New Zealand Army

The New Zealand Army (Ngāti Tūmatauenga, "Tribe of the God of war"), is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946. The New Zealand Army traces its history from settler militia raised in 1845.

New Zealand soldiers served with distinction in the major conflicts in the 20th Century, including the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, Borneo Confrontation and the Vietnam War. Since the 1970s, deployments have tended to be assistance to multilateral peacekeeping efforts. Considering the small size of the force, operational commitments have remained high since the start of the East Timor deployment in 1999. New Zealand personnel also served in the First Gulf War, Iraq and are currently serving in Afghanistan and several UN and other peacekeeping missions. They have just been withdrawn from East Timor and RAMSI in the Solomons.

The Musket Wars, settlement and the New Zealand Wars
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 origins. 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. Toward the end of the war the numbers of British troops were reduced, leaving settler units to continue the campaign.

The first permanent military force was the Colonial Defence Force, which was active from 1862. This was replaced by the Armed Constabulary, which performed both military and policing roles, in 1867. After being renamed the New Zealand Constabulary Force, it was divided into separate military and police forces in 1886. The military force was called the Permanent Militia and later renamed the Permanent Force.

South Africa 1899–1902
Major Alfred William Robin led the First Contingent, sent from New Zealand to South Africa to participate in the Boer War in October 1899. The New Zealand Army sent ten contingents in total (including the 4th New Zealand Contingent), of which the first six were raised and instructed by Lt.-Colonel Joseph Henry Banks, who led the 6th Contingent into battle. These were mounted riflemen, and the first contingents had to pay to go, providing their own horses, equipment and weapons.



The Defence Act 1909, which displaced the old volunteer system, remodelled the defences of the dominion on a territorial basis, embodying the principles of universal service between certain ages. It provided for a territorial force, or fighting strength, fully equipped for modern requirements, of thirty thousand men. These troops, with the territorial reserve, formed the first line; and the second line comprised rifle clubs and training sections. Under the terms of the Act, every male, unless physically unfit, was required to take his share of the defence of the dominion. The Act provided for the gradual military training of every male from the age of fourteen years to twenty-five, after which he was required to serve in the reserve up to the age of thirty. From the age of twelve to fourteen every boy at school performed a certain amount of military training, and, on leaving, was transferred to the senior cadets, with whom he remained, undergoing training, until eighteen years of age, when he joined the territorials. After serving in the territorials until twenty-five (or less if earlier reliefs were recommended), and in the reserve until thirty, a discharge was granted; but the man remained liable under the Militia Act to be called up, until he reached the age of fifty-five. As a result of the visit to New Zealand in 1910 of Lord Kitchener, slight alterations were made—chiefly affecting the general and administrative staffs, and which included the establishment of the New Zealand Staff Corps—and the scheme was set in motion in January, 1911. Major-General Sir Alexander Godley, of the Imperial General Staff, was engaged as commandant.

World War I
In World War I New Zealand sent the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, of soldiers who fought with Australians as the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli, subsequently immortalised as "ANZACs". A New Zealand division then formed which fought on the Western Front and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade fought in Palestine. After Major General Godley departed with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in October 1914, Major General Alfred William Robin commanded New Zealand Military Forces at home throughout the war, as commandant.

The total number of New Zealand troops and nurses to serve overseas in 1914-1918, excluding those in British and other dominion forces, was 100,000, from a population of just over a million. Forty-two percent of men of military age served in the NZEF. 16,697 New Zealanders were killed and 41,317 were wounded during the war - a 58 percent casualty rate. Approximately a further thousand men died within five years of the war's end, as a result of injuries sustained, and 507 died whilst training in New Zealand between 1914 and 1918. New Zealand had one of the highest casualty-and death-rates per capita of any country involved in the war.

World War II
In World War II the 2nd Division 2 NZEF, fought in Greece, Crete, the Western Desert Campaign and the Italian Campaign. Among its units was the famed 28th Māori Battalion. Following Japan's entry into the war, 3rd Division, 2 NZEF IP (in Pacific) saw action in the Pacific, seizing a number of islands from the Japanese. New Zealanders contributed to various special forces units, such as the original Long Range Desert Group in North Africa and Z Force in the Pacific.

