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DEFENCE

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U P D A T E

Army, Air Force assist flood victims

Regenerate, train, deploy:

the NZDF year ahead

Tasmanex 04

A Kiwi in Kosovo

Iraq – NZDF engineers at work

Army bomb victim returns to work

Whenuapai feedback

Territorials train

COVER: Army nursing officer Captain Deborah Blythen winches a young boy off a roof in Whangaehu during recent flooding in the lower North Island.

Photo: Cpl Carl Booty. INSET: In training: Territorial Force soldier Signaller Sarah MacAvoy, on exercise in the South Island. Photo: Cpl Tim Jordan.

Regenerate, train, deploy: the NZDF year ahead

New Zealand's soldiers, sailors and airmen will spendthe coming year regenerating their military skills,training to operate new equipment, and preparing for amajor national exercise in 2005.

And at the same time they will continue with planneddeployments throughout the world, says Joint ForceCommander Major General Martyn Dunne.

Last year was particularly busy for the NZDF, and thetempo looks unlikely to change, says Major GeneralDunne.

Deployments to the Middle East and in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom would continue until theGovernment decided otherwise, as would those tovarious areas of Europe, Africa and the Pacific.

In the meantime, a series of exercises, some singleService, some tri-Service, will continue throughout theyear, culminating in 2005 in Exercise Joint Kiwi 05.

"This will be a major exercise involving a combined jointtask force that will enable us to test our understandingof command and control, among many other things.

Throughout this year and into next we will be not onlyregenerating old skills, but introducing modern warfighting skills to include the whole of the battlespace."

With so many deployments underway, and the ever-present need to retrain and regenerate, the NZDF wasvery busy, and priorities rejigged accordingly, to ensureGovernment requirements are met, and personnel andequipment usedeffectively. Joint ForceHeadquarters, which isinto its third year ofoperation, was provinginvaluable as far as tri-service planning andgeneral communicationwas concerned, says Major General Dunne.

"All operational-level planning takes place here. Even ifit is a single service operation, deployment or exercisethere are invariably issues which range across the jointenvironment. We have got to get personnel where theyare going, resupply them, ensure communications are

effective, and logistics managed. That is alldone in one place now, and it is making ourtask as a defence force much more effectiveand efficient."

One of the Army's main activities this yearwill be the training of personnel to operateand maintain its newly acquired lightarmoured vehicles. The Navy will continue totrain to enable ships to deploy at any time,and the Air Force will continue with itstransport, surveillance and battlefieldsupport roles, says Major General Dunne.

"And we will continue throughout the year toexercise with our close allies, particularlyAustralia, to continue our contribution tocloser defence relations, and to enhanceinteroperability."

Territorials trainNew Zealand Army Territorial Force soldiers and officersjoined forces with their Australian counterparts for a two-week training exercise on New Zealand's West Coast earlierthis month.

They were supported by a number of Regular Forcepersonnel from Burnham Military Camp and by the Air Force.Exercise Tasman Reserve, in which about 400 Defencepersonnel were involved, gives New Zealand Territorials theopportunity to work alongside Australian forces in abattalion environment, while developing light infantry skillsin difficult terrain and forest areas. A reciprocal exercise,also involving New Zealand Territorials, took place in NewSouth Wales, Australia at the same time. The main purposeof the exercises was to develop experience by training invaried and diverse environments.

Developing skills: Territorial soldiers make their

way through South Island forest.

Royal New Zealand Navy frigates HMNZ ships Te Kaha

and Te Mana, and the tanker HMNZS Endeavour leftDevonport Naval Base for Australia and TASMANEX 04at the end of January.

TASMANEX is an annual joint combined maritimeexercise involving naval forces and maritime air forces

from New Zealand and Australia. A small New ZealandArmy team also took part in the exercise, which wasconducted off the East Australian coast.

It provided an opportunity for both defence forces totrain together and to enhance lessons learnt andpractices experienced during operations such as

Operation Enduring Freedom,where both navies were part ofthe contribution to the globalcampaign against terrorism inthe Gulf of Oman.

The exercise was designed tomaintain the defence force’soperational capability in amaritime environment, andproficiency in core skills,professional standards andsafety. Training was focussedon all areas of navaloperations.

