Photo: Pool Picture
Prime Minister John Key says he has no intention to extend the two-year deadline for New Zealand's deployment to Iraq.
Key flew out of Iraq earlier today after a secret trip to the camp, which is 25 kilometres north-west of the capital Baghdad.
The Prime Minister travelled there to meet the New Zealand troops and witness some of their training, which is designed to better equip the Iraqi security forces in their fight against Daesh (ISIS) as part of a 62-country, United States-led coalition.
New Zealanders are part of a joint training programme with Australia; there are about 16 New Zealand trainers, along with logistics support and force protection provided by Regular Force soldiers. There are about 140 personnel, including command positions in Baghdad.
The three-day trip was shrouded in secrecy because of security concerns, and Radio New Zealand agreed to report the trip only once Key had left the country. He is the first Prime Minister to visit troops in Taji Camp, which is surrounded by pockets of Islamic State sympathisers and activity.
Key observed several different types of drills led by New Zealanders on a training ground within the compound, including building clearances, combat first-aid and how to find and deal with IEDs.
After a day observing the mission and meeting the soldiers, Key was asked for his personal impressions.
“At one level I feel encouraged because they are in a massively safe location. I think the sort of compound within the compound provides a high degree of protection - you can see how seriously they take personal security. The force protection unit that's here to look after our trainers, the "guardian angels" for want of a better term, the ratio of them is quite heavy.
“But when you look at it, it's sort of a goddamn awful place isn't it - it's desolate, it's sort of beige. It's a tough operating environment, our people are out there working and when they start telling you it's 40 degrees and it's cool, what does hot look like? Well, the answer is 55 degrees and our people are out there working in that, so it's a tough place for them to operate in.”
Photo: Pool Picture
The New Zealand deployment has been given a specific deadline of two years, and Key said he had no intention to extend it out any further.
“I think we have come here to try and make a real difference, but to recognise, actually, we're a small country, we have a limited amount of resources. We've got people who've done a tremendous job over the last five or six months, they've had to build out the capability here, the physical infrastructure.
“You can see how harsh it is, I mean frankly, it's a bit of a rubbish tip down the road, in bits of it, and our people have had to work very hard to put together tremendous systems, actually - everything from logistics to the medical team. But we don't want to be here in Iraq forever. We were 10 years in Afghanistan, it's a big cost, it's a big commitment. These are men and women who are away from their families, and they'll do everything they can to do their job, but it's not my plan for them to be here long.
“I think New Zealand's got a job to do here, we're doing it and yeah, I think there should be an exit point and that exit point at two years feels about right to me.”
When asked if two years was long enough, Defence Force chief Lieutenant-General Tim Keating said the length of the deployment was not up to him.
"Well, this is a politician decision and we're going to make a significant difference in two years' time. And any time we're here is making a difference and any battalion that we put through the training is making a difference. The political decision is two years and our people work very hard in that two years."
The first New Zealand soldiers arrived a Camp Taji in April; the deployment will be reviewed early next year.
A version of this story was first published on radionz.co.nz.