Linton's logistical challenge weekend

Fine dining and scrap heap scrambling may appear to have little in common, except they're just two of the competitive tasks that'll face soldiers of the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment’s (RNZALR) during their 13th anniversary celebrations at Linton Camp this weekend.

Chefs and stewards competing for the Roy Smith trophy will be trying to ensure that every aspect of the dining experience is perfect from the silver service to the perfectly cooked cuisine being served to invited guests, including the Chief of Army Major General Lou Gardiner.

At the same time, soldiers from the workshop companies will be salvaging mechanical bits to create a contraption suitable for a specific purpose.

Three workshop teams from Linton, Burnham, and a combined team, will be presented with a scrapheap, and some useful items, they then have 18 hours in which to design and build their machine, before it's tested.

Fine dining, specialist driving, mechanical ingenuity, and a warehouse ‘grand prix’ are all part of the weekend's activities. Each of the major arms of the regiment aims to highlight their team members.

The weekend will begin early for the soldiers with a pre breakfast dawn parade and the firing of a ceremonial canon at 6:16am. The celebrations are an integral part of being a logistician in the New Zealand Army, enabling networking at all levels and continued development of esprit de corps.

“The range of activities and the number of places we operate in makes occasions like this very important. It is surprising what can be sorted out in a brief conversation during or after a competition instead of needing a pile of e-mail” says Lieutenant Colonel Rob Krushka, Commanding Officer of Linton’s 2nd Logistics Battalion.