NZ Army Officer Cadets pushed to limits in rite of passage challenge in Exercise Nemesis

The “swamp challenge” is arguably one of the toughest challenges facing Officer Cadets in their bid to become fully Commissioned Officers in October this year.

Nemesis takes place over three days and is deliberately designed to push cadets to their absolute limits. Existing on minimal food and sleep and carrying a full combat pack weighing up to 30kg, Officer Cadets carry out, and are evaluated on, a range of physical, cognitive and psychological tests.

Chief Instructor Officer Cadet School, Major Ken Nicholson said leadership, comradeship and teamwork are integral to successfully completing the exercise.

“We closely watch how Officer Cadets conduct themselves, how they motivate themselves and others when they’re under extreme duress, and whether they’ll uphold the values of the NZ Army as an officer in a pressure environment. Nemesis is designed to test their mental and physical resilience, and their ability to perform in adverse conditions in future exercises and operations overseas.”

He said pushing soldiers to their absolute limit gave a clear idea of how the officer would perform in battle, whether they would make sound tactical decisions and not crack under pressure.

Tasks included carrying full jerry cans through Ngamatea Swamp at night for up to eight hours, ethical decision-making in morally ambiguous circumstances, puzzle-solving, ammunition resupply and an escape and evade exercise while being pursued by an enemy force.

The trek through the swamp is only about 2km in a straight line, but with the Officer Cadets weighed down with gear and soaked after getting chest deep within the first 50 metres, it can take them between five and nine hours to complete as they battle the mud and fatigue.

Major Nicholson said there was a very deliberate and graduated training programme to condition Officer Cadets to a point where they can handle the stress they are placed under, under the guidance of the New Zealand Defence Force Human Performance Cell.

Officer in Charge, Human Performance Cell, Major Jacques Rousseau, said during Nemesis soldiers’ bodies took a hammering and scientific testing was used to monitor any decline in performance, cognitive ability, and changes to body composition.

“It’s about combat readiness and ensuring our officers are fit and resilient enough to meet any challenges head on when they are needed. We share the data we collect with the soldier, so they can understand what is happening to their body, know how to overcome challenges and reduce recovery time.” 

He said baseline testing included a jump test, grip strength test, cognitive test and body composition evaluation.

Of the 43 Officer Cadets, 11 were from other militaries - Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Tonga.

Australian Defence Force Officer Cadet Jess Parish said her strategy to get through Ex Nemesis was to think about home and knowing her course mates were suffering as well.  

“At one stage the weather hit minus 7 degrees and it was snowing. I’ve never seen snow before so that was cool. It’s been an awesome experience integrating with the NZ team, and the culture and friendships that we’ve built will last a lifetime.” 

Officer Cadet Parish said moving to a new country for a year was daunting but an incredible opportunity that she couldn’t pass up.

“One of the hardest challenges for me was Ngamatea Swamp and I was glad when it ended! It really tested my resilience physically and mentally.  Being quite small it was quite challenging, and carrying a jerry can with water at times up to my waist was difficult. I had a couple of songs playing in my head which helped." 

NZ Army Officer Cadet Nathan Rae said he was also pleased when the swamp challenge finished and it was a matter of putting one foot in front of the other despite being cold, hungry and tired. 

Next up for the Officer Cadets is Exercise Takrouna, the final field-testing and summative assessment for NZ Army Officer Cadets completing their Commissioning Course. They will be tested on the entire spectrum of battlefield operations to ensure they are suitable for commissioned service.