The New Zealand Army has completed its largest South Island exercise of 2025, shifting from extraction rehearsal to combat operations in a two-week training event designed to test how quickly soldiers can adapt to real-world missions.
“Exercise Cassino,” held in the Marlborough District, began with non-combatant evacuation training in a practice crisis zone before escalating into patrols, raids, and search operations against simulated militia forces.
Soldiers cleared mock camps, seized a drone-building site, and captured a simulated militia leader.
The operation brought together land and air units, including the 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion, 3rd Field Squadron Engineers, and 5th Signals Squadron.
Throughout the drills, Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopters and C-130J-30 Hercules aircraft provided transport and aerial training, while army engineers used inflatable boats to simulate river approaches.
The final phase took place near the Wairau River at RNZAF Dip Flat, where soldiers launched a joint air and ground assault on a remote target area.
‘Great Milestone’
Lt. Col. Jerry Mateparae, commander of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment’s 2nd/1st Battalion, said the event concluded with the training reinforcing coordination between army and air force teams and improving overall combat preparedness.
“Having the opportunity to learn and develop skills required across the spectrum of conflict and within a contemporary operating environment are vital to ensure our personnel are ready for global operational deployments,” stated.
“It is a great milestone in our continued drive toward modernising our operating concepts toward the future battlefield.”
Backing From Local Residents
Mateparae also thanked the Marlborough community for its assistance with the exercise, adding, “Without the support of our local communities, we would be unable to train at the scale.”
“The wider Marlborough community have been incredible hosts to us throughout the last few weeks,” the commander said.
“It is a beautiful part of the country, with the epic mountain ranges, native bush and ocean inlets providing an incredible training ground for our team. We are incredibly thankful for all the local support and can’t wait for the opportunity to return again sometime in the future.”
