Declining Use
In the 1980s some training was discontinued, and some army units began to be transferred to Linton. By 1990 Waiouru’s permanent population had fallen to about 3000. However several hundred additional service personnel were in Waiouru on courses at any given time. In 1991 nearly three thousand soldiers were trained in Waiouru on 275 courses. (Newspaper 1991)
With the reorganisation of armoured force personnel in 2005, and their departure from ATG, Waiouru’s population dropped to about 2000. But with its central location, and 600 km² of varied landforms, it was still a much-used training area. The 1400 beds in the barracks were frequently full, with others using the satellite camps or sleeping in the field.
Waiouru continues to be the base for TAD (The Army Depot) and is the integral training base for the New Zealand Army. Most of the service people posted to Waiouru today are there to support training courses such as the All Arms Recruit Course (basic training.)
Read more about this topic: Waiouru Army Camp
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