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13 March 2007

Patrolling to Makira

The old saying “you never really appreciate something until it is gone” rang true when the Kiwi Platoon sat down to breakfast back in Honiara after our provincial patrol to San Cristobal Island.

Even the platoon medic, known to talk a large rock to death, was unusually silent as two weeks of cheese, tinned, Mark 2 and other ration pack delights were forgotten amid helpings of pancakes, French toast and fresh fruit.

San Cristobal is a long (139km) and narrow (40km) island. Mountains run like a spine down the island’s centre; the highest point reaches 1,040m, then falls steeply to the sea along its southern shore. The island has a population of 32,000 people, and is also home to the largest population of saltwater crocodiles in the Solomon Islands.

This was the first Combined Task Force patrol to the island. Before departing for San Cristobal, which the locals call Makira, our liaison officer, Captain Grant Palmer, briefed us that many of the villages had had almost no contact with westerners before, let alone soldiers.

Thunder, rain and wind struck as we set out for a 16-hour sail through the historic iron bottom sound off Guadalcanal. After arriving at Kirakira, the main settlement on Makira, we began unloading stores, rations, water and equipment. Nothing is easy here. There were no wharves to dock against. In a swell, the ship was unloaded by hand onto inflatable boats and taken into the beach from the anchorage. Some found the voyage particularly rough and were still throwing up on reaching the beach.

After our arrival, we needed to quickly establish a good rapport with the local community. We got off to a good start almost immediately when we assisted some of the locals unload supplies from the weekly coastal steamer – the island’s lifeline to the outside world.

Within two hours of arriving in Kirakira, Privates Paul Godden and Ahmad Abu-Aysha were called to assist the local police after a man was reported to be threatening some teenagers with a machete. When the two police officers arrived at his house to arrest him, the man threatened the officers with a tyre iron. He surrendered himself into custody once the two soldiers displayed their weapons.

Despite this incident, the people in the Makira region were extremely friendly. They have a good relationship with the local police, who are held in good standing within the community.

Our accommodation is a bare, but functional building behind the police post, with rooms just large enough to accommodate two soldiers in stretcher beds. The showers had only one setting, ice cold, but that came as a welcome relief once we started working. In the middle of the day, the temperature regularly topped 50 degrees in the sun.

The washing machine was equally basic, a large orange bowl placed under an outside tap . However, this also had its advantages, as it showed the locals that we were experiencing the same day-to-day living conditions as them.

Once we established our bearings we began a series of daily foot patrols around Kirakira to meet members of the local community. After more than three months in the Solomons, most of us have picked up a reasonable working grasp of Pidgin, the primary language of communication, which helps us to quickly break the ice with anyone we meet. A simple “You How?” or “Nice for meetim with you” (nice to meet you) is almost always enough to overcome initial wariness when we arrive in a village for the first time.

The other great war winner is sport. Our vehicle-mounted patrols almost always include a game of soccer with the pikinini, the children, while the section commander discusses with the chief, any problems or issues that the village may have.

Our vehicle patrols throughout Makira often lasted several hours or more. We travelled down a single dirt road that provides the only access to the entire coast of Makira’s islands, which are lined with dozens of small, immaculately maintained villages. Each village usually houses a Wontok, or one talk, an affiliated group of people who, generations ago, would have spoken a dialect completely different from other islanders just a few miles away. When we visit these villages we are always careful to approach the chief (known as the “big man”) first, to gain his permission and show respect for local values.

The island itself is criss-crossed by some 33 rivers. With not a single bridge among them, they can only be forded by four-wheel-drive vehicles and then only during dry periods. Mud is a frequent enemy and every vehicle carries an extensive recovery kit that gets regular use.

During our time on the island we helped several locals recover their vehicles. After we recovered a vehicle that had half disappeared down a huge hole in the road, we helped repair the road using rocks and gravel hand-carried from the nearby river. Organised road works are simply non existent.

