Air Force Personnel Depart For Afghanistan

By FLTLT Carsten Grimm

Nine Air Force personnel deployed from Ohakea early this month as part of New Zealand’s 13th deployment to Afghanistan.

The Air Force team.

The airmen and women are part of a tri-Service team heading into the Afghanistan winter season for a 6-month tour in the central highlands of Bamyan.

Before leaving, the team began its main body Pre-Deployment Training (PDT) on 4 August at Linton Camp. Initial training focused on bringing everyone in the team up to a credible standard of weapon handling. The dedicated Navy and Air Force week, prior to official PDT kick-off, was invaluable for those who have had limited opportunity to consolidate their weapon skills outside of the annual Core Military Skills course. While the training is not designed to turn everybody into soldiers, it does ensure that all have the skills they will need prior to going into theatre.

Pre-deployment training - Image 1.

As part of the escalation of training, the contingent was in Waiouru at Helwan Camp for two weeks of intensive scenario-based activity. Exercise ‘Afghan Step’, in and around the central plateau region, is designed to expose the Kiwi Patrols to likely tasks and challenges they will encounter in the Bamyan Area of Operations. The Afghanistan Deployment Training Cell is staffed with veterans and mentors who offer critical insight into prospective roles and responsibilities, based on their own experience. This all adds to deliver a comprehensive preparation package for the deployment into theatre.

Civilian employee steps up

The deployment also saw Mr Rob McIver stepping into the Finance Officer role at Kiwi Base. This is the first time an RNZAF civilian employee has deployed as part of the mission in Afghanistan. Training for Mr McIver focused on integration into the military way of business while on operations. Mr McIver has worked in Personnel Branch in Air Staff for eight years and will be responsible for overseeing the accounting system.

Air Force part of CIMIC Team

Pre-deployment training - Image 2.

This rotation will introduce a dedicated Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) capability to the contingent. Previous deployment’s lessons identified have precipitated a reshuffle of the way Kiwi patrols are structured.

The senior Army member of each Kiwi Team now retains the overall tactical responsibility for command of the patrols, with a CIMIC Liaison Officer embedded to provide the dedicated civil-military interface.

FLTLT Grimm and FLTLT Timbs are among the five CIMIC operators on this deployment, and will be out with the patrols or in Kiwi Base liaising with local authorities, the UN and other non-government organisations.

Two Australian Defence Force CIMIC instructors took the team for a fortnight of specialist training in Trentham prior to main body PDT, which has prepared them for the complexities of operating inside the humanitarian and civilian space.

RNZAF Personnel Deployed in Afghanistan

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