Pre-Deployment Training

30 November 2009

I exhailed the breath that I had been holding for five long weeks: my name had been called; I'd made it onto the deployment.

Needless to say, it was a huge relief for me to be picked for the deploying contingent as, even thought I had passed all the Terminal Tests we had been told at the beginning of Pre Deployment Training that none of us were guaranteed a position on the deploying contingent, and, for us, the road to deployment was made still harder as we were used as a trial for the new operational fitness or OFT. This involves running a timed course wearing boots and vest webbing (ammunition pouches) and carrying a rifle with a total combined weight of 13 kilos, which is designed to simulate the minimum amount of weight of the water and ammunition you normally carry while on deployment.

Five long weeks before, our training had begun with live field firing exercises at Lake Lyndon in Porters Pass where we conducted pairs, fours and section assaults under the close watch of our safety supervisors (the guys in orange jackets who follow behind you and ensure you carry out all the drills safely and correctly) before we moved to Lake Tekapo to conduct small boat operations in preperation for the maritime patrols we will conduct once in the Solomon Islands.

The lake is Glacier fed, strikingly beautiful and very popular with tourists all year round but it's extremely cold when you're out there in an inflatable boat at all hours of the day and night, being trained and tested on the various drills and procedures by the Engineers from 3 Field Troop who are responsible for the Army's boating operations.

Afterwards, due to the delay in getting transport back to Burnham Camp, we were able to spend a couple of days at the lake and some quality time in the hot pools, which was a welcome change from those frozen nights on the lake.

Back at camp we began crowd control and riot training, which, after a couple of days of practice, saw us go up against soldiers from 2/1 Battalion (The regular infantry battalion based at Burnham) who came well prepared for their role as rioters due to having significant experience of this role from deployments to East Timor. As a result, they pushed us very hard and at times we took a beating but in the end the experience brought us much closer together as a Platoon in preperation for our deployment and the four months that we will spend working and living together 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In the final two weeks, we began rotating through the various training aspects that will prepare us for the general day to day tasks and challenges that we will face over in the Solomons and we moved to Cass Bay on Banks Peninsula where we established a simulated FOB or forward operations base at the Sea Cadets camp.

My section was then immediately tasked to return south to conduct a series of vehicle check points and observation posts around Rolleston Prison where we observed the activities of 'players' (other soldiers acting as Solomon Island civilians) and practiced searched their cars for weapons or evidence of criminal activity. 

The weather was cold and miserable but we had the luxury of a tent to sleep in and as the vehicle driver for our section, I also had the option of sleeping inside the cab of the Pinzgauer. While our normal diet of ration packs was supplimented with the purchase of a couple of pizzas for dinner, after which we spent the rest of the night huddling around the fire in between rotating onto the observation post and sentry duty.

On our return to Cass Bay we again managed to buy some 'normal' food, but decided to eat our rations as well so that no one would become suspicious, which was a bit of a challenge as I was not used to eating that much food.

Cass Bay is on the east side of the Port hills from Christchurch city and has a significant history in both the maritime and military fields: with the gun emplacements as Godley Heads remaining a popular attraction.

Nearby Lyttelton harbour has a farmers market every Saturday morning at the school and this afforded us an opportunity to conduct a simulated 'village visit' where we went to meet and speak with the locals as a way of developing confidence and mutual understanding of the kind that is extremely valuable for building relationships with the community in the Solomon Islands.

For this we carried our weapons unloaded and slung by our sides and we wore our baseball caps rather than helmets but it quickly became evident that our presence was not appreciated by all the locals that we met. The majority however were very welcoming, kind and naturally, curious, with most being happy to interact with us as soon as we told them that we were on a training exercise. 

One lady did scold us for being in the town and asked to speak to the commander so that she could tell him off too, but a man standing around said that we were just grunts and unable to think for ourselves, which could not be further from the truth as the majority of my platoon are second or third year University Students with a couple of Lawyers and aircraft pilots thrown in to the mix.

So, thinking is definitely something we are capable of doing: and being able to communicate with people effectively is one of the best methods that we have available for resolving conflicts once we get over to the Solomons. And, though they are unlikely to be aware of it, those two people and others that we had to interact with during our 'village visit' helped immeasurably with our training.

As I write, we depart for Honiara (the capital of the Solomon Islands) in a few days and I am spending my leave doing personal training to maintain my fitness; visiting friends and family and catching up on some much needed sleep. I'm ready to go.