Final consultation is under way on a proposal to merge reserve force battalions, which could result in up to 600 reserve positions being lost as a cost-saving initiative.
A 2011 report from former chief of army Major-general Lou Gardiner, international security specialist Dr Beth Greener and merchant banker and New Zealand Army colonel Paul Bayley, included 43 recommendations on how to reconfigure the reserve force.
Last week, the Otago Daily Times was told the 4th Otago and Southland Battalion Group would be merged with other South Island reserve battalions at the end of this month.
Asked for confirmation, New Zealand Defence Force senior media adviser Major John Gordon said a final decision on any merger had yet to be made.
"There is some final consultation taking place between senior defence leadership and the Minister of Defence in relation to the reserves integration project."
He said a briefing was scheduled with the minister this week, "and from there we should be in a position to make further comment".
It was recommended the six reserve battalion groups be merged into three support battalions, based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
There was no reference in the report to the Drill Hall, in Kensington, Dunedin, but it did suggest maintaining the NZDF presence in communities could be done relatively cheaply by co-locating with other defence force users and hiring smaller buildings.
A briefing to incoming Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman said the Cabinet agreed in August 2011 to merge the six existing battalion groups into three and cut up to 600 army territorial force positions from the existing 1800 funded positions.
The move would achieve savings of $9.25 million. It was not known how many army territorial force positions would be cut at 4 O'South as a result of the merger.
