Historical medical competition held at Linton
More than 40 military medics from the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) competed against each other in the historical Waterhouse Trophy competition at Linton Military Camp on Saturday.
In the competition, designed to challenge the physical and mental components of military first aid, teams of four people from the New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal New Zealand Air Force competed for honours and bragging rights in the annual competition.
The competition originated during the Second World War and was held in Wellington between sub-units of the13th Field Ambulance unit.
It includes memorial trophies dedicated by the families of the Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps medics who have been killed on military operations.
The teams, comprising regular and reserve force medics from a range of NZDF units, were required to complete a number of physical and written first aid training scenarios, with the team that performed the best throughout the competition awarded the Waterhouse Trophy and the honour of top NZDF first aid team.
This year that honour went to Defence Health School’s Team Two.
Lieutenant Colonel Paul King, Commanding Officer of the Deployable Health Group, said the teams were tested in scenarios that reflected a contemporary operational environment that included modern threats and injury patterns.
“The competition has been organised with the aim of providing memorable and challenging environments for both individuals and teams,” Lieutenant Colonel King said.
“This is our bread and butter for our medics. Most importantly, it provides an excellent opportunity for all of the medics across the Defence Force to come together and measure themselves against each other, have fun and enjoy the camaraderie of the competition.”
It was a great reason to get all the medics together in one place, he said.
“The competition tested their technical competence, resilience, adaptability, teamwork and leadership.”
