Five kilometres into the run a guy is strapping up his sprained ankle, but he carries on, even – to my dismay – overtaking me! As I cross and re-cross the river, I marvel at my complete lack of balance, stumbling over the slippery rocks as I drink a mouthful of river water. I wonder if it is fatigue, or I am just rushing too much.

When runners overtake me, calling “coming through” on the narrow track, I work on not being disheartened. It is a beautiful run, and I remind myself that I enjoy this (although at this particular moment I am at a loss for why…). I distract myself from tight hamstrings by squeezing gooey carbo gel into my mouth, and start thinking about the kayak.

I finally reach the transition. The 16km bike ride goes quickly, with the luxury of not having to run being uppermost in my mind. At the top of the Mt White Bridge turn-off I drop from my bike and start running down the road.

The kayak. Within 30 minutes I have a growing pain in my right armpit. This chaffing is soon forgotten (an hour or so later), as my hamstrings decide they have had enough and seize up. I am also sure my rudder is loosening up. I decide this is paranoia. I count every second paddle stroke, reach 100, and start again. This keeps me preoccupied, until my foot cramps up. I pull over and have a stretch. The four people I had passed paddle by, asking if I am okay. I grin, frustrated, and get back in my boat and carry on.

Twice more I stop and stretch – I am going to see quite a bit of these other paddlers! Going through the last rapid, I take a bad stroke and go over. I go into the roll position and try to roll up but each time I only make it halfway up. I finally relent and bail, to be rescued by the jet boaters. When I finally reach Woodstock, I am relieved, and pull over to empty a whole lot of water out of my boat. A friend helps me out on the riverbank, and tells me I am paddling a good time and coming eighth.

This encouragement buoys me up. I paddle strongly into the finish, and Johan (from my support team) hauls me out of my boat and leads me up the hill to my bike. I have pretty much made it and have only to cycle 70km, with a tail wind. I reach 45km/hr on the slight downhill ride, and set a goal of catching three people in the next 35km. With a mouthful of jellybeans and a drink bottle of flat Coke I keep my sugar levels up.

Reaching Yaldhurst and a head wind picks up, so I focus my remaining energy on maintaining speed. As I bike through Ferrymead I feel elated to be finishing, then, being passed by the guy I had passed earlier, drives me into going even harder. I pass him again, and encourage him to race me round the corner into Sumner. He beats me to the transition and we sprint (actually hobble as our legs won’t straighten out) down the finishing chute. Robin shakes our hands and gives us our cold Speights.

CAPT Ruth Cornelius

Register your details with CAPT Rob Hamilton on DTelN 396 8518 or e-mail robin.hamilton@nzdf.mil.nz

Keen skydiver? INTERESTED IN COMPETITION SKYDIVING?

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Apt swansong The Black Sox’s victory at last month’s Commonwealth

Champs was the perfect swansong to WO1 Grant McCarroll’s eight-year tenure as manager of the New Zealand men’s softball team.

The inaugural Commonwealth Championships were held in Melbourne in late January. The Black Sox remained unbeaten as they took on South Africa (first winning 7-0, then later 7-1); Australia (winning 8-5); Samoa (winning 5-3, then later 6-1). The Kiwis met the Aussies again in the finals, beating them 5-3.

“Both times we played Australia we were down, and had to come from behind to win; so [the champs] were a good measure of our fortitude to come back – especially in front of an Australian crowd”, says WO1 McCarroll.

The Commonwealth Championships were held just before the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which kick off in March. The organisers are hopeful softball will be included in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, in India.

“To win an augural championship and beat quality teams was really pleasing. The [champs] were pretty much my swansong, in terms of being at the helm as the manager”, says WO1 McCarroll.

WO1 McCarroll will be stepping down from the position in May. He became manager of the Black Sox in 1998; since then he has achieved all he can in the role, he says. He has taken the team to two successful world championships (in 2000 and 2004), and on a number of

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WO1 Grant “fingers” McCarroll playing in the 2005 Inter-Regional Softball Tournament in Burnham

overseas tours. He says he wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support of the NZ Army.

“I’ve been really lucky over the past eight years; the support I’ve got from the Army has been tremendous and [without that] there is no way I would have been able to carry out the appointment as manager.”

He also says his army training and experience was excellent preparation for the role. “The military background is definitely advantageous to that environment, because at the end of the day pretty much what we do [in the Army] all day, every day, is manage people, plan and organise activities, and that’s a big part of the job of being manager.”

Reported by Anna Norman

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Army personnel from Papakura Military Camp came 4th at the New Zealand National Skydiving Championships, held in Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, earlier this month.

The two-way, relative-work team and cameraman “Pilgrim 6” scored 40 points in the Senior Formation Skydiving (FS) Competition, beating a large number of New Zealand and international teams.

While a number of competition disciplines were available, including Skysurfing, Freestyle (FS) and Canopy Relative Work (CRW), the FS competition was the event that the team were best versed in.

In FS, all jumps are made from 10,000 feet. Each team vies to complete set formations as many times as possible in the first 35 seconds of leaving the aircraft. The team not only relies on their freefall skills and remembering the formation sequence, but also on the cameraman capturing the entire jump from the air, so that the judges can award a score.

As skydiving is yet to be recognised as an Army sport, the team is self-funded and uses personal kit in competing. “Pilgrim 6” aims to encourage other Army personnel into the sport, and demonstrate Army’s support for adventure sports to the general public.

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A. ‘Pilgrim 6’ end of 6-way formation, with Sarah Skinner from Skydive Motueka

B. ‘Pilgrim 6’ under canopy

C. Team exit with camera from a Pilatus Porter

D. ‘Pilgrim 6’, in ‘sidebody’

E. ‘Pilgrim 6’ compressed exit

A B

C

D E

Army takes to the sky