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19 September 2006
An advance party headed to Dili in late June to determine what engineer support NZDF required.
They discovered there was some work to be done to provide the basic living necessities for the Kiwi Coy. However, because the positioning of NZDF personnel had not been confirmed, all they could do was identify the main problems and conduct the detailed recon for these tasks. As it turned out, there were to be many additions to this once we arrived in theatre.
Once the whirlwind of reports, cost estimates and equipment preparation was completed as part of PDT, the advance party departed, with the rest of the section close behind.
The team consisted of six carpenters (including Troop SGT JJ Moore and Section Commander SSGT Lofty Forsyth); two plumbers; four field engineers; one electrician; one plant operator/driver and one storeman.
The deployment started out as a 30-day pre-planned engineer surge to get the construction done and get home. This was soon re-evaluated to 60 days, and once additional tasks were identified once on the ground, this period was extended to 90 days.
Our main tasks concentrated first on basic sanitation, security and, more recently, the development of facilities. Basic sanitation has included the construction of showers, toilets and washing facilities at one of the outlying platoon locations, based out of an abandoned local house; some minor upgrade of a well at a section location near Hera, and upgrade of the washing facilities and sewerage processes at Kiwi Lines, where the National Command Element are based. Our electrician has also had to upgrade some interesting electrical circuitry.
Since arriving in East Timor, Kiwi Company are focused on expanding Kiwi Lines to accommodate part of the company group. This includes constructing accommodation buildings, additional ablutions, mess facilities, recreation room and septic tank. We will also need to develop the lines for the wet season to ensure the compound does not turn into a quagmire.
The country
Those over here for the first time have had to get used to some interesting local habits. The local people are generally very friendly towards the Kiwis, and the kids shriek and wave with both hands as we drive past, yelling “kia ora bro” or “hello mister”. They seem to have remembered a lot of their language lessons from our previous time in East Timor. The locals are fascinated with fire and the aroma of burning rubbish or leaves hangs in the air most of the day and night.
The roads are in a bad state, which has done nothing to improve the local driving habits. It is a very relaxed culture; it has become apparent that if you want something delivered, you need to order it half a day earlier than you actually need it, to ensure delivery on time.
There are many burnt-out buildings in Dili from the initial conflict, but the town is slowly rebuilding. It is good to see the kids going to school again and sports fields being used.
The good … and not so good
For me, a troop commander of field engineering background, it has been great experiencing the construction side of the trade. I am continually impressed with how quickly and professionally a building or task is completed – throw a carpenter, plumber, electrician and some good workers at a job and in no time a brand new building has materialised (not without a lot of hard work).
The engineer team has been great to work with and there’s never a dull moment. The team works hard and it has certainly confirmed in my mind the hard working ethos of the corps. There are new skills being learnt and good experience gained by all.
It has been interesting working with the Australians. The engineers have been very helpful and we have assisted each other where possible. It has also been good to catch up and work with old friends and make new contacts. The best part of working with the ADF is rubbing salt in the wound created by the All Blacks’ Bledisloe victory!
There have been some frustrating times when purchasing materials from Darwin with tight timelines. Because Darwin has a major shortage of treated timber, it takes up to two weeks to get it to Darwin then another week to get it into Dili. Sometimes the shipping companies don’t load our container on the ship and it arrives in Dili without our materials, so timelines have had to be flexible. Then it’s all hands to the grind and some long work hours to get the work completed as quickly as possible.
Overall, the section has made some well received improvements to Kiwi Lines and NZDF will be set up with reasonable facilities for the remainder of the operation here. Morale is high and the T-shirt tans are coming along nicely.
The team appreciate the letters, parcels and contact from home and we all look forward to seeing family and friends soon.
This page was last reviewed on 21 September 2006 and is current.
