U.S. ‘Snake Squadron’ Cavalry Soldiers Integrate with New Zealand Infantry Regiment Recon Units to Train SSG John Pantalici

Fall 2021 by SSG John T. Pantalici The U.S. 25th Infantry Division’s recon naissance troops have historically strengthened international partner ships through repeated training ex changes in the South Pacific. As part of this ongoing initiative, Soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Reg iment, have attended courses con ducted by New Zealand’s army since 2018. In 2020 the 2-14 Cavalry “Snake Squadron” Soldiers witnessed how the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (RNZIR) 2nd/1st Battalion’s reconnais sance (recce) platoon imparted insti tutional knowledge of reconnaissance operations. American Soldiers were in tegrated into RNZIR recce detach ments during their annual execution of the Dismounted Reconnaissance Pa trol Procedures Course. The 2/1 recce soldiers demonstrated their expertise and professionalism in the execution of light reconnaissance tasks and training. The execution of in ternational operations will continue to be a crucial component of readiness in the Pacific, and New Zealand’s army continues to be a valued and essential contributor to a free and open South Pacific. New Zealand army background In the New Zealand army’s doctrinal concept, the role of the infantry bat talion recce platoon is to provide the commander with information about the enemy and terrain within the area of operations, areas of interest and battlespace. In the RNZIR, the patrol is the fundamental unit: the sensor team fighting for information. Squad sec tions are the essential element. The emphasis on the application of techni cal skills and tactical knowledge in the small unit is the foundation of success for the larger organization throughout all phases of war. The recce-platoon course covers the tactics and techniques that allow its selected soldiers to operate in areas of uncertainty, complexity and ambigui ty, the gray areas of the 21st Century. Dismounted Patrol Procedures Courses are run yearly by the recce platoon at Burnham Military Camp on the Southern Island home of 2/1 RN

ZIR.

The New Zealand army’s institutional reconnaissance training was informed by jungle warfare in Vietnam. New Zealand army recce and tracking courses have existed in challenging en vironments since the 1970s in places such as Malaya and Singapore. The 2/1 Recce’s Patrol Procedures Course has existed since the Cold War exploits of New Zealand’s “Grey Ghosts.” Hard learned-lessons in jungle fieldcraft and survival in the bush have been trans mitted through decades. In the jungles of the Southeast Asia, Kiwi soldiers knew they had become one with the environment when the “flies wouldn’t even land on them.”1 Throughout the country’s history, New Zealand’s sol diers have demonstrated a willingness to endure shared hardship on patrol. Modern operational knowledge within the 2/1’s recce platoon has been de rived from downrange excursions in East Timor, the Solomon Islands,

Fall 2021 Afghanistan and Iraq. Senior course in structors have spent most of their ca reers within the same units, providing them in-depth institutional and cultur al knowledge of their formations. Sol diers, noncommissioned officers and commissioned officers often serve lon ger-term assignments in their battal ions. New Zealand’s army brigade is divided between the Northern and Southern Islands. It is common for recce soldiers to experience Special Air Service selec tion and service. Though well versed in combat operations, the New Zea land army experience goes beyond the skillful application of military force. The army has also served its citizens well assisting in earthquake-relief ef forts in 2011 and Australian brushfires in 2020. Required course The successful completion of the pa trol-procedures course is a prerequi site for battalion infantry soldiers to serve in the recce platoon and the sniper section. The course is com prised primarily of enlisted soldiers, although officers attend as well. The course is useful for infantry officers to learn the role of reconnaissance ele ments and for the army to vet future recce-platoon leaders. Soldiers must demonstrate an aptitude for recon naissance and are assessed on their personalities and individual discipline. Tactical patience, initiative, detail-ori ented observation and the ability to operate in small formations with greater responsibility is crucial for ser vice within the recce platoon. The course aims to prepare selected regular-force infantry subalterns and other ranks in the interpretation and applications of the dismounted-recon naissance platoon standing operating procedures, according to the 2/1 RN ZIR joining instruction. Structure of New Zealand recce platoon An overview of platoon roles covered in a doctrinal portion of the classroom instruction demonstrated that the de tachment is comparable to an Ameri can Army squad. The detachment commander is the platoon leader, and the 2IC or “second in charge” is the platoon sergeant. The detachment also consists of a scout, a signalman, a machine gunner and an interchange able marksman or medic spot. The New Zealand army recon forces have received changes to their force structure much like the doctrinal ad justments made to platoons, squads and sections in the U.S Army during the last decade. New Zealand recce detachments have fluctuated from be tween four and six individuals, with three detachments forming a dis mounted recce platoon. Figure 1. Soldiers employ camouflage techniques. (Photo by SSG John Pantali ci) Figure 2. RNZIR recce-detachment structure.

