Ruapehu tragedy remembered

A memorial dedicated to six young servicemen who died on Mt Ruapehu during an Army Adventurous Training Course 30 years ago, and those who survived, was unveiled during a ceremony in Waiouru last month.

The five soldiers and one sailor were on the mountaineering phase of a winter course when they died in extreme weather conditions. Five soldiers and two instructors with the group survived.

The memorial and ceremony was organised by the Army Liaison Officer for Families of the Fallen.

“The words, “Really! 30 years, it still feels like yesterday”, were a common reply when I spoke about what I was currently working on,” said SSGT Tina Grant.

“For some of us time stands still but for others it’s a blur, especially when you lose a loved one. It is a fine balance of learning to ‘get on with life’ and keep remembering the ones we love and have lost. That is how the Families of the Fallen from the Mt Ruapehu tragedy explained how they have coped with the loss of their sons on that tragic day 30 years ago.” The unveiling was preceded by a formal dinner the night before attended by the Sergeant Major of the Army, BRIG (Rtd) Phil Gibbons the Honorary Colonel for 1 RNZIR, and COL (Rtd) Ray Seymour, the Colonel of the Regiment. SSGT Grant said the highlight of the evening was when BRIG Gibbons addressed the diners and presented the families and survivors with a small memento recognising 30 years of remembrance.

SSGT Grant said feedback received from the families and survivors was positive. “They were grateful to meet, greet, and share stories of their loved ones considering the national situation of Covid-19 Level 2. They were appreciative of the Army especially TRADOC allowing them to come together and remember.”

A survivor remembers

By Sharon Lundy

Thirty years have passed since Sonny Te Rure survived the NZDF tragedy on Mt Ruapehu but he can remember it like it was yesterday.

Mr Te Rure was one of 13 young men – 12 from the Army and one from the Navy – who set out on an ill-fated alpine training course on August 12, 1990. Privates Brett Barker, Stuart McAlpine, Mark Madigan, Jason Menhennet and David Stewart and Naval Rating Jeffrey Boult died on the mountain.

Mr Te Rure attended the unveiling of the memorial. He was there to remember and to pay his respects – to those who died and to those who survived.

“I was one of the survivors. I was their friend,” he said.

“I think everyone benefitted from coming together and acknowledging those men, because at the end of the day they wore the uniform like we all once did.

“We all signed on the dotted line to be part of a big whānau, and it’s only fair that we recognise and acknowledge that.”

Mr Te Rure was one of three soldiers awarded a New Zealand Bravery Medal for their actions in trying to save their comrades; he shared his sleeping bag with two others in an ultimately futile attempt to save their lives. The others to be recognised were Privates Brendon Burchell and David Stewart, the latter posthumously.

“The reason why I thought it was my duty to look after these young guys is because I knew they had just joined Victor Company. We were already part of that Company, that team, that whānau, so I felt it was our duty to look after them,” he said.

“Never mind about ourselves, look after them. Not once did I think about myself. I thought about my other comrades who were there, because I knew that they weren’t in a good space, mentally or physically.”

Mr Te Rure suffered frostbite during the ordeal and, as a result of that and other injuries suffered while serving, is in the NZDF 2020 Invictus Games team – along with old friends from Basic Training Robert “Tiny” Graham and George Nepata. His NZDF connections don’t end there; son Sapper Dwayne Whaitiri was among family members who accompanied him to the memorial.

Mr Te Rure enjoyed catching up with his fellow survivors and with the families of those who died, in the shadow of the mountain that caused so much devastation. He puts his survival to “the man upstairs”.

“You might think you don’t believe in God but I tell you what, when something like this happens you get down on your knees and you pray. I can just remember it like it was yesterday.”

IRAQ MORALEBOOSTER JOE RECOGNIZED WITH COMMENDATION

By Judith Martin

Remember how important mail from home was the last time you deployed? And when someone baked you a cake to celebrate your birthday when your family was thousands of miles away?

If you served in the eighth rotation to Iraq you may recall the soldier responsible for those small gestures that meant so much.

Corporal Joe HungerfordMorgan, a chef, deployed to Iraq between November 2018 and May 2019. He deployed as a postal clerk but in true Army fashion turned his hand to whatever needed to be done. His work ethic and attitude has been recognised with the award of a New Zealand Defence Force commendation, delivered to him by Commander Joint Forces NZ, Commodore Jim Gilmour.

According to his citation CPL Hungerford-Morgan’s diligence and willingness to take on a wide range of additional duties made a significant contribution to the morale of the contingent. He was in every respect a ‘force multiplier’, held in high esteem by peers, subordinates and superiors alike.

