Post by nzompilot on Sept 13, 2008 11:04:56 GMT 12
Military exercise in Canterbury
Jo McKenzie-McLean - The Press | Tuesday, 09 September 2008
Tongan soldier Frazer Matai swapped study at a New Zealand university for rugby in the United Kingdom, and ended up in the British army.
Matai, a private in a British infantry battalion, is now in Canterbury to take part in the five-nation Exercise Suman Warrior.
He first came to New Zealand three years ago to study science at Massey University but was spotted by British rugby scouts and moved to Britain.
The 24-year-old soldier said his life then took an unexpected military turn, and his rugby career was put on hold.
"We have been on operations in Iraq, so I haven't been playing. I'm (in Burnham for the exercise) as a signaller, but I'm an infantry man.
"I'm fighting wars going out on the ground patrolling villages and doing spot checks on vehicles. It's not that scary. It was at first, but you get used to it."
Matai said being a signaller during the Suman Warrior exercise had been a good experience.
The week-long exercise has brought together the five countries that form the Five Power Defence Arrangements to overcome a simulated threat.
Yesterday, the Australian and New Zealand Armed Forces were holding out enemy forces at the Rakaia River, while members of the Malaysian, Singaporean, British and Kiwi armed forces were controlling insurgents within Christchurch.
British commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Ian Cave said the exercise gave them the opportunity to rehearse processes and improve skills.
"This battalion has spent the last 18 months in Northern Ireland working in cities with the Northern Ireland police service and also spent some time in Iraq working with similar scenarios. Most problems we are facing here are problems at least someone in the team has done for real pretty recently.
"While this process is what we should do all of the time, it's been 18 months since we have been involved in this sort of event because you get pulled into different activities. What should be a core skill for us fades away."
Singaporean commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Chua Desmond said the Suman Warrior exercise was the most complex his soldiers had faced.
"It is very complex issue, because there are a lot of stakeholders -- civilians, civilian authorities, maintaining public order as well maintaining control of internal threats from the gangsters and rival gangs. We have to look out for external threats as well as internal threats. We have been trying to maintain civil order, providing a convoy escort for displaced people to a holding area.
"We have been learning a lot from the foreign nations. The bond in the military is very strong."
Second-in-command Major Andrew Abbott, of the Australian armed forces, said Suman Warrior had been "an unreal" opportunity.
"It's been very good from the Australian perspective. It's been a great training opportunity because we have a fairly young and inexperienced staff, but also to get to know and interact with other nations has been very good.
"It's been a great training scenario -- conventional and unconventional."
www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4685643a19753.html
Jo McKenzie-McLean - The Press | Tuesday, 09 September 2008
Tongan soldier Frazer Matai swapped study at a New Zealand university for rugby in the United Kingdom, and ended up in the British army.
Matai, a private in a British infantry battalion, is now in Canterbury to take part in the five-nation Exercise Suman Warrior.
He first came to New Zealand three years ago to study science at Massey University but was spotted by British rugby scouts and moved to Britain.
The 24-year-old soldier said his life then took an unexpected military turn, and his rugby career was put on hold.
"We have been on operations in Iraq, so I haven't been playing. I'm (in Burnham for the exercise) as a signaller, but I'm an infantry man.
"I'm fighting wars going out on the ground patrolling villages and doing spot checks on vehicles. It's not that scary. It was at first, but you get used to it."
Matai said being a signaller during the Suman Warrior exercise had been a good experience.
The week-long exercise has brought together the five countries that form the Five Power Defence Arrangements to overcome a simulated threat.
Yesterday, the Australian and New Zealand Armed Forces were holding out enemy forces at the Rakaia River, while members of the Malaysian, Singaporean, British and Kiwi armed forces were controlling insurgents within Christchurch.
British commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Ian Cave said the exercise gave them the opportunity to rehearse processes and improve skills.
"This battalion has spent the last 18 months in Northern Ireland working in cities with the Northern Ireland police service and also spent some time in Iraq working with similar scenarios. Most problems we are facing here are problems at least someone in the team has done for real pretty recently.
"While this process is what we should do all of the time, it's been 18 months since we have been involved in this sort of event because you get pulled into different activities. What should be a core skill for us fades away."
Singaporean commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Chua Desmond said the Suman Warrior exercise was the most complex his soldiers had faced.
"It is very complex issue, because there are a lot of stakeholders -- civilians, civilian authorities, maintaining public order as well maintaining control of internal threats from the gangsters and rival gangs. We have to look out for external threats as well as internal threats. We have been trying to maintain civil order, providing a convoy escort for displaced people to a holding area.
"We have been learning a lot from the foreign nations. The bond in the military is very strong."
Second-in-command Major Andrew Abbott, of the Australian armed forces, said Suman Warrior had been "an unreal" opportunity.
"It's been very good from the Australian perspective. It's been a great training opportunity because we have a fairly young and inexperienced staff, but also to get to know and interact with other nations has been very good.
"It's been a great training scenario -- conventional and unconventional."
www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4685643a19753.html
