BRUNEI EXCHANGE

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 277, 7 March 1989, Page 5

BRUNEI EXCHANGE

By

Myra

MacGibbon

Soldiers of the New Zealand and Brunian forces will be taking part in an exchange over the coming month.

The New Zealand half of the exchange are the men of Queen Alexandra's Squadron from Waiouru and the Royal Brunian Armed Forces Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron. Leaving New Zealand on Saturday March 4 was a contingent of 32 men. Their commander for the exchange is Captain Kerry Boyd and included is two cooks from 4 Composite Squadron who will prepare the group's meals. Brunei is a Moslem country and have different dietary requirements. The first two weeks the men will be taking part in an infantry type jungle exercise in the area around Bangor in the eastern half of Brunei. The final two weeks they will travel to the western side and do more jungle training, this time using the Brunian Armoured Squadron's Scorpion tanks which are the tanks used by QA Squadron here. Amongst other things the climate will certainly be a change for the New Zealand soldiers. They can expect temperatures of around 30 degrees Celcius with a humidity factor of 90 percent. Being part of Malaysia they can also expect some rain storms which will cause problerns, mainly flooding of roads and the exercise areas. Preparations have been underway for a while now, as the men of QA Squadron have had to undergo a series of innoculations and a course of tablets to prevent Malaria. The soldiers from Brunei will arrive in Waiouru on March 9 and will spend their first three days sightseeing and becoming acclimatised to the colder New Zealand weather conditions. Items on their agenda include: adventure training - abseiling, canoeing, rock climbing, and an overnight stay on Mt Ruapehu; a marae visit; live firing from Scorpions; battle runs; and a static shoot.

The Brunian contingent will consist of a total of 40 men - three officers, 10 non-com-missioned officers and 27 other ranks. They too will be bringing their own cook so they will be able to have the correct diet dictated by their religion. Whilst here their squadron's Second In Command, Captain Mohammed Noir, will liaise with Captain Paul Van Den Broek of QA Squadron. Both contingents will be home around April 9.