New Commander for Army Training Group

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 3, 21 June 1983, Page 3

New Commander for Army Training Group

He and his wife Jan have two children, but both Craig, 22, and Nicola, 18, are living in Auckland. Craig is studying computer science at Auckland University and Nicola is about to •idertake a crash course in enography at the Auckland Technical Institute. Craig is in the territorials and will be in Waiouru from time to time during the course of his training. The family have just returned from Malaysia where Colonel Meldrum had served for 3 years as Defence Liaison Officer and Defence Adviser at the New Zealand High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. Colonel Meldrum is looking forward to his tour of duty with the ATG in Waiouru, - this will be his

third posting to Waiouru during his Army career. He has seen a great number of changes since he was first here . . at that time the Army was operating entirely out of World War 2 accommodation and facilities. Since then $20 million worth of capital works have brought a significant change to the appearance and operational capability of the New Zealand Army's facility at Waiouru. These changes have included a new Warrant Officers and Sergeants mess (almost completed) the new 'Crete' Barracks (due to be opened soon), an officers' mess (under construction), a new tank field range and armoured workshops, the QE2 Army Museum, the Burns Pool, a lot of refur-

bishing of existing facilities and a considerable extension to the residential area which now has 610 houses. The ATG in Waiouru is now responsible for nearly 200,000 acres (77,000 hectares) of property east of the Desert Road. It is also responsible for between 3,000 - 4,000 persortnel at any one time including those from the Defence Department and their dependents as well as others from the M.O.W. and other support services. From time to time up to 1,000 additional personnel may be in camp or based at Waiouru for training excercises. As Commander of the ATG Colonel Meldrum is automatically chairman of the Waiouru Community Advisory Committee which was set up in 1978 in response to a survey on the unique living conditions in Waiouru. Colonel Meldrum hopes, through the WCAC committee, to cater for the needs of this transient community by promoting the use of Waiouru's many amenities and clubs. His recent appointment to Malaysia in 1980 came at an interesting time he said. Up until then the 5-power defence alliance, which had been in force since 1971, had been keeping a fairly low profile but, following the invasion of Kampuchea by Vietnam and the invasion of Afghanistan by the Russians, countries in South East Asia became concerned about security in the area. "Things started to bubble up just as I arrived" he said, particularly in the

land-based and maritime services. His role as Defence Liaison Officer and Defence Adviser at the New Zealand High Commission at that time was a busy one. Col. Bruce Meldrum was born in Feilding in 1938 and was educated at the Feilding Agricultural High School and the Royal Military College in Duntroon, Canberra. He graduated from Duntroon in December 1959 and was commissioned as a lieutenant into the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps. Colonel Meldrum was posted for a short tour of duty on active service in South Vietnam in 1967, when he served as a troop commander with the 11th (US) Armoured Cavalry Regiment. He returned to Vietnam for a further tour

of duty in 1971 as a staff officer on Headquarjttrs NZ 'V' Force in Saigon. The Colonel has held a variety of command and staff appointments both overseas and in New Zealand. Colonel Meldrum is a graduate of the British Army's School of Tank Technology, the Australian Army's Staff College at Queenscliffe and the Australian Joint Services' Staff College at Canberra.