By ELEANOR BLACK
Youths in baggy trousers and trainers file past an Army mess servery steaming with chicken satay and stir-fried pork.
At the end of the line stand four eagle-eyed officers with ramrod posture and expressions of disbelief.
"Why is he wearing a singlet?" asks one, pointing to a thin boy with a heaped tray.
"We're going to have to buy shaving gear," says another.
"That one needs to tape over his earring," says a third.
The 22 at-risk youths, aged 15 to 23, have never been eyeballed so rigorously before.
Pride in appearance is one of the first lessons they will learn as they march, run, and salute their way through 12 days of rigorous training at Waiouru Army Camp.
The idea is that self-discipline, self-confidence and self-esteem will swiftly follow for the youths, says Maurice Savage, director of the Ngati Awa Service Academy at Whakatane.
The Army stint is part of a 10-month academy programme to have the at-risk group fitting back into a society that rejected them because of their lack of education and poor attitude towards life.
Those who take the opportunity to learn basic numeracy, literacy, computer skills and job-hunting techniques should be ready to look for work, instead of loafing about the house and breaking the law, says tutor Paddy Church.
"If they don't make it, they will go home and do exactly what they were doing before - watching TV. It's unbelievable what goes on out there in the real world."
The group is the first at Waiouru to attend such a session, an offshoot of the life skills programme at Burnham Military Camp, near Christchurch.
Sergeant Tony Makarini, of Tauranga, will shadow their every move until they head home. He will then visit them once a week to teach bush skills and navigation.
He approaches his charges with a gentle but firm manner, hoping to develop pride among those who cannot even look authority figures in the eye.
As he teaches them to march, he says, "Don't look down at the ground. There's nothing there for you."
Later on the parade ground, when he shouts orders, he warns, "Don't panic. You're too young to die of a heart attack."
He believes the group has potential and is impressed when a planned 30-minute lesson takes only 10 minutes.
One of the most promising is 19-year-old Heke Te Maipi, who has already done a six-week course at Burnham and hopes to join the Army next year.
She enjoys working with a team, looks forward to the more physically challenging exercises such as rappelling, and remembers her time at Burnham as "awesome, a massive experience."
Wayne Savage, 20, wants to provide a home for his future children and nieces and nephews, so that they will never know what it is like to be homeless.
He, like several who sit around smoking during a short break, says one of the best things about Waiouru is the food.
They are less impressed with the regulation Army formulation lip balm and Cancer Society sunscreen they are expected to use when they go out in the sun. The uniforms they will wear will also come as a shock.
The Burnham-based programme has a 100 per cent strike rate for employment or further training for those who complete the year, says project officer Lieutenant Ross James.
"We want employers to say, 'Have you got any academy graduates? We want them'."
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