27 February 2007

Private Deborah Kendon says she faced one of the biggest challenges of her deployment to the Solomon Islands before even leaving New Zealand shores.

“In preparation to be selected for this mission I would walk the Port Hills every Sunday with my pack on to become pack fit. I was running five days a week to work and back, and went to the gym after work for two hours a day.”

Despite now having to face daily physical training (PT) sessions in the hot, humid temperatures of Honiara, the 2 Cants soldier says her fitness level has increased even more since deploying.

And she not only has a fitness level to match any soldier – the tropical climate has forced her to adopt the “G.I Jane” look. But although she has said goodbye to her hair, and her privacy has “gone out the window”, she is enjoying the experience.

“Being in a section is unlike anything else, and we have developed a special bond, providing reliance and support to each other. They have become my brothers in arms. We have shared such experiences that we have become a very tight unit, with mutual respect for each other.”

While the soldiers treat her no differently as a female soldier, some of the locals notice the difference. “I have had numerous proposals from locals, and one even offered me a mango grove as an incentive to marry – all in jest and good relations of course.”

PTE Kendon became a rifleman because “when people think army, that’s my job – in the thick of it”. As a cover scout in a rifle section of a security platoon, her first patrol of the day starts between midnight and 6.00am. The soldiers patrol Honiara on a Pinzgauer, stopping to talk and sometimes play soccer with the locals.

“It’s about winning the favour and trust of the locals, building relationships and giving them a sense of security so they can progress with their lives.”

After a patrol, the soldiers will always stop to buy local produce. “It’s important to truly experience the country by being with the people, contributing to it and being a part of it”, she says.

PTE Kendon says one of her greatest successes so far has been gaining the trust of the locals and learning to speak their language, pidgin. “The highlight of the trip so far would be the first conversation I had with a local, when I realised I had succeeded in crossing a cultural barrier.”

PTE Kendon has recently finished training as a secondary school history teacher, and says working in the Solomons has brought her family’s history alive to her.

“My grandfather was here in WWII; he was in the Air Force and was stationed here on Guadalcanal, at the infamous Henderson Airfield. It is quite a moving feeling being here in the same place, but a different time. I have a great respect for the conditions they must have endured under fire.”

In fact, she carries on a proud family military history, beginning in 1874 and continuing through the Boer War, the two World Wars, and Vietnam.

“I am proud to follow our tradition and serve our country by representing New Zealand overseas”, she says.

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