Fall 2021 Cooperation with U.S. Army Throughout the decades, the U.S. Army has greatly benefitted from its relationship with the New Zealand de fense forces. Fighting formations of both countries worked together dur ing both world wars, the conflict in Vietnam and right through the Global War on Terrorism to present day. There are interesting parallels be tween U.S. Apache scouts and native Maori trackers in New Zealand. GEN Donn Starry, former commanding gen eral of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, who was the architect the U.S. AirLand Battle doctrine, specifi cally mentioned the skill of Maori trackers in the Vietnam jungle-warfare courses: “The soldiers who were teaching at Tracking Wing were New Zealander, native Maori. They were very well educated but retained their traditional skills. The more we watched our Soldiers in 11th Cavalry, the more we tried to train them well in those skills.”2 The Maori soldiers’ experience in creased survivability in the Blackhorse Regiment’s battlespace. The 25th Infantry Division has commit ted to continuing this relationship with the New Zealand army. The divi sion’s chief of interoperability and the fusion cell have ensured that training partnerships have flourished. In the past two years, Warrior Brigade of the 25th Infantry’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) has hosted Kiwi soldiers at the U.S. Joint Readiness Training Cen ter (JRTC) and successfully integrated them into the order of battle. Warrior Brigade’s 1st Battalion, 27th In fantry, integrated the New Zealand recce troops in JRTC Exercise 18-04. The 2-14 Cavalry has completed more than four exchanges in the last two years, sending its Soldiers to patrol-procedures and tracking courses on both the Northern and Southern Is lands of New Zealand. 2020 patrol procedures In February 2020, patrol-procedures students gathered for the initial phase of instruction. American students were introduced to the New Zealand armed-forces structure, including a breakdown of its army’s capabilities and history. Weapons classes oriented U.S. Soldiers to the personal weapons carried by Kiwi soldiers. For example, RNZIR forces recently replaced their Steyr rifles with the Modular Ambidex trous Rifle System-Light carbine. The New Zealand army also employed Fab rique National Herstal 240 machine guns with modified barrel releases, in creasing the efficiency of hot-barrel changes. Classroom instruction covered recent New Zealand reconnaissance missions and the latest doctrine. Patrol equip ment was covered in depth. Recce sol diers may adjust their kit and make modifications to their gear setup as long as the changes make sense and contribute to platoon survivability and lethality. They use various camouflage patterns such as Disruptive Pattern Material, Army Combat Uniform and the Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP), which closely resembles the British MTP. Another notable feature of the recce-platoon loadout is the use of a “grab bag.” This bag is smaller than the U.S. standard issue “assault pack” but al lows the user to quickly separate a bare-essentials survival kit from the main rucksack. Every soldier carries a survival kit in the event of separation from the detachment. The 2/1 Recce also had the opportu nity to field newly issued rucksacks. Many soldiers were already making modifications to the packs, demon strating the individual autonomy af forded to detachment members. Attention to fieldcraft From the onset of the course, field craft received heavy attention during instruction. The students broke down their ration packs and created tape-sealed bags, which would be familiar to many U.S. Ranger School and Re connaissance and Surveillance Lead er’s Course veterans. Rainwater-col lection methods were taught to the students. Special attention was paid to water rationing. After equipment and “stores” were prepared, the movement out west be gan. The U.S. party enjoyed the scenic movement from Burnham Military Camp and passage through the majestic Arthur’s Pass National Park Region. The climate and environment of the training area conjured memo ries of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, with weather patterns that serve as a mirror world to the gray skies, mist and rain of America’s Pacific North west. New Zealand’s Hochstetter For est is a challenging environment for the application of small-group patrol procedures. Patrolling instruction begins with the execution of hand signals and move ment in formations such as the corri dor formation and several variations of the Australian peel.3 The impor tance of identifying and selecting nav igation attack points, heel-to-toe movement and other individual move ment actions were taught and stressed. Soldiers were taught to set up bivouac sites with their army-is sued “hooch” and how to use a simple rainwater-collection method. Many of these techniques were subtly different but familiar to American scouts. Ex change Soldiers focused on and em phasized tactical similarities, not vari ance. Demonstration team One thing that was particularly note worthy from a training and teaching standpoint was the designation and employment of a demonstration team, referred to as the demo squad. The members of this squad are previous class graduates and therefore more seasoned members of the platoon. In addition to serving as demonstrators, they also took care of the command post and served as the opposing force throughout the course. Being assigned to this cadre is a privilege within the platoon. After receiving instruction and demonstration, battle drills were recorded by the instructors and cri tiqued with the detachments during after-action reviews. In the first few days of the course, af ter repeated execution of battle drills, the instruction moved into scouting techniques. Detachment members learned how to use arcs during the re connaissance patrol, which is compa rable to sectors of fire in American maneuver doctrine. Tracking and counter-tracking methods were also taught during this period.