As part of the preparations for the possible outbreak of war in the Pacific, the defensive forces stationed in New Zealand were expanded in late 1941. On 1 November, three new brigade headquarters were raised (taking the total in the New Zealand Army to seven), and three divisional headquarters were established to coordinate the units located in the Northern, Central and Southern Military Districts. The division in the Northern Military District was designated the Northern Division, and comprised the 1st and 12th Brigade Groups. Northern Division later became 1st Division. 4th Division was established in the Central Military District (with 2nd and 7th brigades), and 5th in the south (with 3rd, 10th and 11th brigades).

The forces stationed in New Zealand were considerably reduced as the threat of invasion passed. During early 1943, each of the three home defence divisions were cut from 22,358 to 11,530 men. The non-divisional units suffered even greater reductions. The New Zealand government ordered a general stand-down of the defensive forces in the country on 28 June, which led to further reductions in the strength of units and a lower state of readiness. By the end of the year, almost all of the Territorial Force personnel had been demobilised (though they retained their uniforms and equipment), and only 44 soldiers were posted to the three divisional and seven brigade headquarters. The war situation continued to improve, and the 4th Division, along with the other two divisions and almost all the remaining Territorial Force units, was disbanded on 1 April 1944.

The 6th New Zealand Division was also briefly formed as a deception formation by renaming the NZ camp at Maadi in southern Cairo, the New Zealanders' base area in Egypt, in 1942. In addition, the 1st Army Tank Brigade (New Zealand) was also active for a time.

Post-War
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. The division was alternatively known as '3NZEF.'

First combat for the Army after the Second World War was the Korean War, which began with North Korea's invasion of the South on 25 June 1950. After some debate, on 26 July 1950, the New Zealand government announced it would raise a volunteer military force to serve with the United Nations Command in Korea. The idea was opposed initially by Chief of the General Staff, Major-General K. L. Steward, who did not believe the force would be large enough to be self-sufficient. His opposition was overruled and the government raised what was known as Kayforce, a total of 1,044 men selected from among volunteers. 16th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery and support elements arrived later during the conflict from New Zealand. The force arrived at Pusan on New Year's Eve, and on 21 January, joined the British 27th Infantry Brigade. The New Zealanders immediately saw combat and spent the next two and a half years taking part in the operations which led the United Nations forces back to and over the 38th Parallel, later recapturing Seoul in the process.

Through the 1950s New Zealand Army forces were deployed to the Malayan Emergency, and the Confrontation with Indonesia. A Special Air Service squadron was raised for this commitment, but most forces came from the New Zealand infantry battalion in the Malaysia-Singapore area. The battalion was committed to the Far East Strategic Reserve.

The 1957 national government defence review directed the discontinuation of coastal defence training, and the approximately 1000 personnel of the 9th, 10th, and 11th coastal regiments Royal New Zealand Artillery had their compulsory military training obligation removed. A small cadre of regulars remained, but as Henderson, Green, and Cook say, 'the coastal artillery had quietly died.' All the fixed guns were dismantled and sold for scrap by the early 1960s. After 1945, the Valentine tanks in service were eventually replaced by about ten M41 Walker Bulldogs, supplemented by a small number of Centurion tanks. Eventually, both were superseded by FV101 Scorpion armoured reconnaissance vehicles.

The New Zealand Division was disbanded in 1961, as succeeding governments reduced the force, first to two brigades, and then a single one. This one-brigade force became, in the 1980s, the Integrated Expansion Force, to be formed by producing three composite battalions from the six Territorial Force infantry regiments. In 1978, a national museum for the Army, the QEII Army Memorial Museum, was built at Waiouru, the Army's main training base in the central North Island.

After the 1983 Review the Army's command structure was adjusted to distinguish more clearly the separate roles of operations and base support training. There was an internal reorganisation within the Army General Staff, and New Zealand Land Forces Command in Takapuna was split into a Land Force Command and a Support Command. Land Force Command which from then on comprised 1st Task Force in the North Island and the 3rd Task Force in the South Island, assumed responsibility for operational forces, Territorial Force manpower management and collective training. Support Command which from then on comprised three elements, the Army Training Group in Waiouru, the Force Maintenance Group (FMG) based in Linton, and Base Area Wellington (BAW) based in Trentham, assumed responsibility for individual training, third line logistics and base support. Headquarters Land Force Command remained at Takapuna, and Headquarters Support Command was moved to Palmerston North.

