While the Māori Battalion was posted to Syria in 1942, 16 of its Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) were selected to undergo two months of ski training at the 9th Army Ski School in the Lebanon mountains. Left to right: Thomas E. Duncan (Reporoa), Hautapu Newton (Waikato), Grant Marunui (Wairarapa) and Albert Wanoa (East Coast). Although it was an interesting interlude, most would have agreed with Sergeant Bill Rickard, who recalled wondering: 'Man, what the hell good is the skis on the desert.'