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Exercise Takrouna
Just weeks before they are due to graduate the Army’s officer cadets had everything thrown at them to ensure they are suitable for commissioned service.
The setting was the Waiouru Military Training Area and the action was across all phases of war so that cadets could be tested through the entire spectrum of operations. The battle handling exercises consisted of patrols, ambushes, clearances, and key leadership engagements, including a Company defensive live field fire battle and subsequent withdrawal.
Exercise Takrouna was the final field testing exercise for Officer Cadets completing the New Zealand Commissioning Course 2021.
A platoon of Light Infantry from 2nd/1st Battalion, RNZIR, was called in to support the exercise, as were other elements from 1 (NZ) Bde, and the RNZAF.
It was a third summative assessments for the cadets, and included a 12 to 36 hour long platoon command task. A total of 46 platoon command assessments were conducted, including retests and additional tasks for a number of the 31 officer cadets on the NZCC.
Chief Instructor Major Joel Barter said battle handling exercises were designed to cover all operating environments trained this year at NZCC, and across all phases of war in order to test cadets through the entire spectrum of operations.
“The exercise went well with cadets enjoying the constant varying tasks, which forced them to apply the Military Appreciation Process in many different situations,” he said.
All 31 cadets passed their Platoon Command assessments. MAJ Barter said he was grateful for the support of the other units who helped in the assessments as the exercise would not have been as successful without their support.