TASMANEX 04

Flood Rescue

Helping hands: New

Zealand Army nursing

officer Captain Deborah

Blythen (left) and

Constable John Ahern

help Mr Graham

MacKenzie to safety

during the Rangitikei

flood. Photo: Cpl Carl

Booty.

The New Zealand Army and Royal New Zealand Air Forceairlifted people stranded on rooftops and evacuatedpeople during recent flooding in the lower North Island.

Twenty-six Army personnel from 16 Field Regiment ofLinton Military Camp evacuated a number of residents inFielding with the support of six Unimogs (4 wheel drivetrucks). Other members of the regiment deliveredblankets to evacuees in Marton. In Tangimoana, armypersonnel assisted with the evacuation of 250 people,while Defence staff were also on stand-by in the LowerHutt region.

Civil defence emergencies were declared in theManawatu-Rangitikei area that was worst affected by theflood. The Manawatu River breached its banks just southof Foxton. At least one house was washed away duringthe flood, and in total about 780 people were evacuatedfrom their homes.

Phone contact throughout much of the Manawatu andHorowhenua was knocked out by the storm, andresidents were urged to tie a white sheet to the roof oftheir house if they needed to be evacuated.

Sailing: Frigates HMNZ Te Kaha and Te Mana, and the tanker HMNZS Endeavour leave Devonport Naval Base for Australia. Photo: Sgt Sarah Jardine

Helping assess the security situation in Kosovo froman office overlooking bombed buildings was a far cryfrom the work Royal New Zealand Navy CommanderMargareth Stumpel usually does.

The supply officer, who has just returned to NewZealand from the war-torn Balkan state, says the six-month peacekeeping deployment taught her a lotabout how countries "get back on their feet" afterwar, and the role smaller countries such as NewZealand can play.

Cdr Stumpel, who was on HMNZS Te Kaha before sheposted to Kosovo, was one of 38 unarmed militaryliaison officers from 29 countries who are based inthe five main regions of Kosovo. She worked frommission headquarters in Pristina, a metropolitan citystill scarred by the signs of war.

Her role was to help assess the security informationfrom the five main regions within Kosovo, and reporton the security situation. She travelled throughoutthe country to get a better understanding of whatwas going on, and what issues related to particularregions. The focus on security meant all incidentsneeded to be assessed for their impact on thestability of Kosovo as a whole.

Disorder is common, and usually involves rivalfactions. "As military liaison officers we kept a closewatch on these issues, as raised inter-ethnictensions lead to instability, and possible retaliatorystrikes."

Recent incidents included a shooting incident wheretwo Kosovo Serbian children were killed and severalothers wounded, and the murder of a United Nationspolice officer rocked the international community.Targetting of both international and local policeofficers was increasing as law and order was beingenforced.

"When I looked out of my office window I could seetwo buildings hit by bombs during the war. Pristina isvery like a normal city in many ways, although it isdirty, with pot-holed roads. Outside the city thoughthere is beautiful scenery"

Reconstruction is underway in the cities, and peopledisplaced through the war are slowly returning torebuild their homes. "There are ethnic issues whichneed to be resolved before people can live freely. Thereis still a lot of tension between Kosovo Albanians and

Kosovo Serbs, and although many Albanians andSerbians are happy to live together there are still manyfrom both sides who will neither forgive nor forget. TheKosovo Serbs are the minority in Kosovo, and so manyof them have to live in enclaves or Serb villages whichare protected by the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) andthe United Nations police to ensure a relativelypeaceful life.

“Some of the ethnic minorities can only move freely intheir own villages, and in surrounding villages with thesame ethnicity, although this situation is improving.”

Kosovo has "quite a long way to go" before it returnsto anything New Zealanders would consider normal,says Cdr Stumpel. Shops are open and busy, but manygoods are unobtainable. There are regular butunprogrammed power cuts, and water is turned offthroughout the whole city from 10.30pm until 6am thenext day.

Keeping up to date with often rapidly changingsituations was one of the challenges Cdr Stumpelfaced. After violent incidents retaliation wouldinevitably take place. "Once, after the outcome of awar crimes trial two hand grenades and a rocketpropelled grenade were launched at the district courtand at UN vehicles. The perpetrators appeared to betargetting things, not people, but if you were in thewrong place at the wrong time…"

"The United Nations Mission in Kosovo has done agood job in bringing relative calm and stability to theregion, but there will always be fundamentalists whowill try to disrupt the peace."

