Exercise Italy involved Army Reservists from 5th/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment patrolling Maria Place. Photo / Olivia Reid
Exercise Italy involved Army Reservists from 5th/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment patrolling Maria Place. Photo / Olivia Reid
Army Reservists from 5th/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, occupied Whanganui’s Maria Place on Sunday morning for Exercise Italy.
Captain Peter Havell, officer in charge of Exercise Italy, said the exercise was preparation for real-life situations the army faced, with a fictional scenario.
“This exercise is a peacekeeping weekend so essentially what’s happened is there’s been a war in a country and, after the war has happened, the regional government has been really badly affected,” he said.
They used a hypothetical scenario of a war in the lower North Island and its aftermath where crucial infrastructure had been destroyed. It was the Defence Force’s job to maintain balance and support local government until the infrastructure could be restored.
Captain Peter Havell led Exercise Italy in Whanganui to prepare for Exercise Tauwharenikau in July. Photo / Olivia Reid
“So what we’re doing here today is we’re talking with fictional mayors and leaders, talking about what the issues going on in the region are and how we can help them out with that,” Havell said.
“We’re conducting presence patrols up and around Maria Place and we’re also responding to make-believe incidents that occur; for example, a civilian car crash or a car that’s broken down or a staged protest.”
Despite its name, the exercise had little connection to Italy with Havell saying it was a naming convention the army used.
“Our army exercises are usually named after a historical activity so we have Exercise Somme, which is named after the battle in World War I, and then we have Exercise El-Alamein, which was a campaign in World War II,” he said.
“So Exercise Italy refers to the New Zealand soldiers that were over in Italy in WWII.”
Sam Hunter was involved in Exercise Italy, engaging in a fictional scenario of a war aftermath in the lower North Island. Photo / Olivia Reid
Havell said the exercise was one of three preparing for the annual Exercise Tauwharenikau in July.
“Exercise Tauwharenikau is the annual get-together for all the army reserve units,” he said.
“We’ve got infantry people, medics, engineers, drivers, logistics - all of the different specialties or things people can do in the army will be there in July.”
Exercise Tauwharenikau is about 10 days long and tests basic soldier competency and skills with exercises that use both intelligence and action.
Havell thanked the Whanganui community for their co-operation during Exercise Italy.
“Thanks to the community for having us here. We’re very grateful that the exercise has gone well and the civilians have been really friendly to us,” he said.
“We really appreciate the support they’ve given us.”
Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
