More about my Unit...

1 Troop, 1 Field Squadron, 2 Engineer Regiment,

Royal New Zealand Engineers.

The unit that I belong to is a combat engineering "Troop" of about 30 soldiers. Excepting the Cadre NCO Sgt Burnett, who is Regular Force, we are all part of the Territorial Force of the New Zealand Army. The Territorial's are volunteers who give a minimum of twenty days a year service to the country. The concept is very much like that of the US's National Guard. We recieve pay for whatever training we do but since the rate is fairly low compared to what most civilian jobs pay most people enlist for the unique experiences, training or comraderie.

NZ's Territorials provide a cost effective way of maintaining a larger pool of available trained human resources. NZ spends only about 1% of GDP on defense so providing for a sizable standing army is difficult. The NZ Army consists of 6,900 Regular Force personnel with another 3,500 Territorial soldiers.