Cdr Stumpel has been replaced in Kosovo by NewZealand Army Lieutenant Colonel Steve Challies.

KosovoLending a helping hand :

Bombed: Wrecked buildings remain in many parts of Kosovo, says

Cdr Stumpel (above).

Kosovo: the New Zealand

connectionThe New Zealand Defence Force has had a lengthyinvolvement in the Balkans. Military observers were firstsent there in 1992, and two years later New Zealanddeployed an infantry company to serve in central Bosnia-Herzegovina. The company served with a Britishcontingent, and withdrew following the end of theBosnian war. At that time the deployment was NewZealand's largest since the Vietnam War. In 1998 armedconflict between Yugoslavia and the Kosovo LiberationArmy led to 200,000 people, or a tenth of the populationof the whole province, fleeing the fighting. A Serbianforces campaign of ethnic cleansing precipitated NATObeginning air strikes against Yugoslavian military targetsin March 1999. Retaliation against Albanian Kosovarsensued, leading to some 700,000 refugees crossing theborder from Kosovo into Albania and Macedonia. TheNZDF sent a Hercules aircraft and medical team toprovide humanitarian aid. The team spent three weeksflying food and other relief supplies into Albania andtreating the sick and injured of the Kosovar refugeecamps. After 78 days of bombing NATO and Yugoslaviasigned an accord on the Serb withdrawal from Kosovo. InJune 1999 the United Nations Security Council authorisedthe establishment of an interim civil administration inKosovo, and UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosovo)was established. Six NZDF officers are also based inBanja Luka in Bosnia, and one in London, where they arepart of the NATO-led Stabilisation Force, which isimplementing the peace agreement in Bosnia.

a Naval Officer in Kosovo

A young Kosovar walks among tents at a refugee camp.

Food is distributed to waiting refugees.

NZDF Director of Medical Services Brigadier David le

Page tends a sick child.

Nursing officer Captain Iain Ogilvy with a young patient.

The NZDF has a 60-strong light engineer group based inBasrah, Southeast Iraq, where they are providinghumanitarian aid, and helping rebuild the city. Theirtasks are varied, and include rebuilding and repairingschools, power stations and bridges around Basrah.Working alongside the British 77 Armoured Engineersquadron, the Kiwi engineers helped build a reverseosmosis plant in the village of Al Tunnumah, providingfresh drinking water to more than 200,000 people. Theproject, which began late last year, cost about $190,000and was funded by the Coalition Provisional Authority. A local company, ZAMZAM Water Treatment Systemscarried out most of the work, with the project being run and managed by the New Zealand soldiers.

The water used in the plant comes from the Shatt al-Arab, the major river running through Basrah. ZAMZAMis now training a management team to operate theplant, and distribute the drinking water to surroundingareas by tanker. The Kiwi engineers have also beeninstalling water tanks at schools throughout Basrah solocal children can have regular access to fresh water.The reverse osmosis plant is one of eight donated tothe Al Basrah region by the Kuwaiti government tosupport the reconstruction of Iraq. Lieutenant AndrewMercer, who helped with the project, says the plant willmake a huge difference to the lives of the local people,who now have access to clean, fresh water for the firsttime.

Army officer Captain Hayden Gardner, who sustainedsevere foot and hand shrapnel injuries in an Iraqi bombblast, is back at work and eager to deploy again.

That could be some time away however, as theengineer, 28, needs extensive surgery to his hand. Hehas just begun to walk however, several months beforehis doctors predicted he would be on his feet again.

Captain Gardner was amember of the NZDFteam which deployedto Southeast Iraq inSeptember last year toundertakehumanitarian andreconstruction workalongside a UnitedKingdom militaryengineering unit.Barely a month laterthe deployment endedfor him when what is thought to have been a 122mmmortar hidden in a sack at the roadside exploded as hisvehicle drove past.

