BOMBING WEEK - Royal New Zealand Air Force

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6 OH 06-0071-16 Chief of Defence Force AM Ferguson welcomes GEN Abizaid on his arrival at Wellington. COMMANDER CENTCOM PRAISES OUR CONTRIBUTION GEN John Abizaid, Commander US Central Command and the topranking commander of United States forces in the Middle East visited HQNZDF on 24 February as a guest of the Chief of Defence Force. At a press conference held in Defence HQ, he praised New Zealand’s contribution in Afghanistan, saying ‘I can tell you that New Zealand’s role in Afghanistan has been very helpful to the coalition. The New Zealand contributions have been very professional, very straightforward and very effective and we appreciate them.’ He indicated that the NZPRT was setting an example as one of the best PRTs in Afghanistan. He also spoke warmly of New Zealand’s previous contribution in Iraq when an NZDF Engineer detachment worked in the Basrah area. While in Wellington the General gave a briefi ng about CentCom and the military situation across his command, to a group of HQNZDF and HQJFNZ staff. GEN Abizaid said he was ‘optimistic but realistic’ about military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He described the War on Terror as a long war, which would require a network of initiatives by government agencies across many countries for moderation to prevail and to prevent extremism ‘entering the mainstream’ of societies in the region. As an example, he pointed to a change in tactics, techniques and procedures by the remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaida supporters in Afghanistan, with an apparent increase in suicide bombings and assassination attempts on people co-operating with the elected Afghan Government. He said this change was a result of the effective military pressure achieved by the Coalition forces. The General also met Prime Minister Helen Clark. A spokesman for Miss Clark said the pair discussed the military operations New Zealand was involved with, in Afghanistan and Iraq. SENIOR ADVISOR SGT Shayne Harris was promoted to Flight Sergeant and moves to the position of Senior Advisor for Southern Area, NZ Cadet Forces, based at Burnham. He is taking over from F/S Vince Binding, who is returning to the Auckland PROUD FAMILY: Mum, Mrs Dale NZCF Offi ce after 3 1/2 years in Harris (left) and wife Mrs Ros Harris attach F/S Shayne Harris’s the Mainland. new rank slides. WN 06-0121-01 NIGHT MOVES Up to six Air Force Iroquois and nearly one hundred personnel took part in a fortnight of night fl ying exercises in March. Exercise Pekapeka - the Maori name for a native New Zealand bat, a nocturnal mammal that operates in the dark - was held from 13-26 March. Using Night Vision Goggles (NVG) the crew fl ew several missions each night. The exercise was designed to train the aircrew in NVG operations and maintenance personnel in aircraft maintenance at night. The aircraft operated out of RNZAF Base Ohakea and around Waiouru during 13-18 March, before deploying to the South Island for the second week of the exercise. THAT DEVON CRASH Paul Jones, one of the owners of the Devon that crashed at Ohakea on February 3 says: ‘I am gutted to say the least about the crash as I have had 8 years of enjoyment in a great aircraft and to see her on the runway at Ohakea in that state will be a memory I would rather forget.’ ‘One point I’d like to clear up for your readers is that we all exited the aircraft under our own steam and as far as I know the only cutting equipment that may have been used was to open the battery box to secure the aircraft (life will carry on). What really needs to be said now is a great big thank you to ALL the staff and crews at Ohakea…we were looked after in a way that makes you proud of our Air Force and I personally can not say enough about the way in which everything was handled,’ he says. ‘I understand there may be some issues we still need to tidy up in relation to costs incurred but that should not detract from the way the “guys on the ground” feel.’ OH 05-0218-18M AFN69 APRIL 06 www.airforce.mil.nz
