New Zealand Army

New Zealand Army (Maori: Ngāti Tumatauenga, Tribe of the God of war), is the land armed force of the New Zealand military and comprises around 4,500 regular personnel and 2,500 non-regulars and civilians. The NZ Army logo has been altered to include a traditional Maori hand combat weapon called a Taiaha, and has the words Ngāti Tumatauenga below instead of NZ. Note the colours have been altered, as has the Crown surmounting the crest from the Imperial State Crown to St. Edward's Crown which also sits on the New Zealand coat of arms.

Structure of the New Zealand Army

The New Zealand Army's combat units fall under the command of the Land Component Commander. Forces under the Land Component Commander include 2 Land Force Group and 3 Land Force Group and 1 NZ SAS Group. The Land Component Commander is under the command of HQ Joint Forces New Zealand at Trentham in Upper Hutt.

Tactical air transport for the army is provided by No. 3 Squadron of the RNZAF.

In the event of full mobilisation and deployment, the three infantry battalions plus the other necessary combat elements would form a brigade group, which exists on paper as 7 Brigade. HQ 2 Land Force Group would, if needed, form HQ 7 Brigade

In addition to the combat units shown in the figure, the Land Operations Training Centre encompasses the main army trade schools:

Combat School
School of Artillery
Logistics Operations School
School of Tactics
Royal New Zealand School of Signals
Trade Training School
School of Military Intelligence and Security
Joint Catering School
School of Military Engineering, 2 Engineer Regiment

Regular Army

Territorial Force

The modern Territorial Force is divided into 6 battalion groups. Each of these is made up of smaller units of different specialities. The terms 'Regiment' and 'Battalion Group' seem to be interchangeably used, which can cause confusion. However, it can be argued that both are accurate in slightly different senses. In a tactical sense, given that the TF units are groupings of all arms, the term Battalion Group is accurate, though usually used for a much more single-arm heavy grouping, three infantry companies plus one armoured squadron, for example. NZ TF Battalion Groups are comprised of a large number of small units of different types. The term 'Regiment' can be accurately applied in the British regimental systems sense, as all the subunits collectively have been given the heritage of the former NZ infantry regiments (1900-1964).

Regiment	Infantry	Armoured	Artillery	Engineers	Logistics	Signals	Medical	Band
2nd Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Battalion Group								√
3rd Auckland (Countess of Ranfurly's Own) and Northland Battalion Group								√
4th Otago and Southland Battalion Group								√
5th Wellington West Coast and Taranaki Battalion Group								√
6th Hauraki Battalion Group
7th Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Battalion Group								√

TF regiments prepare and provide trained individuals in order to top-up and sustain operational and non-operational units to meet directed outputs. TF regiments perform the function of a training unit, preparing individuals to meet prescribed outputs. The six regiments command all Territorial Force personnel within their region except those posted to formation/command headquarters, Military Police (MP) Company, Force Intelligence Group (FIG) or 1 New Zealand Special Air Services (NZSAS) Group. At a minimum, each regiment consists of a headquarters, a recruit induction training (RIT) company, at least one rifle company, and a number of combat support/combat service support companies or platoons.

3/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment previously existed on paper as a cadre.^[1] If needed, it would have been raised to full strength through the regimentation of the Territorial Force infantry units. Army plans now envisage a three manoeuve unit structure of 1 RNZIR, QAMR, and 2/1 RNZIR (light), being brought up to strength by TF individual and subunit reinforcements.

Ethos

Service to the Crown. The New Zealand Armed Forces have a special constitutional position where its members are engaged to serve at the pleasure of the Sovereign. This service is carried out regardess of the political stamp of the Government and is reinforced by the Oath of Allegiance, commissions and warrants.

Professionalism. The Army is a professional service. To ensure success on the battlefield and in all other endeavours, professional standards are set at the highest possible level. Professionalism is achieved through the pursuit of excellence in all military and administrative tasks. It is also essential that superiors enhance the professional development of their subordinates through guidance and training.

Discipline. Because of the nature of the military task, it has long been recognised that a separate code of discipline is necessary. This code supports the requirement for the maintenance of acceptable conduct or behaviour in conditions of great stress. It also recognises the wide-ranging effects that can flow from a breakdown in discipline. This is reflected in the view that military life is the ordered application of force under an unlimited liability.

Teamwork. Warfare has always been the setting for great endeavours and requires that all participants contribute to the achievement of success in battle. As the range of all military activity has expanded, the reliance on effective teams working together has become a greater contributor to survival and success.

Mutual respect between ranks. The high demand for teamwork and discipline generates the need for a high level of respect between all levels of the Army. This respect builds a binding and tolerance that can be likened to a large family.

