Military life runs in Nicola's blood

NICOLA MARTIN used to be an "army brat".
You know, one of those kids? the child of a regular army officer raised in and around military camps.
But she has come a long way since then? and gone a long way ? like spending six years travelling the world.
Now she too is regular army, a career soldier, like her Dad and two grandfathers, and holds the rank of second lieutenant.
It was "almost an inevitability" that Nicola Martin would join the army.
"My family believed I would join almost before I did," she said.
But there was no coercion from her father or her grandparents.
In fact, her decision was something of a shock to her father, former Warrant Officer John Martin, especially as his daughter had left home at 18 to do the overseas thing.
But after returning to New Zealand with partner Chris, from Belfast, and coming to live in Wanganui, where her father has made his home, Nicola put herself in front of the selection board and won a place at the New Zealand Army Officer Cadet School at Waiouru for the year-long, 2005 training course.
She graduated just before Christmas and in a couple of weeks will, briefly, take up her posting to the Linton-based Signals Corps before heading to Melbourne for the six-month post-graduate "young officer" training course.
What on earth was it that prompted a 25-year-old, well-travelled young woman to join an organisation in which there was a distinct possibility she could end up being shot at?
"The challenges," she said. "I just didn't want to be stuck in an office 24/7."
"And in today's world there is a lot of peace-keeping, so the thought of being shot at isn't really there. And then there's a sense of pride in your country and? well, someone's got to do it."
Interestingly, Nicola's mother liked the idea of her daughter pursuing an army career.
"She is aware of what the army is all about and knows it is a good career."
Nicola admits that her year at OCS was "hard ? mentally and physically".
She is a slightly built lass, but her lack of physical size did not mean any concessions.
She had to hump a 30kg pack around the Waiouru training area, the same as the blokes.
For her it often became an issue of "survival and refusing to give up."
The rigorousness and harshness of the training was not merely an expression of some gung-ho military attitude.
"They really put us to extremes to see how much we could handle. After all, if you are going to be an officer, you can't fall down in front of the troops. You at least have to be up there with them. You don't necessarily have to be better, but you can't show any weakness, either.
"I know I wouldn't want to be following any boss that looked like he (or she) didn't know what they were doing."
The mostly infantry-style training, including jungle training in Brunei, was matched with equally hard "theory stuff" ? military history, military law, and all sorts of "extra paper work" like writing letters, taking and writing minutes and making speeches.
So what do reckon was the worst part of year?
"Waking up after having been in the field for two weeks and finding yourself in a foot of snow? and then realising you still had a week to go."
However, the discomfort (and perhaps despair) were easily rationalised by Nicola thinking about the conditions her grandfathers would have had to face during World War 2. "That changes your thoughts on it," she said.
And the best bit?
"The camaraderie. It is the good friends you make and the way everyone works together... it was fantastic." And? what of the future for Lt Martin?
"I hope to make the army a long-term career. So unless something goes very wrong and I find I don't like it, I intend to be in a long time."