Monday 10 November 2014

NZ's military exercises

Operation Kiwi Koru; Here Come the Generals.
Ben Vidgen


Via Facebook


The current exercise in Taranaki is called Operation Kiwi Koru its
part of a series of training exercises held in NZ since 2012.

http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/…/feature-st…/2014/20141103-ekk14.htm
The first took place at Linton and involved around 50 US marine MP's.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/…/7183793/Marines-join-forces-with-NZ

The next major one Southern Katipo was held in South Island involving 500 US marines also counter insurgency based. This coincided with raft of exercise involving NZ troops where we trained with US marine in amphibious operations in America, Australia and elsewhere.


( I don't usually use WSW but this was written sometime before John got all excited about Isis)

Its around this time we changed our uniforms from jungle green to a camouflage colour fitting for a Middle East and urban warfare theater.

http://soldiersystems.net/…/multi-terrain-camouflage-unifo…/

This also fits with Operation Southern Reaper which was held circa 2012 and orientated around mass deployment of NZ forces to a Middle Eastern theater. In addition to our military adopting a change in policy from training for peace keeping jungle warfare to one in which we train as marine based force for amphibious operations.

http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/…/feature-…/2012/20120110-tnzjatf.htm


This is despite not having the required aircraft and boats needed to conduct such warfare with out being embedded into a much larger force to begin with.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/…/Soldiers-hit-the-streets-to-boost-… 

(This was also the first exercise we use NZ made UAV called the kahu) http://www.stuff.co.nz/…/9…/Eye-spy-disaster-in-the-city-sky


As far as can tell these are all marines from the US base in Hawaii were Key met Obama last year and NZ singed a memorandum of understanding with the US military in June following on from the Washington Agreement in 2010.




To date I have

1. Reports of a US signals base in the far north which is the same one Snowden meant largely corroborated by the Cable Agreement which also links Samoa were the US are also building a new base (ditto Tonga, Solomons and Darwin). This all part of the move to shift 60% of the US Navy forces (which is why were seeing marines) into pacfici by 2020. Australian activist link this directly to protection of energy reserves. And as we know early this year as reported on Campbell Live senior defence and energy personnel made a visit to Rotorua on an air-force jet around June.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/…/103…/US-delegation-startles-Rotoruahttp://www.zdnet.com/trans-pacific-cable-plans-mired-in-ge…/http://www.philstar.com/…/60-us-navy-air-force-deployed-asi…


2. A report of dwelling built in Waioruru to accommodate 500 US marines - my source is pretty reliable on this and says this will be used to accommodate the Hawaii troops for "winter training" . Its not far fetched as the US Secretary of Defense in his NZ trip in 2012 indicated he like troops here permanently.
I can't source my source statement but int terms he is a tried and tested source.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/…/US-keen-to-station-troops-in-NZ-Pa…


3. Waihopai is to be expanded as the NZSIS, the EAB, and the GCSB merger into one agency where already the senior personnel at Waihopai are officers of the USA NSA (this is consistent with the deal the Aussies run with the NSA at Pine gap - refer to John Pilger's heroes for source material).

http://www.hermetic.ch/…/Super-spy-agency-details-hit-the-s…


4. We have expanded signals presence at the end of Christchurch Airport also believed to be US related and expanded funding of the installation's in Bluff.
These are called tracking stations and the nice man down there is adamant its all civilian science stuff and I believe he thinks this true. But the hardware is all branded with US Defence contractor material and I smell Pentagon Money. For this same reason and on the basis of the long term research of the late Owen Wilkes I would also look closely at MT John and more recently the John Key 
Obama hammered out Wanaka Nasa "space station" which was only pointed out to me today.



My material on Wilkes comes from his 1973 book Protest and Canta follow up report in 1987 which showed funding still came from the department of Defence for Mt John. Today it s the NSF but they are in turn largely defence funded so it moot point,


The photo above is of U.S. Pacific Command PACOM CC Adm. Locklear signs the ACSA at the CHOD Conference SYDNEY, Australia (Nov. 06, 2012) -
Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III and the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Rhys Jones, sign The Treaty-level Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA).


This agreement serves to further the interoperability, readiness, and effectiveness of NZ and US military forces through increased logistic cooperation.


The agreement is designed to facilitate reciprocal logistic support between the Parties to be used primarily during combined exercises, training, deployments, port calls, operations, or other cooperative efforts


fbid=771532086216138&set=pcb.771538462882167&type=1&the


About the author; Ben Vidgen is the editor of the Postman Gazette (free typos to good homes) and host the Postman Show. He has authored several books on national security including the 1999 best seller State Secrets. Ben graduated Canterbury University with a degree in Political Science in 1999 where is specilised in the history of terrorism and political violence. He served in the Territorial from 1989- 1992 serving mainly in the artillery (Artillery Intelligence and Signals) and Infantry (2/1) with attachments to Counter Intelligence Force Intelligence Group and Reconnaissance. He participated in several Law man Exercises, Operation Silicon Kiwi, and counter insurgency warfare exercises Ivan Hoe 91 and Golden Fleece 89



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