Manawatū’s Linton Military Camp is this month the battlefield headquarters for leading soldiers from New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the United Kingdom as they hone their combat tactics for working alongside each other.

The Five Powers Defence Arrangement Exercise Suman Warrior is conducted once every five years in New Zealand, and this year’s command post exercise involves more than 120 personnel.

Five battle groups – representing each of the arrangement partners - devise their own tactical response to a conflict scenario drawn up by Colonel Mike van Welie and his team at the New Zealand Army’s 1st (New Zealand) Brigade and the Army Training Group’s Mission Command Training Centre.

Each battle group presents their plans using a 90m2 floor model, which is then entered into a simulation programme for them to wargame and analyse the results.

“Exercises like these, which fundamentally revolve around building strong partnerships and working together to protect our region, also allow us to sharpen tactics, develop the most effective battle plans and learn from each other to stay at the cutting edge of warfare,” Colonel van Welie said.

“It’s vitally important to train alongside our ally and some of our closest partners in the Indo-Pacific and it’s a real honour to host this exercise at Linton.

“It may look less intense than firing live rounds in the training area, but it’s certainly no less important, because without a robust tactical plan, your frontline troops won’t be as effective.”

A lot of detail went into a such a command post exercise; from developing the overall scenario, determining what capabilities and assets the teams have at their disposal, through to making sure the floor models and simulations are as accurate as possible, because the small details could have massive impacts, Colonel van Welie said.

“Not only do our personnel get an opportunity to test their tactical skills in a high-intensity environment, but they get to do so alongside some incredibly talented military minds from our ally and partner nations. The exchanged learnings and tactical knowledge will enhance our operational interoperability in the future.”

The exercise started on Monday and will run until Thursday next week.

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