“While not a high profile function, the flow of mail and welfare packages, particularly over Christmas, is a topic of great scrutiny and crucial for good morale. CPL Hungerford-Morgan took a great deal of pride in his responsibilities and executed this duty flawlessly. However his contributions went far beyond his primary role. His ‘can do’ attitude, enthusiasm and selflessness saw him manage multiple lines of effort concurrently across a range of other Task Group Taji functions. As an Assistant Physical Training Instructor he led and supported physical training, testing, sport and recreation activities. As a Combat Shooting Instructor he supported the conduct of shooting training, and as a chef he was central to the planning and delivery of catering support to national and coalition activities. This included providing

many birthday cakes prepared in his personal camp oven.

“CPL Hungerford-Morgan proved himself to be a professional junior non-commissioned officer for whom nothing was a problem. Unfailingly reliable, his knowledge, maturity, and energy consistently exceeded expectations for his rank.”

CPL Hungerford-Morgan told Army News he “loved every minute” of his deployment.

“I had a fantastic time. I had a broad range of things to do and they pretty much just let me get on with things, so I really embraced that. “I had nowhere else to go – I couldn’t go home at night – so I thought I might as well help out where I could. Didn’t matter to me if they were Americans, Brits or Kiwis, I just got stuck in.”

Above: The Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, CDRE Jim Gilmour presents CPL Hungerford-Morgan with his commendation.

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ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN SUPPORTING OP RESPECT

Improved pedestrian lighting, privacy vision holes in barrack room doors and clearing vegetation are some of the new measures being rolled out at Linton Army Camp to improve safety for personnel.

Defence Estate and Infrastructure’s Estate Delivery Managers (EDMs) have been asked to set aside $100,000 from their minor new works budgets to undertake safety improvements to support Op Respect at their camp or base using the principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). This is in addition to funding already allocated for upgrades this year.

CPTED uses good design to create naturally safer environments that reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. Defence Estate and Infrastructure (DEI) commissioned a CPTED report on the future designs of barracks and messes as part of its long term Accommodation Messing and Dining Modernisation (AMDM) Programme. Linton will be the first site to test any new future designs.

Clear pedestrian networks between key locations with good lighting and good signage are key elements of good environmental design. Glass doors allowing visibility into meeting rooms, bike parking rooms, laundries and cleaning rooms can also help improve safety as can windows in stairwells in barracks buildings.

“While the review was positive about the long term plans for the proposed new accommodation and messing areas under the AMDM programme, it also recommended some improvements,” Tracy Carlin, Director Strategic Programmes, Defence Estate and Infrastructure (DEI), says. “As well as incorporating these recommendations into our design, we wanted to use the findings of this report and the principles of CPTED to improve safety now. By making some relatively small changes we are able to provide big benefits for personnel. Good environmental design is a way we can further support Op Respect,” she said.

The DEI Delivery team agreed and asked EDMs to look at what they could do at their camp and base to improve safety to support Op Respect.

Improvements at Linton will include better lighting and clearing vegetation on key pedestrian routes particularly around the café, gym and main dining areas, and installing privacy vision holes in barrack room

doors. Installing privacy chains on barrack room doors is also being considered.

At Burnham, external lighting will be updated, bedroom doors will be fitted with vision holes and new door handles will be fitted to maintain security but without being locked out.

Tanya Coleman, Programme Manager, Op Respect agrees good environmental design can play a part in improving safety at camps and bases and help make people feel safe. “It minimises opportunities for crime and creates safe spaces for everyone. In some places, for instance a bar, it can allow people to better observe what is going on, identify where risk factors may be and how to mitigate them.” DEI has been making improvements to ablution blocks and barracks to support Op Respect since it was launched in 2016. DEI (formerly Defence Property Group) completed a review of ablution blocks at the time to identify where safety and privacy could be improved. Simple measures have included making sure unisex toilet and shower facilities have floor to ceiling partition walls, removing urinals from unisex bathrooms, replacing glass doors that could be seen through and adding doors to common entrance ways.

This year’s Wellington RSA/The Breeze ‘Cranzac’ campaign raised almost $10,000 for three-year-old Owen Williams, whose father Adam is a SGT based in Linton.

“We are extremely grateful to everyone who contributed and I want to thank them, The Breeze and the Wellington RSA for their support”, said SGT Williams.

Wellington RSA President, Theo Kuper said “We love being involved in this annual campaign and it is fantastic to be able to help currently serving personnel and their families.”

In 2019, Owen was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), one of the most common, and devastating forms of Muscular Dystrophy. It’s a muscle wasting disease causing the progressive decline of gross motor function. It affects mainly boys and most are unable to walk by the age of 12, becoming dependent on a carer by the time they are in their late teens. People with DMD are not usually expected to live beyond age 30.

The money will be used for Owen’s future care expenses and to make his life more comfortable.

Every year, in April, the Breeze Radio Station and Thorndon New World in Wellington sell specially baked Anzac Biscuits, in a variety of flavours and donate all profits to the Wellington RSA to fund welfare. This year, because of the Covid lockdown, the Cranzac campaign was delayed until August.