Visit by Fijian colonel

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33065, 4 November 1972, Page 16

Visit by Fijian colonel

Fijian soldiers at Burnham Military Camp yesterday received up-to-date information about the effect of Hurricane Bebe from the Chief of Staff of the Royal Fijian Military Forces (Lieutenant - Colonel P. Manueli).

“Our assistance has been with relief operations immediately after the hurricane and of late in showing people on the outlying islands how to pitch the tents New Zealand has sent up to us,” he said. Colonel Manueli said that his main purpose in visiting the Dominion was to discuss training commitments for 1973 with the New Zealand Army and to meet his countrymen at military camps. Generally New Zealand trained 50 Fijian soldiers each year and it was likely to remain at this level, he said. One of the attractions of the Royal Fijian Military Forces is that it has no recruiting problem. “Our biggest problem, in fact, is to keep the men out of our gates. We get so many we can afford to be very choosy. “For example, this year we

ran a recruit course for 60. Yet the selection board interviewed 575 men and that was after the too young and the too old had been weeded out.”

The colonel said that one of the reasons for the popu-

larity of the Army for the Fijian was a somewhat warlike history. “The warrior was, and still is, regarded pretty highly by the Fijians and this means that even the humble private stands high in his local community—unlike those in some other countries today.” Since the Malayan emergency no Fijian troops have gone overseas on active service.

“Our force is not very large—consisting of a territorial force battalion, two regular force companies, and a headquarters. Much of the infantryman’s work is ceremonial, although we work closely with visiting New Zealand troops who come to exercise in Fiji about six times a year.” As well as New Zealanders, British troops from Hong Kong also train in Fiji; and at present a company of Gurkhas is there.