Fall 2021 Land-navigation techniques are exe cuted with Silva Prismatic compasses, and mils are used for orientation as well as fire-support training. Detach ment members practiced a memory game common to sniper training. Camouflage and movement tech niques are heavily emphasized. Spot reports were noted if soldiers made too much noise or movement while patrolling; there was heavy emphasis on disciplined movement. Demonstration team leader LCpl S. Richie explained what drew him and others to battalion reconnaissance: “Working in a recon platoon, the hier archy I have experienced is a lot flat ter. I’ve worked with a lot more flexi bility and freedom to just do what needs to be done, which builds a lot of trust and respect. [I’ve experienced] complex taskings, greater responsibil ities, high levels of fitness and learning specialized skillsets like visual track.” Due to the use of New Zealand heli copters to assist with the Australian wildfire relief at the time, the air-ground integration and airmobile-drills instruction were unable to be ex ecuted. On a positive note, the ab sence of these enablers was a remind er of how essential defense-force equipment is to crisis management in the region. Vehicle drop-off and extraction meth ods were the next phase of the course. Two military trucks used for extraction exercises were the Pinzgauer transport (frequently referred to as a Pinny) and the medium heavy operational vehicle (MHOV) cargo truck. (The MHOV is comparable to the U.S. Army light me dium tactical vehicle.) The vehicle drop-off exercises once again high lighted the institutional attention to tailoring tactics and employing cre ative methods for equipment use at nearly every level. A heavy emphasis on expedient and stealthy vehicle deployment could pay dividends for light-infantry units using off-road vehicles like the MRZR4 all-terrain vehicles and the infantry-squad vehicle. Paying careful attention to rapid pick-up procedures could signif icantly increase survivability during egress or when disengagement crite ria has been met. Pick-up area formations were taught and executed in conjunction with Figure 3. The patrol-procedures demonstration team evacuates a notional ca sualty. (Photo by SSG John Pantalici) Figure 4. The demonstration team executes a patrol movement. (Photo by SSG John Pantalici)

Fall 2021 boarding procedures when vehicles were moving to increase survivability while conducting exfiltration. Observation posts are a point of pride for detachment commanders. Bush nell and Leopold spotting scopes are used for observation. Instructors em phasized how observation nodes can effectively influence and shape an op eration’s outcome. Rendezvous-point procedures included one of the more complicated movements of the class. The scenario soldiers faced during this training found them separated during enemy contact and given a predeter mined link-up point to reach by morn ing. Challenging night movement in the dark forests of New Zealand’s West Coast followed. Close-target reconnaissance exercises were also executed by all detach ments. The platoon practiced ambush techniques as a contingency, and there was instruction on the implementa tion of Claymore mines. Another task was the creation and lo cation of sustainment caches. Members of the reconnaissance pa trols had a lot of time to get comfort able with being uncomfortable. Sol diers endured the rain, terrain and swarms of sandflies/mosquitos to demonstrate their aptitude and will ingness to serve as the commander’s eyes and ears. The culminating event in the course was an observation mission of an ob jective. The demo team occupied a farmhouse, while soldiers in the course observed their patterns of life and compiled their collection notes in logbooks. Rendezvous procedures were executed at the conclusion of the observation. Future of conflict A role within the reconnaissance and security (R&S) platoon is truly earned; only five of 15 students were selected for posting to the R&S platoon at the conclusion of the Dismounted Recon naissance Patrol Procedures Course. The American I Corps Soldiers success fully adapted New Zealand tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) and standing operating procedures (SOPs), and it was a truly formative experi ence. RNZIR CPL R. Herewini summed it up nicely: “Having Coalition partners always brings a different dynamic, and [it] is great for interoperability.” Lightning Division Soldiers were suc cessful in their primary task: interpret ing and applying dismounted recon naissance-platoon SOPs. Leaders within the New Zealand de fense forces presented their ideas about what the future of conflict might look like. Like U.S. reconnais sance platoons, doctrinal change is a constant. New Zealand recce platoon SSG M. Lodoviko explained how the course has evolved through the de cade: “The content remains the same, but with the changing environment, equipment and SOPs, we have to test and apply a few procedures moving forward. What I’ve seen change is the patrol numbers being pushed up to six-person patrols, which has [re quired] us to refine how we operate and include a sixth person in the pa trols. With that is also a good chance Figure 5. Patrol-procedures students execute break-contact drills. (Photo by SSG John Pantalici)