We also assisted in a number of planned construction projects during our time on the island, where the civilian qualifications of this largely TF platoon came to the fore. Under the capable direction of our resident builder PTE Alex Thomson, and plumber PTE Paul Godden, we constructed two rain water collection tanks and spouting for use by the local community while our sparky, PTE Robbie Skerten, wired up the lighting.

The water tank project was particularly significant. Unlike in New Zealand, where you can just turn on the tap, water must be collected from the rain. And, due to constant shortages in certain areas, often has to be carried for a significant distance on a daily basis. Many people in the outlying villages consider a simple plastic bottle to be a precious asset as a water carrier, and we saved all our water bottles to distribute to the community.

Our patrols took us to many schools, where we introduced ourselves and held impromptu lessons on New Zealand – including trying to bring to life the concept of snow with a quick video of us knee deep in the stuff during a Tekapo winter.

At Pamaoa Boarding School, west of Honiara, the head teacher told us that much of the construction in the area had been done by NZ Army Engineers in 1998 and that his school, along with many others, was partly funded by New Zealand. Although it is a soldier’s prerogative to make fun of the rations we eat, they were a real favourite amongst the school students. For most of their meals, the students eat only rice with coconut and, except for lunch, they cook the meals themselves.

At the end of the trip we held a sports day with the people of Kirakira, which turned out to be an outstanding success. Most of the town turned out to watch or participate and the kids had enormous fun playing soccer, leapfrog and tug of war. Once the temperature dropped a little, we ventured out onto the soccer field to challenge three handpicked local teams in a round-robin competition.

Unfortunately we were considerably overmatched by the home teams, with their superior passing and technical skills, especially given that at least one team contained a former Solomon Islands representative. Although the best result we managed was a one-all draw, we made heaps of friends and earned the respect of the local community throughout our stay in the Makira region.

Tropical Medicine

Private Nerissa Chapman, of 3 HST, is serving as a platoon medic in the Solomon Islands. Her job of keeping the New Zealand platoon fit and well is vital in a country with the highest risk of contracting malaria in the world.

What’s a typical day for you?
I prepare and check my stores, and order new stocks and drugs when due to expire.

I run checks on the platoon members’ health. I run ongoing training for the combat lifesavers. This could be in the form of scenario-based training or lessons for learning development. I also work as part of the team and help with things like radio picket. For me this is two-and-a-half hours each night.

What are some of the challenges you face?
There are numerous types of rashes, animals and bites, and learning about the diseases and identifying things is a constant challenge.

What are the medical facilities like?
Aspen is a mobile surgical theatre provided by RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to The Solomon Islands). This facility is world class and can do most general surgeries and X-rays, and it has its own laboratory. It has its own Aero Medical Evacuation landing pad, which is open 24 hours providing access to a surgeon, anesthetist, technicians, doctors, nurses and paramedics, who are all very experienced. We can rest assured that should the worst scenario occur in our theatre, we have the best medical care available for our troops. I have really good faith in them.

I have looked at local hospitals here in Honiara to see how they work. They do well with the resources they have available, but like many places they definitely need more staff. They are short of basic things, and some of the equipment I saw was broken.

What experience do you need to deploy as a medic to the Solomons?
You need to be qualified to a minimum level, being the intermediate medical course (IMC), and have maintained annual competencies in medical training. In addition, everyone deploying must meet the Army pre-deployment criteria and conduct pre-deployment training.

Working amid Military History

The 44-strong New Zealand contingent in Honiara patrols throughout Honiara and provides security platoon to Rove Prison. We also have staff working in the headquarters of the Combined Task Force. Already, our assistance to the Solomon Islands people and its police force has hit The Solomon Star newspaper headlines twice.

The contingent is primarily Territorial Force personnel, from the 3rd Land Force Group (Burnham), 2nd/1st RNZIR, and the 4th Otago and Southland Battalion Group. Regular Force personnel in the National Support Element provide logistical and communications support.

The contingent recently returned to Honiara from San Cristobal Island to undertake tasks such as point security and patrolling the capital’s streets. Rioting occurred in Honiara last April following the sitting of Parliament, and with Parliament now sitting again, an uneasy calm exists.