In the vehicle with him were two civilian electricalengineers from Iraq and Britain, and a British Armymajor. The Iraqi engineer received a fatal head wound,the British engineer received severe shoulder injuriesand lost his hearing, and the British major sustainedless serious wounds.

The two officers were undertaking an electricalinfrastructure project, and had taken the electricalengineers with them to conduct a site assessment.

"We had been to a township that needed additionalelectricity generation capacity. The electrical engineerswere with us to determine what equipment was neededand how this would be installed on the site".

"I knew what had happened as soon as I heard the blast. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me though. Theshrapnel came up through the floor of the vehicle andthrough my foot. A piece went through my hand. Smallglass and metal fragments were embedded into my neckand face"

The bomb was detonated from a distance by someonewaiting for the vehicle to drive past.

An escort vehicle following was not affected by the blast,and the soldiers in it helped secure the area andevacuate the men to the field hospital in Shaibah, about40 minutes away. A day later they were evacuated toEngland, and Captain Gardner was admitted to a hospital

in Birmingham, wherehe stayed for a monthbefore returning toNew Zealand.Surgeons therecompleted severaloperations on his foot.

He was wearing bodyarmour when themortar exploded; the

Iraqi engineer who diedwas not wearing any protectiveclothing.

Captain Gardner, who has served in Bosnia and EastTimor, says the New Zealand engineers in Iraq take allsafety precautions possible, and the incident was "justone of those things".

"We're there to help them (the Iraqis) get back on theirfeet, and our guys are doing that. They're not just doingthe work for them - they're giving them the wherewithalto do it themselves. We all know the risks, but we'recareful and well trained and equipped, and just get onwith the job."

He says his medical and physiotherapy support team areimpressed with his progress and he has started trainingto reach the fitness level he had before he was injured.Buoyed by his progress, he hopes to be fully fit by theend of the year.

"Being able to walk again is a huge milestone, and beingback at work. It (the explosion) hasn't put me off - I'mkeen to get back to 100% as soon as I can."

Major Todd Hart, a New Zealand Army engineer, was alsoinjured in a bomb blast in Iraq in a separate incident lastyear. He is fully recovered and has also resumed work.

Iraq bomb blast officer back at work

At work again: Captain Hayden Gardner. At right is the vehicle he was

travelling in at the time of the blast.

Whenuapai feedbackThe New Zealand Defence Force is planning a furtherseries of public meetings to provide local communitieswith feedback on the future use options for Whenuapai.A series of public meetings have already been held inthe Waitakere, North Shore and Rodney areas, invitingsubmissions from the public and other partiesinterested in the use of the airbase land. Air Forceoperations at Whenuapai are to be consolidated atOhakea Airbase in about five years, and the disposal ofthe land (311 hectares) has generated significantinterest by a variety of groups. The NZDF's director ofproperty rationalisation, Peter Bollmann, says providingfeedback is an important aspect of the consultationprocess, and meetings had been arranged for the latterpart of February. Defence officials are continuing tomeet with local authorities and the Auckland RegionalCouncil to get a better understanding of the planningimplications for the future use of the Whenuapai land.

Small ships sharpen skillsSix Royal New Zealand Navy vessels put their marinerskills to the test in an exercise in Queen CharlotteSound recently. The exercise, SQUADEX 04, helpedmaintain and assess maritime capability andproficiency. The ships, HMNZ Hinau, Wakakura, Kiwi andMoa practised navigation, boarding, and fire-fighting, aswell as other seamanship skills. A helicopter was usedto practise winching on and off the vessels. The shipsare inshore patrol vessels, all operated by members ofthe naval reserve. The RNZN diving support vessel,HMNZS Manawanui, also took part.

Air Force rescueA RNZAF P-3 Orion located and helped three Pakistanisoff the coast of Africa recently. The Orion was in theMiddle East as part of New Zealand's contribution toOperation Enduring Freedom. The three men were in asmall dhow, which broke down and drifted in blazingheat for several days until being spotted by the Orioncrew. The Orion, which photographed ships in the Gulfduring its maritime surveillance flights, was able toguide a nearby coalition warship to rescue the trio.

