Ordinary Seaman Combat Specialist Tayla Taupaki has just completed her basic common training and is looking forward to the next phase of her Navy career. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
No two days are the same in the Royal New Zealand Navy and sometimes you have to eat quickly to fit all the tasks in, says newly-minted sailor Tayla Taupaki from Whangamat.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old, who went to Whangamat Area School and worked in a caf for a year before joining up, graduated from basic common training in late June, joining the Navy's ranks as an Ordinary Seaman Combat Specialist.<\/p>\n
She passed the 18-week course (normally 16 weeks but extended by Covid-19) with 64 other trainees (43 men and 22 women) and is now tackling her 14-week basic branch training.<\/p>\n
Seaman Combat Specialists are experts in the control and conduct of all seamanship operations, including gunnery, boarding of other vessels, security, weapons and seaboat handling.<\/p>\n
\"I wanted to join the Royal New Zealand Navy because I wanted a career that involves travelling around the world, helping people and having lots of interesting opportunities,\" she says.<\/p>\n
\"A highlight of the training was making so many new friends and getting to know them so well that I can call them family.\"<\/p>\n
She says the first month of training was hard but it did get easier.<\/p>\n
\"Definitely all the running that's involved. And having to eat fast so you can move on to the next task.\"<\/p>\n
Recruits are put under controlled stress throughout basic common training, and coping with fatigue is a factor, she says.<\/p>\n
\"You need to keep a positive mindset always, and go for it. It's so much fun.\"<\/p>\n
With her move into branch training she's now enjoying a bit more independence and free time, which she intends to take up with sport.<\/p>\n
She said it was a hard change moving from civilian life to the New Zealand Defence Force.<\/p>\n
\"But everything we do in the NZDF we do for a purpose. You never know what to expect the following day.\"<\/p>\n
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Read more here:<\/p>\n
In the Navy: Whangamat's Tayla Taupaki ready to hit high seas - Bay of Plenty Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ordinary Seaman Combat Specialist Tayla Taupaki has just completed her basic common training and is looking forward to the next phase of her Navy career. Photo \/ Supplied No two days are the same in the Royal New Zealand Navy and sometimes you have to eat quickly to fit all the tasks in, says newly-minted sailor Tayla Taupaki from Whangamat Continue reading