Army future details month away

Ruapehu Bulletin, 13 August 1991, Page 9

Army future details month away

by

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Details on the future of Waiouru Military Camp and other military units will not be known until the end of this month. "I can only confirm what the Army Public Relations Department has released," said Camp Commandant, Colonel Sinclair. "We have a lot

of work yet to be done, and there are establishment and manning problems yet to be sorted out. In two weeks time we will know for sure how all the pegs will fit into the holes. At the moment too many things may change so it would be inappropriate to let the public know."

He confirmed the following changes which have already been announced in national newspapers: Papakura Camp is to close by Christmas; Units from Papakura will be redeployed to other parts of Auckland, Hamilton, Waiouru, and Linton; 161 Artery Battery is to move to Linton. Land Force Headquarters Signal Squadron and the New Zealand Special Air Service will move to Hobsonville; The Army's Fort Dorset Wellington Camp will close; The tenancy of

the Freyburg building will be terminated; Headquarters Ready Reaction Force (RRF) moves from Christchurch to Linton, and will amalgamate with the Force Maintenance Group to form a new unit called the Force Support Group (FSG); The Battalion in Christchurch will swap roles with the Battalion based at Linton at a date yet to be decided. These changes have been decided, but the full implications for Waiouru Camp are not known. Colonel Sin-

clair said the population of Waiouru should remain static. This assumes Waiouru will gain some personnel and will lose some. Colonel Sinclair also said Waiouru, Linton, and Trentham Camps will not necessarily be the nucleus of the army. "There is a major portion of the Territorial Force spread throughout the country which is very much a part of our army." The aim of the Army stated in the Army News is "to live within our ; Turn page 10

Army future From page 9 new resource levels, but in so doing to maintain as many of our capabilities as possible at as high a standard as possible. The only way to achieve that aim is to reduce the infrastructure / nceded to support our i front line capabilities. We also need to axe some less cost-effective activitics and make some othcrs even more cost-cffcclive".