The morale, health and welfare of the group remain very high. My colleagues and I are always inspired by the relentless enthusiasm and professionalism displayed by the Kiwi soldiers. As with all overseas deployments, we miss our family and loved ones, and appreciate that it is just as hard for them. But we have very good systems in place, such as phone line, email and mail, to be able to communicate reasonably frequently with those back home.

The Kiwi contribution to RAMSI in the Solomons is highly respected by the PPF and the 15 contributing nations. We have the right people and right gear here to do the job effectively, with the Pinzgauer capabilities and its reliability in the tropical conditions it’s ideal, given we can patrol and engage with the locals as we pass. Certainly proving a Kiwi icon and desired by our contributing nations.

This deployment is of great interest in terms of military history. We are centered where some of the fiercest fighting of World War II occurred in the Pacific. Numerous wrecks of ships and aircraft, and naval and artillery guns, tanks and landing craft are scattered throughout the Solomons, and many can be seen in the condition they were left. Sunken aircraft and ships make for some of the most fascinating diving in the world. We are living within a kilometre of the historic Henderson Airfield, once recognised by the Japanese and Allied Forces as vital ground – whoever held this airstrip held air supremacy for the region.

I work with the police, and every day we hear reports of unexploded munitions – ordnance from WWII still being dug up all over the Solomons over 50 years later. The sea immediately to our front was renamed Iron Bottom Sound to reflect the numerous ships sunk in battle, and the beaches are littered with remains of beached ships, landing craft and the odd submarine. This really is a military historian’s dream spot.

As we near the halfway mark of our tour we have all acclimatised to the humid conditions. We have developed and continue to maintain strong relations with the locals and contributing forces, and we remain focused on the task at hand, but look forward to returning to New Zealand.

Welcome Back Kiwis

While most of the New Zealand platoon left for San Cristobal the rest of us, 2 Section, made our second visit to Malaita.

Three Participating Police Force (PPF) officers had asked for us to return. The people of Malaita have affection for Kiwis, enabling us to work effectively to gather information on infrastructure and education, and support the PPF and the Solomon Islands Police Force (SIPF).

When 2 Section touched down in Auki, Malaita’s capital late in January, we were greeted by many spectators welcoming the return of a military presence.

Although the Malaitian people have little, they are extremely generous, sharing food and including us in the Wontok, or “one talk”, a family or village allegiance. The key to “hearts and minds” is the ability to soak up the culture and integrate with the people, which is a Kiwi specialty.

During our stay the New Zealanders travelled extensively throughout the island. We needed to access some villages using the police RHIBs (rigid hull inflatable boats); the trips were thoroughly enjoyed, as the island and the surrounding coral reefs are beautiful.

Village life is relatively busy. Gardening, fishing and shell money are a main source of income for the people. Construction is on the rise and improving the schools is a priority for the people.

Central to the communities are the chief and the church. As a sign of respect, it is important that we talk to the chief of the village and find out if there are any troubles or concerns. Most of them express concern over Kwaso, a homemade alcoholic beverage, which is illegal in the Solomon Islands. The villages make a huge effort to be weapons-free and Kwaso-free, and part of our mission in Malaita was to support the SIPF when they arrest those distributing Kwaso.

The village visits are always a highlight. Volleyball and soccer are huge sports and, despite our best efforts, we were not quite on par. We distributed rugby (and soccer) balls to schools with the hope that rugby might take off – but it could take a while!

The schools in Malaita do not have much sports equipment and were incredibly happy to receive the gifts from RAMSI. Some of the schools are expanding their school roll as stability returns to the islands.

The best thing about an outer-island patrol is experiencing the different cultures and languages, and hearing everything they know about our country – mainly their knowledge of the All Blacks! There is nothing better than driving along a remote road or going to a village and being surrounded by little pikinini (children) with huge smiles waving and yelling “Kiwis – we love you Kiwis!”

Image Gallery - Issue 372