West Coast training prepares NZ Army soldiers for upcoming Indo-Pacific exercises
Soldiers from the New Zealand Army’s 2nd/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (RNZIR) have honed their jungle, or close-country, skills on the South Island’s West Coast.
11 March, 2026
Major Jono Healey, Officer Commanding Alpha Company 2/1 RNZIR, said Exercise Ngahere Strike was the company’s first tactical field training exercise for the year and set them up well to participate in upcoming international activities.
“Field exercises push participants outside their comfort zones and enable them to develop their soldiering skills in as realistic an environment as possible. They are a critical component in preparing our people to deploy overseas on exercises and operations,” Major Healey said
Last week’s exercise was held just outside Kumara, where dense native bush stood in for tropical jungles. It involved two platoons searching for and clearing an enemy from a remote area.
The exercise started with the troops crossing the Hokonui River before spending eight days practicing a range of combat tasks, medical scenarios and acclimatisation that culminated with a dawn attack on an enemy camp.
They then tested these skills with live ammunition training inside the treeline.
VIDEO: Ex Ngahere Strike | New Zealand Army
Major Healey said the exercise was designed to prepare one of the platoons to work alongside international partners on a series of significant multinational exercises in the Indo-Pacific later in the year.
“Ngahere Strike was planned to prepare our soldiers to work and perform well alongside international partners in a jungle setting,” Major Healey said.
“This is an environment the NZ Army has a strong tradition of high standards in, so it is critical that we push ourselves to hone and maintain this skillset.”
Soldiers come together to hear the plan of attack before conducting a live firing patrol through dense jungle conditions.
Exercise Ngahere Strike also saw the troops training for casualty evacuations alongside NZ Army medics.
A soldier prepares a drone to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to the troops
As is becoming the norm for 2/1 RNZIR, the exercise also provided an opportunity to incorporate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) alongside soldiers in the field to enhance their survivability and increase overall effectiveness and lethality.
“Global developments have highlighted the importance of UAS in modern combat, and we are working to include them as part of every activity we run,” Major Healey said.
“The company is currently equipped with a number of small intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drones. These are used to provide early warning for troops moving through vulnerable areas, and to find and safely reconnoitre enemy positions.”