The Army was prepared to field a Ready Reaction Force which was a battalion group based on 2/1 RNZIR; the Integrated Expansion Force (17 units) brigade sized, which would be able to follow up 90 days after mobilization; and a Force Maintenance Group of 19 units to provide logistical support to both forces.

The battalion in South East Asia, designated 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment by that time, was brought home in 1989.

In the late 1980s Exercise Golden Fleece was held in the North Island. It was the largest exercise for a long period.

From the 1960s, New Zealanders served in the Vietnam War, East Timor (1999 onwards), and Afghanistan. New Zealand personnel have served in a large number of UN and other peacekeeping deployments, including the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation in the Middle East, Operation Agila in Rhodesia, the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai, Cambodia, Somalia, Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Angola, Bosnia, Bougainville, with the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, and the Sudan.

New Zealand decided in 2003 to replace its existing fleet of M113 armored personnel carriers, purchased in the 1960s, with the NZLAV, 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. 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 shortcomings in the defence acquisition process, but not in the eventual vehicle selection. In 2010, the government said it would look at the possibility of selling 35 LAVs, around a third of the fleet, as being surplus to requirements.

On 4 September 2010, in the aftermath of the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake, the New Zealand Defence Force deployed to the worst affected areas of Christchurch to aid in relief efforts and assist NZ police in enforcing a night time curfew at the request of Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker and Prime Minister John Key.

Commemorations
ANZAC Day is the main annual commemorative activity for New Zealand soldiers. On 25 April each year the landings at Gallipoli are remembered, though the day has come to mean remembering the fallen from all wars in which New Zealand has been involved. While a New Zealand public holiday, it is a duty day for New Zealand military personnel, who, even if not involved in official commemorative activities are required to attend an ANZAC Day Dawn Parade in ceremonial uniform in their home location.

Remembrance Day, commemorating the end of World War I on 11 November 1918, is marked by official activities with a military contribution normally with parades and church services on the closest Sunday. However, ANZAC Day has a much greater profile and involves a much higher proportion of military personnel.

The various regiments of the New Zealand Army mark their own Corps Days, many of which are derived from those of the corresponding British regiments. Examples are Cambrai Day on 20 November for the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps, St Barbara's Day on 4 December for the Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery.

Current deployments


The New Zealand Army currently has 73 personnel deployed on 11 missions across eight countries:
 * Afghanistan - 23 personnel.
 * Sinai - 23 personnel, as part of the Multinational Force and Observers.
 * In addition, small numbers of NZ personnel are deployed on various United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world.

Dress
Uniforms of the New Zealand Army have historically followed the British Army Uniform pattern. The high crowned "lemon squeezer" hat was for decades the most visible national distinction. This was adopted by the Wellington Regiment about 1911 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, or helmets. British-pattern battledress was worn until the 1970s, with "jungle greens" being used as field wear. British DPM was adopted in 1980. Modern field wear is New Zealand disruptive pattern material camouflage, which closely resembles British DPM field uniforms. On overseas service, a New Zealand flag badge and a white Kiwi on a circular black field with the words "New Zealand" are worn. The DPM uniform, with the addition of a beret or sometimes the Mounted Rifles Hat, is the usual working uniform and, accordingly, the one most commonly worn. On 27 July 2012, the New Zealand Army formally announced the new multi-terrain camouflage uniform will replace the NZDPM and NZDDPM patterns. It is intended that the MCU will be issued to all branches of the NZDF, with preliminary issue starting around mid-2013.

In recent years, a number of distinctive New Zealand features have appeared. The "lemon squeezer", after being in abeyance since the 1950s, was reintroduced for ceremonial wear in 1977. Officer cadets and the New Zealand Army Band wear this headdress with a scarlet and blue full dress uniform. A wide brimmed khaki hat with green puggaree, of a pattern formerly worn by the New Zealand Mounted Rifle regiments, replaced the khaki "No 2" British Army peaked cap as service dress headdress for all branches in 1998. In 2012, it was announced that the MRH (Mounted Rifle hat) was to become the standard Army ceremonial headdress with the "lemon squeezer" being retained only for colour parties and other limited categories. The 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.