Leadership. The stresses of battle require that a high degree of leadership is displayed and exercised at each level. Demands are severe on leaders, who must have the moral and spiritual courage to withstand those demands. They must be caring enough to place the welfare of others before their own. In addition to the personal duty of obedience and self-sacrifice required of soldiers, officers must, by their conduct and character, inspire those qualities in others.

Recognition of individual needs. The Army pays particular attention to the needs of individuals who must be able to play their part in the team effort. This concept involves the development of personnel through training and education, as well as recognising and providing for the welfare needs of the Army family.

Values

Honour. Honour is the value upon which the reputation for worthy behaviour depends. Honour calls for leadership by example, high standards of behaviour, and moral courage to make and enforce decisions in the full knowledge that those decisions may result in the loss of soldiers' lives.

Trust. All ranks must have trust and confidence in their comrades and superiors. Without this trust personal and professional relationships will not survive the severe pressure of the battlefield.

Loyalty. In the Army loyalty does not mean unthinking obedience. It means objectively determining and strongly arguing the best case when advice is called for, and then supporting the commander's decision when a judgement is made. Army members must be loyal to their leaders and their obligations and in turn leaders must be loyal to their subordinates, representing their interests and developing their abilities.

Integrity. Integrity is closely allied to honour and means soundness of moral character and principle. It implies honesty, sincerity, reliability, unselfishness, and consistency of approach. It also means that the conduct of Army personnel must be such that their integrity is never questioned, nor is the Army brought into disrepute.

Responsibility. Having made decisions it is vital that the individual takes responsibility for them. Mistakes must be freely and readily acknowledged, otherwise they cannot be learned from and be rectified for the future. Leaders must understand that they have a wider role and are responsible for both their own actions and the actions of subordinates under their command. They must therefore ensure that those subordinates are as well looked after, trained, and led as possible. This responsibility for subordinates is always present when one is in a position of command, and is not constrained to any concept of only within working hours.

Pursuit of excellence. The refusal to accept mediocrity whether in training or on operations, when combined with modern weapons and equipment, provides the combat power necessary for success. Qualities that provide for the pursuit of excellence include determination, tenacity, physical fitness, and self confidence.

Initiative. Army must develop in its leaders, at all levels, a high degree of initiative. This will enable the Army to be prepared to go anywhere at short notice and remain trained and ready to meet whatever conditions present themselves.

Adaptability and Flexibility. A major contributor to the Army's success to date has been its ability to adapt to different situations with ease. The Army has the versatility to adopt quickly to different environments or types of operations and tasks - from peace-support operations to participation in major conflicts.

Self Sacrifice. The willingness to serve the aim despite all dangers to self.

Mutual Support. The readiness to look after one's comrades.

Major Equipment

File:NZLAV.jpg

New Zealand LAV IIIs

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

105 x NZ Light Armoured Vehicle (NZLAV)

Light operational vehicles

352 x Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle

Missile/rocket systems

12 x Mistral anti-aircraft missile
24 x Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) launchers
42 x 84 mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifle M3
M72 Light Armour Weapon

Support vehicles

U1700 Unimog trucks

File:NZ Javelin wn06031149tn.JPG

Soldiers training with a Javelin ATGM

Armoured vehicles Fire support/artillery

24 x 105 mm L118 Light Gun
50 x 81 mm mortar

Weapons

Browning 12.7 mm M2 machine gun
L7A2 FN MAG 58 7.62 mm GPMG
C9 Minimi 5.56 mm Light Machine Gun
M203 grenade launcher
F88 Austeyr 5.56 mm assault rifle
SIG P226 9 mm pistol

M113 Replacement

New Zealand decided in 2003 to replace its existing fleet of M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, purchased in the 1960s, with the NZLAV [1], and the M113s were decommissioned by the end of 2004. An agreement made to sell the M113s via an Australian weapons dealer in February 2006 had to be cancelled when the US State Department refused permission for New Zealand to sell the M113s under a contract made when the vehicles were initially purchased. [2]

The replacement of the M113s with the General Motors LAV III (NZLAV) led to a review in 2001 on the purchase decision-making by New Zealand's Auditor-General. The review found short-comings in the defence acquisition process but not the eventual vehicle selected.

History

War had been an integral part of the life and culture of the Māori people. The Musket Wars dominated the first years of European trade and settlement. The first European settlers in the Bay of Islands formed a volunteer militia from which some New Zealand army units trace their origin. British forces and Māori fought in various New Zealand Wars starting in the north of the country in 1845, and culminating in major campaign in the Waikato in the mid 1860s, during which settler forces were used with great effect. The New Zealand army sent ten contingents to the Boer War.

