Home base riskiest place for troops

Cartoon / Rod Emmerson

Defence Force troops are less likely to be injured on missions in war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq than they are at home base.

Ninety-five per cent of injuries incurred by military staff last year happened in New Zealand.

Of the 2658 injuries to the 11,987 regular and reserve force personnel, only 142 - about 5 per cent - happened on overseas operations.

This was a smaller percentage than in 2008 when 7 per cent of injuries occurred overseas.

About 1000 troops were last year deployed on operations in nine countries: Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, Sudan, Iraq, the Middle East, Sinai, Korea, Antarctica and the Solomon Islands.

Twelve people had injuries which required them to be sent home - one with a head injury, five with fractures, three with dislocations and four because of strains or sprains.

But the majority of injuries to troops - 2516 - happened during training, playing sports or other activities at one or the country's five army bases, three air force bases or at the Devonport Naval Base.

The figures were released to the Herald under the Official Information Act following the revelation last week that New Zealand's Special Air Service troops had been involved in another firefight in Afghanistan, with press photographers capturing them in action.

Up to 15 SAS soldiers were part of an Afghan-led force that turned out when a car bomb killed eight civilians in Kabul on Friday last week.

It was the second time the Government had decided to reveal details on SAS operations, following the decision that withholding information, a longstanding policy, was no longer justifiable.

The most common injuries for Army, Navy and Air Force personnel were sprains or strains (1656), with the ankle affected the most (417 injuries), followed by the lower leg (242) and the lower back (188).

Contusions were the second most common injury (290) with knee cuts the most (52), followed by fingers and thumbs (34) and the lower leg (26).

Superficial lacerations were the third most common injury (183).

Thirty-three people suffered noise-induced hearing loss and two suffered trauma-induced hearing loss. Twenty-two soldiers suffered burns, 56 had dental injuries, two people had fingers amputated and 10 suffered toxic adverse affects which were mostly allergic reactions such as bee stings.

One person died while on active duty last year.

The Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, said a formal court of inquiry was continuing into the death of Flight Sergeant Andrew Forster in Waiouru.

The 46-year-old died in a training accident at the Waiouru Army Base when an old artillery shell exploded as he went to mark it for future disposal.

Lieutenant General Mateparae said the Defence Force had observed ankle and knee sprains as a common injury, and had commissioned the University of Otago's injury prevention and research unit to research and advise how they might be reduced.

Training was being given to troops to improve the control and strength in the muscles spanning the ankle joint to reduce strains.

The results of the programme were yet to be evaluated.

The military encouraged physical training and sports and classified any injuries incurred while participating in those activities as work-related, said Lieutenant General Mateparae.

"While members of the NZDF may report an above-average number of injuries, most are minor in their impact. In civilian organisation terms, injuries are over-reported because of the requirement that any injury that will affect fitness standards must be reported to DHS.

"Regular Force and Reserve personnel are for the most part healthy and fit, and recover from any injuries speedily."

The director of defence health, Surgeon Captain Alison Drewry, said the numbers were relative because the amount of days worked while on operations was a small fraction of the total amount worked in a year.

The number of troops who went away on operations was also smaller.

Personnel who went away were trained in New Zealand to "prepare above and beyond the minimum required to operate safely overseas". Injuries that occurred while on home soil were easier to manage than when people were in critical roles overseas, Dr Drewry said.

"People are at their peak really when they go. That's what we prepare them for, to have them at their fittest, to have the best equipment ... to keep them safe, because every single soldier counts, every single person has a vital role to play in the team effort."