Army exercises at Waiouru

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 32, 31 January 1984, Page 1

Army exercises at Waiouru

More than 1 700 territorial and regular force soldiers haye been taking part in field exercises at Waiouru in the central North Island. The field training is an annual 14-day camp for the territorial soldiers who donned their uniforms and 'marched in' on 14 January. They are members of the Army's 1st Task Force Region and belong to units based in the top half of the North Island. The training took place in the extremes of climatic conditions that Waiouru is well known for. The weather has ranged from bitterly cold sleet and snow to blistering summer heat. During the two-week annual camp, they took part in unit training and a Task Force field exercise nicknamed 'First Chance'. This exercise is designed to practice units of the Task Force Region in the 'attack' phase of warfare. It was being directed by the Commander of the 1st Task Force Region, Colonel Don Macfarlane, and supported by helicopters from the RNZAF's Hobsonvillebased 3rd Squadron. A major objective of the exercise was to practice the units of the Task Force

Region in the coordination of their various militarv skills. Infantry, artillery, armour, signals, engineers, ordnance, transport and electrical and mechanical engineer units, as well as headquarter staffs, were all being welded together to practice the battle procedures involved in the 'attack' phase of war. A 'live'enemy, in the form of engineers from the 1st Field Squadron, provided a high degree of realism to the exercise. An unusual feature of this year's annual camp was the presence of Australian and American reservists. One hundred and twenty Australian reservists from the various Melbourne University units swopped places with a similar number of territorials from the 3rd Auckland and Northland infantry battalion. The New Zealanders are taking part in exercises in Victoria, Australia. Ten Americans from the Hawaiian National Guard, also exercised with the Auckland and Northland battalion. The field exercises ended last week and all units returned to their home locations over the weekend.