LOOKING BACK

The 70th anniversary of the Korean War ceasefire was marked recently.

The New Zealand Army’s 16 Field Regiment has a special relationship with Korea.

New Zealand servicemen of 16 Field Regiment arrived in Korea on 31 December 1950, along with a Transport Platoon and a Signals Troop, joining the two Navy frigates that had arrived in theatre on 01 August 1950. As part of 27 Commonwealth Brigade, they were eventually deployed north of Seoul in the area of the Kap’yong Valley in early April 1951.

See Korea commemorations, page 13

Sabre 23 closes a successful exercise and various engagements return from abroad, we’re conscious of the up tick in training and coursing across Army. As we continue to bring on needed capability and technology like the Bushmaster and new NEA communication equipment – we’ll have to be ready to balance the remaining time in unit schedules. It’s good to see you all enjoying the tempo with a focus on combat readiness, but I remind you to manage your health in the process. Stay connected with friends and family, while being honest with leaders about stress and individual wellbeing.

Invictus. The weekend of 3–4 September saw our unconquerable IG23 athletes concentrate and embark for Düsseldorf, but not before our current Minister of Defence Hon Andrew Little, Chief of Navy Rear Admiral David Proctor and Ranfurly Veterans' Trust members took time to farewell them from Auckland. IG23 team has personnel representing all service branches including NZDF civilian staff. We wish them the very best and you can track their progress via a number of platforms. (#INVICTUS2023)

I know there is a host of activity across the Army and look forward to seeing some more of you in the final months of this year. CA and I will be abroad most of September popping in to see our International Defence Rugby team, OP TIEKE training team members and several other Kiwis deployed abroad. Do a personal September stock-take and reset for the remaining quarter of this rewarding year. Get after it!

WO1 Wiremu Moffitt 16th Sergeant Major of the Army