In World War I New Zealand sent an expeditionary force, the 1NZEF, of soldiers who fought with Australians as the ANZACs at Gallipoli. A New Zealand Division was then formed which fought on the Western Front. In addition the Mounted Rifles fought in Palestine

In World War II the 2NZEF fought in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy. Following Japan's entry into the war, a third New Zealand division saw action in the Pacific, seizing a number of islands from the Japanese. Smaller, largely New Zealand special forces units, such as the original Long Range Desert Group in North Africa and Z Force in the Pacific also distinguished themselves.

File:Crossing the line.jpg

Crossing the line, probably showing an Equator crossing ceremony on a WWI troopship en route to Europe.

In addition to the two divisions overseas, the Army raised three others at home during the Second World War. 1st Division was formed in the Northern Military District, 4th in the Central Military District, and 5th in the South. They were disbanded after the danger of invasion receded.

The New Zealand Army was formally formed from the New Zealand Military Forces following the Second World War. Attention focused on preparing a third Expeditionary Force potentially for service against the Soviets. Compulsory Military Training was introduced to man the force, which was initially division-sized. However succeeding governments reduced the force first to two brigades, and then a single one, preferring to allocate many of the available resources to maintaining the New Zealand infantry battalion in the Malaysia-Singapore area. That battalion, designated 1st Battalion RNZIR by that time, was brought home in 1989.

Since World War II the New Zealand army has fought in the Korean War, the Malaysian Emergency, the Indonesian confrontation, the Vietnam war, East Timor, and the 2001 Afghanistan War.

Dress

New Zealand Army uniforms have historically followed the British pattern with the high crowned "lemon squeezer" hat as the most visible national distinction. This was adopted by the Wellington Regiment about 1912 and became general issue for all New Zealand units during the latter stages of World War I. The different branches of service were distinguished by coloured puggarees or wide bands around the base of the crown (blue and red for artillery, green for mounted rifles, khaki and red for infantry etc). The "lemon squeezer" was worn to a certain extent during World War II, although often replaced by more convenient forage caps or berets. Modern field wear is the camouflage pattern worn by most armies with bush hats or berets according to occasion. This "disruptive pattern" dress is also the usual working uniform and according the one most commonly worn.

In recent years a number of distinctive New Zealand features have appeared. The "lemon squeezer", after being in abeyance since the 1950s, has been reintroduced for parade dress where it is usually worn with a version of the khaki "no 2" service dress of the British Army. Officer cadets and some bands wear this headdress with a scarlet and blue full dress uniform. A wide brimmed khaki hat with green pugaree, of a pattern formerly worn by the New Zealand Mounted Rifle (cavalry) regiments, has replaced the British style peaked cap as service dress headdress for all branches. The red or dark blue sashes worn by sergeants are now embroidered with a traditional Māori motif or 'mokowaewae' denoting speed and agility. On the infantry sash the mokowaewae appears in black, white and red diagonal 'steps' and on that of the New Zealand Scottish in green, black and white. Short Māori cloaks are sometimes worn by senior officers as a mark of distinction on occasions of special ceremony, though they are not part of the regulation uniform.

The British style mess uniform is still worn by officers and senior NCOs for formal evening occasions. A universal scarlet and blue pattern has recently replaced the various regimental and corps mess uniforms previously worn. A white jacket is substituted for the scarlet one in summer mess kit. The dark blue No 1 dress formerly worn by officers, before the general adoption of mess uniforms, is now retained only for the Chief of General Staff on State occasions.

Highland orders of dress (glengarry, kilt, sporrans etc) are authorised for wear by the New Zealand Scottish Squadron of the RNZAC, at the discretion of the Squadron Commander. They are also authorised for the pipes and drums of the 5th Battalion (Wellington, West Coast and Taranaki) of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.

See also: British Army Uniform

Deployments

The New Zealand Army currently participates in three major overseas deployments:

Afghanistan - 123 personnel are attached to the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamyan Province^[2]
Timor-Leste - An infantry company from 2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is deployed in East Timor under Australian command.
Solomon Islands - An infantry company from 2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is deployed alongside two Australian infantry companies as part of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands
In addition, small numbers of NZ personnel are deployed on various United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world, and with the Multinational Force and Observers.

References

^ Ministry of Defence Briefing to the Incoming Government
^ "NZ troops to be kept in Afghanistan another year". New Zealand Herald. March 13 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

[1] Ministry of Defence Briefing to the Incoming Government

[2] "NZ troops to be kept in Afghanistan another year". New Zealand Herald. March 13 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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