Army goes shopping for soldiers

By SCOTT McLEOD

Little Marcel Lanz stood dead still, his left eye pressed firmly against the telescopic sight of an 81mm Army mortar, his right eyebrow creased in concentration.

What could the 4-year-old see?

"Some rocks," he said quietly.

In fact, Marcel's target was a display of large potplants in Manukau Shopping Centre, where he and hundreds of other people were taking an opportunity to inspect the latest in Army hardware.

But while the boys and girls peered excitedly through the sights of the mortar, rifles, an anti-aircraft missile launcher and a 105mm cannon, they were probably unaware that the military had its sights trained on them.

On Saturday, the Army celebrated the opening of its first shopping mall recruiting centre.

The force wants to enlist Marcel and other youngsters - not now, but perhaps in 15 years' time.

The idea, said Brigadier Jerry Mateparae, was simply to be more visible.

"Often, our people and daily work are hidden in places like Waiouru.

"We hope that premises such as these will lead to increased interaction with local communities," he said.

This suburban "invasion" involved typically precise military planning.

Abseilers dropped from the ceiling at 1130 hours.

Various Army folk appeared on a stage to tell the assembled throng just how good Army life had been for them.

Standing at his own little stall was Flight Lieutenant Neil Sinclair, who hoped the Air Force could profit from the Army's new approach.

"We're not worried about signing people up today, but we're sowing the seeds," he said.

"From a marketing point of view, you've got to get in people's faces; let them know what's available. There's lots of interest here."

But 9-year-old Reuben Radford said he was not very interested in joining the military because "you have to get up early."

But he did think the infra-red, heat-seeking Mistral air defence missile was pretty cool, and confessed he would like to shoot it at a building.

Sitting in the launcher's tiny chair was Bombardier John Ridden, who swivelled the dummy warhead to entertain his audience.

"It's a brand new capability for us; a good bit of kit," he said.

The missile, tents, stalls, displays and most of the 25-odd Army staff were on temporary assignment at the mall, but the recruitment centre upstairs will be permanent.

By midday, an impressive bunch of top brass and local dignitaries were crammed into the centre for its opening.

Captain Ben Green, the coordinator of national recruiting, said the Army chose Manukau because of its "good demographic" - lots of young men and women live there.

Recruiters had traditionally been based in central Auckland, but targeting the mix of people there was less effective.

Shoppers with inclinations to become military personnel will be able to walk into the recruitment centre, put down their groceries and sign up there and then.

In the back room they will sit a 50-minute reasoning test if they want to be an officer, or write a 30-minute essay if they are content with a humbler rank.

However, it will take another three to four weeks before medical and security checks are completed and the applicant is considered "recruitable."

Captain Green said people wanting to join the Army would be able to do all their paperwork on the internet by October.

Most of the soldiers were due to retreat from the Manukau mall yesterday, but they have a week-long campaign beginning today at the Auckland Coca-Cola Careers Expo in Greenlane.