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It seems Warkworth’s Mia O’Sullivan has a pretty good sense of direction.
Both when it comes to choosing a career path, as well as navigating different types of terrain, which was evident during her basic training in the NZ Army Reserve Force at Waiouru Military Camp.
The former Mahurangi College student had been considering going into the NZ Defence Force full time, but instead chose to do a degree in global studies at the University of Auckland focusing on human rights.
However, she still signed up for a six-week course of basic soldiering skills with the reserve force and completed it over November and December last year.
O’Sullivan says she loved the navigation component of the training.
“That was a huge highlight for me. These days people can just get directions using their phones and take it for granted. But having to do it yourself manually when there’s no GPS available, that was quite special,” she says.
“It was really eye-opening to see how much we rely on technology and satisfying to be able to learn a new skill and get somewhere on your own merit.”
O’Sullivan says staying in the barracks with around 40 other recruits taught her how to get along with different types of people, which came in handy when she moved to the halls of residence at university.
“Actually living together with someone, like your whole unit, your whole platoon, it definitely changes perspective on how much you rely on each other. That was a really big thing for me,” she says.
“I met people that I otherwise would never have interacted with. People from all walks of life really. We had older people who had kids, tradespeople, a couple of med school students – it was such a mix.”
O’Sullivan says she enjoyed the camaraderie of recruit training and that everyone recognised early on that each person would have strengths that needed to be drawn on to help another who may be struggling.
“I found learning the weapons systems challenging and while we were in the field my section helped me go over the drills whenever we had a spare moment, it was a real team effort.”
Soldiers were paired together to support each other within a section and O’Sullivan built a solid friendship with her “battle buddy”.
“I was the cover scout and my battle buddy was the lead scout. He would always go my pace and had a calm temperament,” she says.
“I’m five-foot-four and the tallest person in our section was six-foot-four so there’s quite a height difference. They could easily outpace me.”
However, her competitive rock climbing and hockey background helped Private O’Sullivan with her fitness and strength for the field.
“Physical fitness is important but you need to be prepared to have the mental endurance as well,” she said.
O’Sullivan says she came out of the reserve force with a lot more than she went in with.
“And after only six weeks as well, which is pretty amazing. I’m really grateful for the experience.”
Learning time management and discipline as a recruit was also invaluable for the teenager.
“It’s definitely helping me stay on top of my studies at uni,” she says.