Fall 2021 for us to test and adjust our SOPs to solidify how we operate in the future.” Patrol Procedures Course Manager SGT B. Ta’ala was part of a guest rota tion at JRTC in Louisiana and described how the experience influenced pla toon systems: “Having a free-play en emy that has armored and air assets really keeps you on your toes with no room for complacency! Having enemy unmanned aerial vehicles constantly follow us and being on the receiving end of indirect fire highlighted short falls in our TTP/SOPs.” Military formations in the 21st Century have multiple emerging threats on the battlefield to consider. Drones, swarm tactics and electronic warfare – com bined with deadly precision fires – are all threats facing Pacific forces. Shared training experience in courses and at combat-training centers may be diffi cult to facilitate, but they are essen tial. In the new decade, joint training through network-linked augmented-reality systems may become standard. New Zealand’s reconnaissance soldiers are developing ways to meld new technology with decades of tried-and-true fieldcraft. Leaders within the New Zealand military recognize the chal lenge of serving in an era of rapid and persistent innovation. Though New Zealand’s forces are for ward-leaning, they do a superb job of retaining knowledge of institutional and operational history. Burnham Camp produces an excellent publica tion called The Rifleman that captures training, photos and other historical data. Takeaways The patrol-procedures course served as an excellent example of a how a platoon can build, maintain and con tinue to cultivate a solid foundation of knowledge for reconnaissance Soldiers and leaders. Multinational partner ships must continue to be a priority across all operational environments. International partnership among ju nior Soldiers expands knowledge and allows Soldiers to share their knowl edge in new settings. The Kiwi ap proach to combat is tailor-made for the warfare of an expeditionary nature across Pacific island crucibles. A shared language is a big part of shared knowledge. As GEN Robert B. Brown, LTC R. Blake Lackey and MAJ Brian G. Forester wrote in Military Re view, “Procedural interoperability in volves agreed-upon terminology [and TTP] that minimize doctrinal differenc es.”5 The 25th Infantry Division has brought leaders and lessons from New Zealand and Australia to combat-training cen ters across the United States and must continue to do so. This type of training exchange must remain nested in high er organizational objectives. Presence in these training arenas ensures that knowledge is continually exchanged across formations. Committing forces to regional interoperability creates a shared body of doctrinal knowledge. Likewise, New Zealand soldiers will benefit from participation in events like the U.S. Army’s Gainey Cup and Best Sniper Competition. Bringing Kiwi troops into the fold at these interna tional events will strengthen ties be tween our nations and sustain an ex peditionary spirit in both countries. Continued cooperation will be essen tial to the success of any future multidomain operations task force. SSG John Pantalici is a platoon ser geant with Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd BCT, 25th Infan try Division, Schofield Barracks, HI. His previous assignments include assistant operations sergeant, 2-14 Cavalry, 2nd Infantry BCT, 25th Infantry Division; section leader, 1st Squadron, 14th Cav alry Regiment, 1st BCT, Joint Base Lew is-McChord, WA; team leader, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd BCT, Fort Carson, CO; tube-launched, optically-tracked, wireless-guided mis sile/Improved Target Acquisition Sys tem gunner, 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st BCT, 10th Mountain Divi sion, Fort Drum, NY; and driver, 1-71 Cavalry, 1st BCT, 10th Mountain Division. SSG Pantalici’s military schools include the Advanced Leader’s Course, Army Combatives Levels 1 and 2, Mountain Warrior Leader’s Course, Cold Weather Leader’s Course, North ern Warfare Training Center and the Air-Assault Course. Notes 1 Dr. Deborah Challinor, Grey Ghosts: New Zealand Vietnam Vets Talk About Their War, New Zealand: Hodder Moa Beckett, Jan. 1, 1998. 2 Mike Guardia, Crusader: General Donn Starry and the Army of His Times, Haver town, PA: Casemate, 2018. 3 As explained on Wikipedia, the “Austra lian peel,” “center peel” or simply “peel” for short is a type of retreat practiced by infantrymen. This particular tactic is more specifically designed for situations where smaller groups of infantry with draw from an engagement with a much larger force. In general terms, it is a sloped or diagonal retreat from the ene my. The slanting motion of the tactic gives the impression of increasing num bers of infantry joining the battle, a psy chological move designed to deter the opposition. The slanting motion also has the benefit of keeping open one’s field of fire. Retreating directly backward would put the soldier too closely behind his/her own men, severely limiting his/her field of fire. 4 MRZR is not an acronym but a designa tor. 5 GEN Robert B. Brown, LTC R. Blake Lack ey and MAJ Brian G. Forester, “Compet ing with China for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” Military Review, September-Oc tober 2019 edition. Acronym Quick-Scan BCT – brigade combat team JRTC – Joint Readiness Training Center MHOV – medium heavy operational vehicle MTP – Multi-Terrain Pattern (uniform camouflage) R&S – reconnaissance and security RNZIR – Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment SOP – standing operating procedure TTP – tactics, techniques and procedures