Digging trenches and setting up ambushes is just as much a part of the job as providing trauma aid to casualties for former Maniototo resident, now New Zealand Army medic and ‘‘marksman’’ shooter, Corporal Amanda Voice.
‘‘I always wanted to be a medic, and that combined with the physicality of being in the Army is the main reason I joined up.’’
As a teenager, Cpl Voice represented Central Otago in hockey, and New Zealand three times as a Western Performance Horse Rider.
After attending Maniototo Area School in Ranfurly, where she was also an Otago Daily Times Class Act recipient, she completed the army’s all arms recruit training programme and joined the Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps as a medic. She spent the next two years at Defence Health School (DHS) at Burnham.
She graduated as a fully qualified medic in 2023, aged 20, with a Level 6 Diploma in Paramedic Science and a Level 7 Graduate Certificate in Health Science.
Her first post was with the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (1 RNZIR), Whiskey Company.
‘‘I was excited to be a medic in a military environment with the potential of being deployed anywhere in the world to care for our soldiers,’’ she said.
In the past three years, she has spent three months in the United Kingdom on operations and was deployed on exercise in Fiji, Australia and New Caledonia.
War-fighting skills were part of the job of being a medic.
‘‘I operate alongside infantry soldiers — digging trenches, setting up ambushes and in the middle of the noise and smoke — treating casualties,’’ she said.
Medics were a key member of the team, 1 RNZIR Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Caleb Berry said .
They ensured the best possible care for soldiers as far forward in the combat zone as required.
‘‘They are key enablers to the infantry and armoured crews, and a valued member of the unit.’’
Cpl Voice recently attended Exercise Nui Dat in Waiouru, where soldiers from 1 RNZIR honed their skills across both mounted and unmounted weapon systems, including high explosive and anti-armour support weapons.
Her shooting career began well before her military days, when her father taught her to shoot on the family farm.
‘‘Learning to shoot at an early age paid off as I qualified last year as a ‘marksman’ and was able to take part in the recent Queen’s Medal competition in Waiouru’’.
The Queen’s Medal is open to all units in the NZ Army, and only the best get to compete.