Soldiers on the ground in Camp Taji are happy for NZ deployment to Iraq to continue

"Caroline" on duty at Camp Taji in Iraq where she has extended her skills from supply technician to trainer. Photo: Sam Shepherd NZDF

When the next Government comes to assess whether the training deployment to Iraq should be extended again, it is a safe bet that the soldiers on the ground there will be itching for it to do so.

A posting to Iraq may fill the families of soldiers with fear but to the soldiers themselves, such postings are thrilling experiences, they told me on a visit there last month.Of the 106 currently serving in the Kiwi contingent at Taji, in what is the fourth six-month rotation since May 2015, only two have been before.

"That's why they join the military, to deploy, and so we want to be able to distribute that experience as much as we can," says the senior New Zealand officer and deputy commanding officer (DCO) of the New Zealand and Australia force.

The chief's sentiment is echoed by "Caroline", a 23-year-old lance corporal and supply technician who has also turned her hand to basic training of Iraqis during a bulge in trainee intake.

"Doing this experience has proved I can go a lot further than what I thought I could do so that has made my goals change," *Caroline says.

*(NZ Defence Force doesn't allow media to Camp Taji unless it agrees not to name its staff, citing security risks).

The senior Kiwi at Taji talked to the Herald in a lull during a visit to his camp by Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee.

It was one of 25 VIP visits since the mission began in May 2015, not a surprising number when you consider there are three command structures with an equally strong interest in Camp Taji - the New Zealand Defence Force, the Australian Defence Force and the United States-led Coalition command.

The DCO leads the haka to welcome VIPs, no matter which country they are from:

I figured if you are going to be a leader, you've got to be out the front.

NZ senior officer at Taji

he says.

This is the DCO's first time to Taji and with the posting so highly sought it is likely his only time within the period of the mission, which has a Cabinet mandate to run until November next year.

After the September general election, the mission will be reassessed but the timing of that will depend on which party is leading the Government.

A Labour-led Government can be expected to assess it almost immediately, given its opposition to the non-combat training mission in the first place.

A visit to Camp Taji a year ago by Labour leader Andrew Little did not change his mind.

A National-led Government is likely to take more time to reassess it next year.

The senior New Zealand officer at Camp Taji welcomes Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee with a hongi. Photo: Sam Shepherd, NZDF

The DCO says there is certainly more value that could be added.

"A long-term presence in Taji is still a really good idea.

"More and more, Taji military complex is being a sort of hub of Coalition operations in this area and there's always going to be a need for us to provide value."

He and his troops started their rotation on December 8 and since then they have trained 4937, or 23 per cent, of the 21,109 trainees who have gone through Taji.

It pays to be flexible, however, because the number of trainees at any one time can fluctuate.

Right now there are 428 enrolled for training. That number was recently 2000, swelled by a group of police trainees from Mosul who will go to secure areas of the northern city after troops have waged battle with Isis.

The DCO said there were several different schools within Taji military complex, including the Baghdad Fighting School, the Special Forces School, Logistics and Administration School, and Non-Commissioned Officers' Academy.

The training force had to be ready to respond to changes in what they officially call "the training audience".

"It's one of my experiences in the Middle East that in both Afghanistan and Iraq nothing is quite as concrete as you would like it.

Things move up and down and sideways and in Iraq in the middle of a war things aren't always forecast as much as you would like.

NZ's senior officer at Taji

"By having an involvement in a whole lot of organisations, we can move trainees and trainers to different organisations on a case-by-case basis."

Caroline is one of fewer than 20 women in the Kiwi contingent of 106 but there were no particular difficulties being a woman on such a deployment.

"It is no change from being back in New Zealand," she said.

"If you act professional, you'll be treated professional back."

She joined the Army straight from school.

"It was always something I wanted to do. I don't like to follow the crowd."

Her usual work in Iraq is to manage the stores - from delivering lunches to trainers in the field, to replacing batteries or weapons.

Caroline said when she got the opportunity to train it was in building assault - how to enter a building that might have enemy in it.

It was part of her basic training as a New Zealand soldier. She said the young Iraqi male trainees didn't have a problem with being trained by a woman.

"At first it must have been a bit of an eye-opener to see a female out there but at the end of the day we are all here to do a job so gender shouldn't be a problem.

"They took on the information and demonstrated it perfectly."

The recurring theme from the Iraqi trainees and the Kiwi trainers is one of gratitude and mutual rewards.

In New Zealand, everyone does basic training and heads out to their units, says the DCO.

"But to train someone then watch them head away on a vehicle to a war zone and know that the training you have imparted might save their lives is actually quite surreal for our trainers.

"It's a whole lot different to sitting in New Zealand."