Veterans have taken aim at an Army ban on urban live firing exercises.

The NZ Defence Force (NZDF) instituted the ban after a soldier was shot during a live firing exercise in 2019 at the Battle Training Facility in Ardmore in rural south Auckland.

The temporary ban covers regular Army units training at purpose-built ranges including Ardmore, plus simulated urban scenes featuring facades in areas of open countryside.

It is set to be lifted once recommendations from an inquiry have been implemented and does not affect the NZ Special Air Service (SAS), an NZDF spokeswoman said.

The NZDF said the ban is having no effect on operational readiness.

But Army veterans spoken to by Stuff disagree.

One former rifleman, who asked to remain anonymous, said the ban on urban live field firing was equivalent to police who were practising for high-speed chases being limited to driving at 30kmh during training.

He cited the effects of a more wide-ranging ban, instituted by the Army in the late 1990s and covering all live firing, in arguing against the prohibition on urban live field firing.

Then-chief of general staff Major General Maurice Dodson justified the ban at the time by saying live-firing exercises were by nature too one-sided, and a better option was electronic simulator systems where soldiers could fire back.

“Regular Army units are continuing effective training and developing individual skills and competence in a safe, controlled manner. The training consists of dry rehearsals, blank, simulated and live firing.”

However, veterans told Stuff the pressure of a live firing exercise was crucial in preparing troops for urban combat.

The former rifleman, who deployed to East Timor as a peacekeeper and later to Afghanistan, said the earlier total live firing ban left troops badly underprepared.

When they undertook a live firing exercise in Townsville in Australia prior to deploying several were injured, leading to Courts of Inquiry, he said.

He said the ban could endanger the lives of Kiwi soldiers if they faced urban combat without urban live firing experience.

That ban was later lifted.

Another former soldier, also an East Timor veteran, said firing blanks was one thing, but the harsh reality of firing live rounds in confined quarters was invaluable for preparing troops for combat.

“If it's not real, how can you be expected to go and put that into action overseas?”

There has been at least one exemption to the current ban on urban live field firing.

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Following the coronavirus lockdown, the Army’s High Readiness Task Unit was granted special dispensation to conduct a live field firing exercise, according to an article by a junior officer in the June issue of Army News.

Responding to a request for comment on the veterans’ concerns, an NZDF spokeswoman reiterated the view put forth in an earlier statement that there was no impact on operational readiness resulting from the ban.

“Regular Army units are continuing effective training and developing individual skills and competence in a safe, controlled manner. The training consists of dry rehearsals, blank, simulated and live firing.”

Asked if any officers had raised concerns about the ban, the spokeswoman said the NZDF was not aware of any “official concerns” being raised.

The suspension was imposed as “standard operating procedure following a live firing incident’’, the spokeswoman said.

“This is to ensure safety and prevent similar incidents occurring while an investigation takes place.”

The ban would lift once recommendations from the inquiry into the Adrmore incident were implemented, expected to be by February 2021.