Teens get taste of the military life
Guns, tankers and trucks were on display at Linton Military Camp with pupils getting a taste of army life while learning leadership skills.
About 200 pupils from schools around the region flocked to the army camp on Monday to learn leadership skills and see what life in the military was like.
Major Tim Woodman said they conceived of the session as they had requests from schools to bring pupils out and thought it would be a good way to engage with the community.
In the morning they talked to the pupils about the military and about what leadership meant to them. Then in the afternoon they split the groups in two, with one side checking out static displays showing what the military did and the other participating in tasks to test their leadership skills.
‘‘Most of the people see the military on the news, but they don’t actually get to meet us face-toface.’’
Huntley School pupil Sean Foote, 11, said he had a lot of fun and his favourite activity was the confidence course.
‘‘You get to do the logs, the monkey bars ... the tunnels and you jump through the window.’’
He said he learnt leadership was difficult. ‘‘You have to make lots of decisions.’’
Palmerston North Girls High School pupil Salma Abdalla, 15, said she enjoyed the displays and the leadership tasks.