LTCOL John Howard and the Commanding Officer of HMNZS Canterbury, CDR Tony Millar wait patiently on wind-whipped Aotea Quay wharf.

In front of them is HMNZS Canterbury, the Navy’s new multi-role vessel. But for the first time since World War Two there are five times more soldiers on this vessel than sailors. And the ship is full of Army kit - light-armoured vehicles, Pinzgauers, and Unimog trucks.

The vehicles idle at the entrance to the ship’s starboard ramp, and on the dot of 1300 begin to roll off and head north.

"It is," says LTCOL Howard, Commanding Officer of 1 RNZIR, “a very satisfying moment.” And CDR Millar agrees.

The occasion is the end of a week long exercise which is part of the on-going Wolf series in which the Army and Navy have worked together to try out the extensive capabilities presented to both Services by HMNZS Canterbury. All three Services are involved in the Wolf series, which Commander, Joint Force Rear Admiral Jack Steer says is “jointness at its best”.

A 260-strong contingent from 2 Land Force Group made up mostly of Whiskey Company, but also reconnaissance troops and snipers, logistics personnel, medics, engineers and gunners, as well as their kit, embarked on the MRV in Napier.

It was an opportunity for the ship’s Army amphibious load team – seven Army personnel from 5 Transport Company – to load and unload a company group, stow their equipment and vehicles, and reverse the procedure when the company disembarked.

With its additional Army personnel on board, the ship sailed to the Marlborough Sounds where its LCMs (medium land craft), complete with a Pinzgauer on board, and 40 people, were put through their paces. The 23 metre long LCMs can carry 50 tonnes of cargo at 9 knots up to 250 miles, and if no port facilities are available can unload cargo through the stern ramp.

For LTCOL Howard, the exercise was much more than trying out what the new ship has to offer.

“The main point of the exercise was to test the capability the MRV brings to Defence. This vessel gives us as a defence force the ability to put a huge Defence capability in one place and move it anywhere where it is needed around the world. We haven’t had that before, and nor have we worked with the Navy to this extent before."

"Not only does the MRV allow us to transport our vehicles, troops and their associated logistics to wherever and get close and onto a beach, but its medical and command and control facilities are just outstanding. The ship will be able to be used in scenarios similar to those faced by the defence force in Timor Leste and Bougainville, and also to transport civil aid, for example, materials and heavy moving equipment, to wherever it is needed."

What were the challenges for his soldiers? Apart from a couple of cases of sea sickness there were very few, he said. “It was important that we as soldiers become used to a different culture – our Service language, how we interact, different ranks, different procedures. But all that went incredibly smoothly. I think everyone had a willingness to make things work, as this is new, and a very exciting development for both services. Also, in the past 10 years we have been on many operations together, for example, East Timor and Afghanistan, and there are already established bonds between Navy and Army personnel.”

Lieutenant Commander Justin Mace, the multi-role vessel’s supply officer, has been something of a conduit during the exercise between the ship, and contingent of soldiers and their kit. "The biggest challenge faced by the ship’s company," he says, "has been that all procedures were new to everyone involved. We’ve never done it before. This was the first time and to a large extent it was a case of ‘we don’t know what we don’t know’. Just because all their vehicles fitted into the ship on paper didn’t mean that they would all fit in reality. Another thing we were worried about was keeping the soldiers busy at sea; but with some good work by the embarked force and by our people it all seemed to go well."

"There was an enormous amount of planning and effort that went into preparing for the embarked force: the ship’s command team has been planning for this sort of activity for almost a year. The ship’s amphibious load team, from 5 Movements Company but posted permanently to Canterbury put in a huge effort."

“Our ship’s company is 60, but with trainees we normally have 80-85 onboard. With Wolf 3 we went up to 301. It’s not easy at first- for the ship’s company CANTERBURY is their home, they live onboard and spend all their time here, and all of a sudden it’s like Christmas and 220 relations come to visit. I think the design of the ship helped us a lot-the embarked force had its own dining hall and recreation area so there is a lot of space for everyone. The soldiers were very cooperative when we had any teething problems .In fact they were a great bunch to have as our first embarked force.”

LTCDR Mace said the Army and Navy would exercise whenever possible to ensure embarkation and disembarkation proficiency and speed.

“We need to practise a lot, especially with vehicles, as these sorts of skills degrade over time. For example we can’t practise transferring a LAV , LOV or Unimog from the ship to an LCM and then onto a beach unless we have regular access to these vehicles. We also need to practise and refine hoisting skills with the crane and our personnel embarkation organisation."

“We also need to practise some more diverse missions such as humanitarian aid like the relief effort New Zealand provided after the 2004 tsunami, and evacuation operations so that the “multi-role” side of the ship is developed. This will mean working with a more diverse range of NZ Army and RNZAF such as 2 Engineer Regiment and 3, 5, and 6 Squadrons.”

The Exercise Wolf series epitomises jointness at its best, with all three Services having a vital role to play, says Commander, Joint Forces, Rear Admiral Jack Steer.

The exercise aims to see the 1st Battalion, 1 RNZIR able to provide a cavalry company group supported not only by the ground assets it requires to conduct contemporary operations, but also a maritime delivery option and air surveillance.

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The RNZAF’s 3 Squadron and 5 Squadron, are involved, with 3 Squadron’s helicopters inserting reconnaissance and snipers into the area to feed real time information.

The Commanding Officer, No. 5 Squadron, Wing Commander Logan Cudby says the exercise is an excellent opportunity for three of the squadron’s P-3 Orions to use their recently installed electro optics systems. The three aircraft have the cameras fitted as a precursor to the P-3 K2 Orion upgrade which involves a major enhancement of the aircrafts’ capability over land and sea.

WGCDR Cudby says the kit is “the best commercially available in the world” and can provide an important real-time relay of ground activities. While the P-3s are well used to maritime surveillance, land surveillance is new to 5 Squadron.

He says other militaries are increasingly using P-3s for land surveillance as they can fly for a long time, and have a flexible crew composition.

More information about how the RNZAF P-3 Orions use their electro optics system to support the Army’s land operations will appear in the next issue of Army News.

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