Until 1999, berets were in various colours according to branch or unit. Since then, under a "one beret" policy, rifle-green has become the universal colour for this headdress, except for the sand-brown of the Special Air Service.

The British "infantry pattern" mess uniform is still worn by officers and senior NCOs for formal evening occasions. A universal pattern comprising scarlet mess jackets and blue-black trousers has replaced the various regimental and corps mess dress uniforms previously worn. The universal mess dress has also replaced the white jacket and black Barathea trousers previously worn in summer or tropical climates. The dark blue No 1 dress formerly worn by officers, before the general adoption of mess uniforms, was last worn in the early 1990s, although it was nominally retained for wear by the chief of army on appropriate state occasions.

Highland orders of dress (glengarry, kilt, and sporrans) 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 (Wellington, West Coast and Taranaki) Battalion Group.

Structure
The New Zealand Army is commanded by the chief of army (chief of the General Staff until 2003), who is a major general or two-star appointment. The current acting chief of army is Brigadier Pete Kelly, not long returned from the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. As of November 2012, Major General Timothy Keating, MNZM, the immediately previous chief of army, has become vice chief of defence force. The chief of army has responsibility for raising, training and sustaining those forces necessary to meet agreed government outputs. For operations, the Army's combat units fall under the command of the land component commander, who is on the staff of the COMJFNZ at HQ Joint Forces New Zealand at Trentham in Upper Hutt. Forces under the land component commander include the 1st Brigade and 1 NZ SAS Group.

No. 3 Squadron RNZAF provides tactical air transport support.

Land Training and Doctrine Group
 * Land Operations Training Centre Waiouru encompasses the main army trade schools:
 * Combat School
 * School of Artillery
 * Logistics Operations School
 * School of Tactics
 * Royal New Zealand School of Signals
 * School of Military Intelligence and Security
 * Trade Training School (Trentham)
 * School of Military Engineering, 2 Engineer Regiment (Linton)

Regiments and corps of the Regular Army

 * Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
 * New Zealand Special Air Service
 * Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps
 * Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery
 * Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers
 * Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals
 * Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment
 * Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps
 * Royal New Zealand Army Nursing Corps
 * Royal New Zealand Army Dental Corps
 * Corps of Royal New Zealand Military Police
 * New Zealand Intelligence Corps
 * Joint Services Fire Training School
 * New Zealand Army Band

Army Reserve
The Territorial Force (TF), the long established reserve component of the New Zealand Army, has as of 2009–2010 been renamed the Army Reserve, in line with other Commonwealth countries, though the term "Territorial Force" remains the official nomenclature in the Defence Act 1990. It provides individual augmentees and formed bodies for operational deployments. There are Reserve units throughout New Zealand, and they have a long history. The modern Army Reserve is divided into six regionally-based 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 Reserve 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 reserve battalion groups are composed 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). 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 or 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 or combat service support companies or platoons.

3/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, previously existed on paper as a cadre. 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 manoeuvre unit structure of 1 RNZIR, QAMR, and 2/1 RNZIR (light), being brought up to strength by TF individual and subunit reinforcements.

The New Zealand Cadet Corps also exists as an army-affiliated youth training and development organisation, part of the New Zealand Cadet Forces.

A rationalisation plan to amalgamate the existing six Reserve Regiments to three, and to abolish one third of Reserve personnel posts has been mooted for some years, was agreed by the New Zealand government in August 2011, and is being implemented in 2012.

The Territorial Forces Employer Support Council is an organisation that provides support to Reserve personnel of all three services and their civilian employers. It is a national organisation appointed by the minister of defence to work with employers and assist in making Reserve personnel available for operational deployments.