AK 06-0065-11 TRAINING FOR AFGHANISTAN Urban Patroling Training: responding to an ambush. JUDITH MARTIN In a dusty, sun-baked fi eld seven Afghani men are deep in conversation with a group of New Zealand soldiers, awaiting the delivery of a pile of blankets to help them survive the coming winter freeze. Suddenly there are raised voices and a fi ght breaks out. The soldiers move quickly and effi ciently to quell the fracas, moving the perpetrator to one side and negotiating a resolution to the issue at the centre of the dispute. The argument, and the threat of a riot that ensues, is a training scenario that is preparing the latest contingent of Provincial Reconstruction Team personnel for what they are likely to encounter in Afghanistan during their forthcoming six-month deployment. The scene is being played out at Tekapo Military Camp which, with a backdrop of the Southern Alps, bears remarkable similarities to the central highlands of Afghanistan where the NZ PRT team is based. The pre-deployment training for the next rotation of NZDF personnel bound for Afghanistan ended on 24 March. On Tuesday, 14 March the contingent took part in Exercise Afghan Step, a scenario-based exercise to which the media, and a number of senior defence personnel, were invited. The pre-deployment training began with a series of lectures about what the PRT members will fi nd when they reach Afghanistan; the cultural and political situations they will encounter, and the types of operations they will undertake. It also included weapons familiarisation and training, both individually and collectively, and Rules of Engagement training and awareness. The contingent practised dealing with a road ambush - a worst-case scenario- explained Senior (Navy) National Offi cer, Captain Ross Smith. ‘We are not going to war, but there are risks. I aim to bring everyone home safely,’ he said. While much of the pre-deployment training is similar to that undertaken by previous rotations, the experience and expertise of those who have already served in Afghanistan is being used. ANZAC EXCHANGE Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel arriving at Base Ohakea on 2 March were treated to a very traditional Maori greeting including a rousing haka and hongis all round. A total of thirty ADF personnel came over for the 2006 ANZAC Exchange and will stay till the end of May. The RAAF have sent over 6 www.airforce.mil.nz AFN69, APRIL 06 A BRACE OF BLUE Eleven Air Force personnel will be part of the main body of 122 NZDF personnel due to depart from RNZAF Base Ohakea on 21 April aboard an Air Force Boeing 757 aircraft. The group are bound for the Kiwi base in Afghanistan’s Bamyan province where the Defence Force has been operating its Provincial Reconstruction Team for the last three years. The group will be the eighth contingent to spend six months in the remote region. Among the Air Force contingent is SQNLDR Shane Meighan, who will taking up a newly-created position as S5 Planning Offi cer. SQNLDR Meighan, who has a background in engineering, says that in that position he will be working closely with NZAID and the Bamiyan local government to prioritise and plan reconstruction projects. ‘Our patrols regularly visit villages, and report back on what is needed for reconstruction. I will be using that information plus other information to look at funding, time lines, and coordination of resources,’ he says. He is looking forward to the challenge of the new position which has a signifi cant project management component. He sees it as a great opportunity to put into practise the theory he learnt on his Batchelor of Business Studies course. ‘It’s a chance to use those skills in a real-time situation,’ he says. Also part of the contingent is Auckland-based Air Force photographer SGT Carl Booty who will be deployed for about six weeks. No doubt SGT Booty’s photographic skills will be put to good use documenting and recording the eighth rotation’s activities. SGT Roys SGT Booty CPL Johns LAC Houben SQNLDR Cato WGCDR Johan Bosch welcomes Australian ANZAC exchangee FGOFF David Stary to New Zealand, with a Maori hongi. personnel, 5 of whom are being hosted at RNZAF Auckland and one at RNZAF Woodbourne. No.3 Squadron is also hosting an AS Army Helicopter Crewman. This year the RNZAF sent over 9 personnel aboard a RAAF Hercules on 1 March and they are being hosted at RAAF Bases Tindall, Townsville and Edinburgh. LAC Thompson SQNLDR Meighan LAC Moore SQNLDR Cockroft SGT Ware CPL Lamb OH 06-0077-01 7
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Page 27 and 28: Heading to the start block in Auckl
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