Teaming up with comrades in Fiji: A Gunner's experience

I recently got the opportunity to deploy to Fiji on Exercise Cartwheel, along with other gunners from 16 Field Regiment and soldiers from 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (RNZIR). It was my second time deploying on Cartwheel, where the aim is to work alongside the RFMF and help upskill their capabilities on 81mm mortars and sustained fire machine guns.

My particular role this time around was to be the second-in-command of one of the combined RFMF/ NZDF mortar detachments – so I was helping demonstrate how to safely and effectively use the mortar. 

After the initial training course in Nadi, we then went to the Nausori Highlands Training Area, where we could put the theory into practice, and give the RFMF soldiers a chance to test their knowledge in realistic conditions.

I was helping to make sure that we maintained our 81mm mortar well and that it was serviceable, and making sure the ammunition was being prepared correctly, with the correct charge increments and fuse settings to ensure the rounds would hit the target.

This exercise was such a valuable experience for all of us, because it allowed us to pass on our knowledge of the mortars to RFMF soldiers, and it was a real highlight to see them operate the mortars smoothly and effectively by the end of the exercise. As we kept telling each other in the field, slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

But also, it was a really worthwhile exercise for myself and our guys too, because we got to see and learn the soldiering style in Fiji, and also got to embrace Fijian culture and get to know some of their soldiers really well. This is really helpful if we ever link up together on exercises in the future.

I feel lucky that I’ve already had the chance to deploy on this exercise twice, as well as to Hawaii and the UK previously, and my tip to anybody going on any of these exercises is to make sure you embrace the opportunity to work alongside colleagues like the RFMF.