Major Tadio Nariva

On board the Australian defence vessel ADV Reliant, Major Tadio Nariva of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces looks out over the Pacific horizon, not just as a soldier, but as part of a growing movement of Pacific nations working together for a safer, more resilient region.

Major Nariva is part of the Pacific Response Group, a multinational team made up of military and disaster experts from Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, France, and Australia, training together ahead of the region’s high-risk weather season.

The PRG’s goal is simple but powerful: to build a unified Pacific response that can mobilise quickly when disasters like cyclones, tsunamis, or earthquakes strike.

“It’s been an incredible experience working alongside our Pacific neighbours,” says Major Nariva. “Every day, we learn something new — not just about operations, but about culture, teamwork, and the Pacific family we all belong to.”

For Nariva, the mission is both professional and deeply personal. A father of six, he knows the sacrifices that come with military life, having served on United Nations peacekeeping missions in Iraq and the Golan Heights.

“Well, it is nothing new in the RFMF. Most of the time the soldiers go away on duty, on peacekeeping missions in the Golan, in Iraq. Sometimes more than a year away. So it is nothing new. I’ve been away on several UN missions. And this is part of the service to the nations, being away from the missions.”

Three weeks into the deployment, Nariva says his biggest lessons haven’t come from manuals or drills, but from the people around him. He shares laughs with Tongan and French officers as they trade greetings in each other’s languages, a small but meaningful show of Pacific unity.

The Pacific Response Group will remain based in Brisbane until June next year, before shifting headquarters to New Zealand, where Nariva’s term will conclude.

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