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Air force chopper drops in for visit
(HTM) Source
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One of the eight 10-tonne choppers in New Zealand is flying around
Otago and Southland schools on a defence force recruitment drive this
week.
Senior pupils from King's High School and some junior classes
witnessed the twin-engine medium-utility NH90 helicopter land on their
field yesterday morning.
New Zealand Defence Force recruiter Sergeant Lachie Haddon said the
recruiting run was an exciting opportunity for southern schools to
learn about New Zealand's defence forces.
"We don't see many air force assets this far down the country, being
no military bases, so it's good to be able to get some assets down
here and pop in to some schools," he said.
Reserve soldiers based in Dunedin talked to the pupils about their
jobs and the opportunities they had had working in the defence force.
The part-time soldiers were a mix of people who were full-time working
civilians and university students that spent their weekends in the
army or the air force.
They helped the defence force respond to a range of callouts,
including during Cyclone Gabrielle that devastated parts of the North
Island last year.
Sgt Haddon said the NH90 helicopters were operated by the Royal New
Zealand Air Force for a range of purposes.
Their central role was to provide tactical air-mobility operations for
the defence force, including support for special operations, casualty
evacuation and movement of troops and equipment.
The NH90s also provided a range of support services to government
agencies including search and rescue, police operations, disaster
relief and counter-terrorism response.
Acting rector Darin Smith said the armed services demonstrated a core
value of the school, which was giving back to the community.
He said the early exposure to the services gave pupils a chance to see
what career opportunities were out there for them in the defence
force.
"It's great to see so many of the guys keen to be involved there," he
said.
There were about 20 senior boys at King's who were looking into a
career in the defence force after graduating from secondary school.
The crew went on to visit St Kevin's College and Waitaki Boys' High
School after King's yesterday and were planning on visiting Southland
schools Maruawai College, Southland Boys' High School and Central
Southland High School today .
They are set to fly to Central Otago schools Wakatipu High School, Te
Kura O Tititea Mount Aspiring College and Cromwell College tomorrow.
_mark.john@odt.co.nz_
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