Territorial soldiers begin exercise

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33154, 19 February 1973, Page 14

Territorial soldiers begin exercise

More than 200 Territorial Force volunteers yesterday moved out from Burnham Military Camp—where they are doing their annual in-camp training—to begin a long-range reconnaissance and communications exercise.

For the next, six days, five composite mobile patrols of infantry, engineers, drivers, mechanics, signallers, cooks, and medical corps men will undertaken various military and public relations assignments in Canterbury, South Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough. and on the West Coast. The convoys of vehicles left Burnham at 10 a.m. yesterday—and within half an hour of leaving camp, a doctor and medical orderly from one of the patrols gave firstaid to persons injured in a traffic accident at the intersection of Pound and Buchanans roads. A traffic officer and a policeman—both Territorial soldiers in the same patrol—reverted briefly to their civilian occupations. The first patrol .to leave camp travelled direct to Karamea. where the troops will alight and tramp the Heaphy Track to Silverstream. Army transport will meet them

: there for the move back to ; Burnham on Friday. , A second convoy will stay , overnight at Springs JuncI tion before carrying on on > foot and vehicle patrols and reconaissance tasks on the i West Coast. Two more patrols will work in the South : Canterbury and Nelson areas. Battalion headquarters of ; the 2nd Battalion (Canter- . bury. Nelson, Marlborough, i West Coast), Royal New Zea- . land Infantry Regiment, , moved direct to Hanmer . Springs, where a tented t camp and command post, to . control the activities of all . mobile patrols, will be set up . in the township’s domain. An Army Sioux helicopter will ,be stationed at Hanmer ' Springs during the exercise. The Chief of the General . Staff ("Major-General L. A. ! j Pearce) will arrive in Christ- .; church today. After visiting '' the tented operational headJ quarters of the 3rd Infantry ( Brigade Group at Burnham. 'lhe will travel by helicopter *to see the Territorial Force I Engineers working on a (bridging task in the Arthur’s Pass area. Major-General Pearce will ihave lunch with the soldiers before travelling to meet the mobile patrols in the Waiau ;and Hanmer Springs areas.