Former chiefs of staff
Source: T.F. Mills
 * General officer commanding New Zealand Defence Forces:
 * 1925.12.07 	Maj-Gen. Robert Young, CB, CMG, DSO
 * 1931.04.01 	Maj-Gen. Sir William Sinclair-Burgess, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO
 * Chief of the General Staff:
 * 1937.04.01 	Maj-Gen. Sir John Evelyn Duigan, KBE, CB, DSO
 * 1940.10.10 	Maj-Gen. Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell [acting]
 * 1941.08.01 	Lt-Gen. Sir Edward Puttick, KCB, DSO*
 * 1946.01.01 	Maj-Gen. Sir Norman Weir, KBE, CB
 * 1949.04.01 	Maj-Gen. Sir Keith Lindsay Stewart, KBE, CB, DSO
 * 1952.04.01 	Maj-Gen. Sir William Gentry, KBE, CB, DSO
 * 1955.08.15 	Maj-Gen. Sir Stephen Cyril Etterick Weir, KBE, CB, DSO
 * 1960.09.01 	Lt-Gen. Sir Leonard Thornton, KCB, CBE
 * 1965.04.01 	Maj-Gen. Walter Sneddon McKinnon, CB, CBE
 * 1967.04.01 	Maj-Gen. Robert Boyd Dawson, CB, CBE, DSO
 * 1970.04.01 	Lt-Gen. Sir Richard James Holden Webb, KBE, CB
 * 1971.09.29 	Maj-Gen. L.A. Pearce
 * 1973.10.01 	Maj-Gen. Robin Hugh Ferguson Holloway, CB, CBE
 * 1976.11.15 	Maj-Gen. Ronald Hassett, CB, CBE
 * 1978.11.16 	Maj-Gen. Brian Poananga, CB, CBE
 * 1981.11.16 	Maj-Gen. R.G. Williams
 * 1984.12.12 	Lt-Gen. Sir John Mace, KBE, CB
 * 1987.12.01 	Maj-Gen. D.S. McIver
 * 1989.03.01 	Maj-Gen. Bruce Meldrum, CB, OBE
 * 1992.03.01 	Lt-Gen. Anthony Birks, CB OBE
 * 1995.02.25 	Maj-Gen. P.M. Reid
 * 1998.02.26 	Maj-Gen. Maurice Dodson, CBE, MC
 * 2002.02 	Maj-Gen. Jeremiah Mateparae, ONZM


 * Chief of Army (since 2002)
 * 2006         Maj-Gen. Lou Gardiner
 * 2009         Maj-Gen. Rhys Jones
 * 2011.02      Maj-Gen. Timothy Keating, MNZM
 * 2013.02      Maj-Gen. Dave Gawn, MBE

Major equipment
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
 * 105 x NZ Light Armoured Vehicle (NZLAV)
 * 95 Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IMV)
 * 7 Light Obstacle Blade Vehicle (LOB)
 * 3 Recovery Vehicle (LAV-R)

Light operational vehicles
 * 352 x Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle (248 non-armoured / 60 armoured)
 * 122 / 23 command and control variants
 * 68 / 37 crew served weapon carrier variants
 * 95 general service variants
 * 15 shelter carrier variants
 * 8 ambulance variants
 * 13 special operations

Support vehicles
 * U1700 Unimog trucks

Fire support/artillery
 * 50 x L16A2 81 mm Mortar
 * 24 x 105 mm L119 Light Gun

Missile/rocket systems
 * M72 Light Anti-Armour Weapon
 * 42 x 84 mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifle M3 Man-portable Light Anti-armour Weapon
 * 24 x Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) launchers, 120 missiles
 * 12 x Mistral Very Low Level Air Defence Weapon

Weapons
 * Rifle 5.56mm IW Steyr The first 5000 weapons were manufactured by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and all subsequent weapons have been manufactured by Thales Australia (formerly ADI). The New Zealand variant is similar to the Australian F88 Austeyr, but does not have the automatic lock out (ALO) button. Seeking replacement rifle by 2018.
 * SIG P226 9 mm Pistol
 * M203 grenade launcher
 * C9 Minimi 5.56mm Light Machine Gun
 * Minimi 7.62 TR Minimi chambered in 7.62mm to replace the C9 light machine gun
 * FN MAG 58 7.62 mm GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun) to replace the older L7A2 British version
 * Benelli M3 12 gauge Shotgun
 * M2 machine gun .50 Calibre Heavy Machine Gun
 * L96 Sniper Rifle
 * LMT 308 MWS
 * Artic Warfare AW50 12.7mm Anti Materiel/ sniper rifle
 * L1A1 Self-loading rifle (in storage)
 * Heckler & Koch GMG 40mm automatic grenade launcher