Solomons memorial servicePersonnel from the RNZAF's No. 3 Squadron ondeployment in Solomon Islands attended a memorialservice for the crew of an RNZAF Lockheed Hudson thatcrashed there in 1943. A total of 93 NZDF personnel aredeployed to Solomon Islands to add to and support theAustralian-led Combined Task Force. Thirty-five NewZealand police are also deployed. Good progress isbeing made in the restoration of law and order there.

Troy terminatesTask Group Troy, the NZDF mission involving a P3K Orionand crew conducting maritime surveillance in theMiddle East, finished in mid-February, and the aircraftand crew were expected to return to New Zealand onFebruary 24. The maritime mission was part of NewZealand's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom,the global stand against terrorism. The aircraft flewmore than 137 surveillance missions, over 1000 flyinghours in theatre, conducting an average of one sortieevery second day.

Waitangi Day markedWaitangi Day was marked in various ways by the NZDF,including the presence of HMNZS Manawanui atWaitangi in the Bay of Islands. The ship's company tookpart in shore activities on February 6. The day was alsomarked by overseas missions, including by members ofthe NZDF contingent working with the MultinationalForce and Observers in the Sinai, who provided theircolleagues with a hangi and concert.

Soldiers commended for braveryTwo Burnham-based soldiers have received acommendation for bravery after helping two policeofficers under attack by gang members in NorthCanterbury. Chief of Army, Major General JerryMateparae presented commendations to Private LukeSteel (below left) and Lance Corporal Daniel Rosewarnefor their "courageous and selfless act of bravery"during a roadside incident between the police and theoccupants of two vehicles. The pair, friends and bothmechanics, were driving in Amberley when they saw onepolice officer being struck by a gang member, and theother being surrounded by several more. They stoppedtheir vehicle andhelped thepolice subdueand apprehendthe offenders.Five othersoldiers andofficers werepresented withcommendationsfor variousachievements.

Rescued: the three

Pakistanis are

rescued by personnel

from a coalition

warship.

THE NEW ZEALAND DEFENCE FORCE: ALL CORNERS OF THE WORLD

CONTRIBUTIONS TO UN MISSIONS LOCATION DEPLOYED

UNMISET Timor Leste 12UNMIK Kosovo 1UNTSO Middle East 8UNAMSIL Sierra Leone 2

CONTRIBUTIONS TO UN DE-MINING MISSIONS LOCATION DEPLOYED

MADP Mozambique 2CMAC Cambodia 2

CONTRIBUTIONS TO REGIONAL MISSIONS LOCATION DEPLOYED

ETDF Support Timor Leste 4Regional Assistance Mission Solomon Islands 126Op Antarctica Antarctic 41

CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL FORCES LOCATION DEPLOYED

SFOR Staff Officers Bosnia 6SFOR Officer U.K 1ISAF Staff Officers Afghanistan 4MFO Sinai 27OEF Staff Officers Afghanistan 2OEF Provincial Reconstruction Team Afghanistan 94Iraq Reconstruction Team Iraq 61

TOTAL DEPLOYED 393

NZ DEFENCE FORCE OPERATIONS

WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACKContact: Judith Martin, Defence Public Relations Unit, tel 64 4 4960227, email: judith.martin@nzdf.mil.nz

Defence Update can be found on www.nzdf.mil.nz

EDITORIAL POLICY: The opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Ministry of Defence or the NZ Defence Force.

The Royal New ZealandNavy guard is changing -from April, CommodoreDavid Ledson (left)becomes Chief of Navy,replacing Rear AdmiralPeter McHaffie, who isretiring from the position.Commodore Ledson iscurrently the Navy'sMaritime ComponentCommander(MCC) at HeadQuarters Joint Forces. TheMCC role will be filled byCommodore Gary Collier.

Forty-seven NZDF personnel are in Antarcticaworking at both Scott Base and McMurdoStation. As well as research programme supportstaff, the team includes ship off-loaders who arethere for three weeks to unload the re-supplyship "American Tern".

Thirty-nine Air Force personnelhave recently returned home toNew Zealand after finishing theircontribution to OperationEnduring Freedom in the MiddleEast. The personnel flew, crewedand maintained a P3 Orionaircraft that completed maritimeinterdiction operations in theGulf, clocking up more than 1000flying hours. Changing a propelleron the Orion not long before theyreturned home are Corporals NickDawson and David Smith.