UPDATED MONDAY: Dr Mapp told media the exercise was not unusual -- business groups have visited military in the past -- but he was concerned about the use of firearms in the October training."They weren't playing war games, they (SAS) were really giv
UPDATED MONDAY: Dr Mapp told media the exercise was not unusual -- business groups have visited military in the past -- but he was concerned about the use of firearms in the October training.
"They weren't playing war games, they (SAS) were really giving an indication of their values, their ethos and then some of their professional skills.
"I think it's not unreasonable for people to see the kind of skills that they've got."
Most people had a broad understanding of what the SAS did from television shows but it was different to see it in real life, Dr Mapp said.
The October training came about because of a personal relationship with someone in the SAS and was aimed at making money for the SAS Trust.
Such events were not a money spinner, Dr Mapp said.
Many international military groups have similar trusts to fund educational scholarships, help those wounded during training and to cover other expenses not paid for by the government.
Dr Mapp said it was appropriate the SAS would raise money for its trust in this way and operational security had not been compromised.
However, he asked for an inquiry into the events and wanted guidelines set out for future ones, he said.
Defence Force chief Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, a former SAS soldier, would head the inquiry and report back within three weeks.
Recommendations from the inquiry were likely to include protocols for firearms at business events and a public forum for initiating such events, Dr Mapp said.
That could include having a public agency, such as Business New Zealand, act as a conduit for such meetings.
"We basically trust the SAS, and indeed the rest of the Defence Force, to get on with their business, I'm not out there micro-managing everything."
He said it was good to have a degree of openness about the SAS and for it to share its values of leadership and team work.
Defence Minister Wayne Mapp has ordered an immediate inquiry after reports businessmen paid for sessions with the defence force's elite Special Air Service (SAS) troops.
Seventy staff from private equity company Direct Capital and several of its partner businesses went to Papakura Military Camp -- SAS national headquarters -- on October 28 for a training day which ended with a cocktail party, the weekend print media reported.
For $35,000 -- $500 per person -- participants were put into a dark room while SAS agents with night-vision equipment stealthily took "terrorists" from the group. They also used SAS firearms to shoot at human cut-outs and drank cocktails with war hero Corporal Willie Apiata.
Direct Capital managing director Ross George said the visit was "to use a room, then we returned to Auckland". A spokesman for Dr Mapp told NZPA he had asked for an immediate report about the event, and expected answers today.
He wanted to know whether such events had happened before, how often they were held and who had participated.
"I understand the defence force does interact with the community but this needs to be looked at," Dr Mapp told the media.
Labour defence spokesman Pete Hodgson said it was "comical that our elite force could be reduced to charging grown-up boys $500 to play war games".
The SAS said in a statement it had "aligned itself with top-performing New Zealand organisations to share leadership skills with high-calibre and high-performing New Zealanders who strive for excellence".
"In the past this has included the New Zealand All Blacks and the New Zealand Black Socks softball team. 1 NZSAS Group was recently honoured to be able to continue this trend and support business leaders from Direct Capital Limited. This also included executives from some of the country's top companies."
The "interaction" had focussed on leadership, culture and team dynamic, and included a briefing on the SAS culture, ethos and values.
Direct Capital had "indicated a desire" to make a charitable donation to the NZSAS Trust, established in 2004 to support past and present SAS soldiers and their families. Sir Wilson Wineray is chairman of the trust.
