Army training in Whanganui’s Landguards Bluff, forest area for Exercise Phoenix

Staff Sergeant Solomon Vaetoru will lead Exercise Phoenix in preparation for larger exercises next year. Photo / Olivia Reid

The 5/7 Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment will be in Whanganui this weekend for Exercise Phoenix.

The training exercise, which will review previous exercises and prepare for upcoming ones, is on August 22 -24, with between 25 and 30 participants.

“We had Exercise Italy and put our skills into practice, we’ve also practised and revised through Tauwharenikau, and what we’re doing with Phoenix now is we’re starting again – rebuilding on lessons learned during Exercise Tauwharenikau,” Staff Sergeant Solomon Vaetoru said.

Exercise Italy involved about 60 Army Reservists conducting presence patrols on and around Maria Place and responding to make-believe incidents during a fictional post-war scenario.

Exercise Tauwharenikau took place at the Waiōuru Military Training Area with more than 300 Army Reserve Force soldiers and 70 Regular Force personnel.

The exercise simulated conflict on a fictional South Pacific island with support from the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s (RNZAF) No 3 Squadron NH90 helicopters, No 40 Squadron C-130J Hercules aircraft, an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) detachment from both the Army’s 16th Field Regiment and the RNZAF, infantry support dogs, explosive detection dogs and a mounted reconnaissance section.

The skills implemented in Exercise Tauwharenikau that will be repeated during Exercise Phoenix include patrolling, weapon handling, command and leadership.

The exercise may also include blank firing.

“The soldiers are revising and practising the skills that they need for any operations that we could likely be deployed on,” Vaetoru said.

“With the patrolling, we’re going to throw in some IAs, immediate actions, and see what the soldiers’ reactions will be to it and how they would deal with that situation.”

Vaetoru said the exercise would help to prepare for Exercise Tauwharenikau 2026.

Because of the location of the exercise, Vaetoru urged trail bikers near the Whanganui Forest and Landguards Bluff area to be aware and careful of their surroundings.

Following this weekend’s exercise, there will be an assessment of which skills need to be focused on in future exercises.

“It should be a good weekend,” Vaetoru said.

Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.