20 October 2009
By Chief of Army, Major General Rhys Jones
This has been a busy time for all of us within the Army and I have been impressed by how well we have matched ourselves to the tasks. Each exercise, operation or project has needed good leaders; a flexible approach to task organisation; and good build up work. Well done.
Exercise-wise I have visited Tekapo Thump, Malo e Lelei and Black Templar. These exercises have been a good example of the exercises I want commanders to run to raise our skills for a complex combat environment. They have created challenging situations for commanders from section to company level and, as shown by the Samoan Tsunami deployment, they have been realistic. From what I saw these exercises were also fun. It’s good to get out in the field again and for many units these exercises were the first collective training for a while, outside the requirements for supporting pre-deployment training.
Real operations have also been handled well. The Samoan people and government have appreciated the tsunami relief efforts. This operation has been good for learning the lessons of the joint environment. Headquarters 2 LFG deserve a lot of credit for shouldering much of the planning and execution as well as those units who contributed command, medical, logistic, engineering and communications teams. I also recognise the hard work that others put in to getting our people and equipment ready for deployment. Equally appreciated has been the help provided during the snowstorms in the Central Plateau. The ability to operate in the harshest environment and weather are at the centre of the Army’s reputation and image. No less important were the kitchen staff that helped at Sir Howard Morrison’s funeral. Your presence was important and well received.
Amidst all of these activities we have continued marching on with our routine work. I was able to attend the march-out of AARC 354 and commend the staff at TAD for achieving great standards through having a higher staff to student ratio. I also attended the Maori Cultural Festival in Waiouru, which was an enjoyable weekend and provided a good profile for our cultural groups. Other progress that has occurred has been the opening of the gym in Burnham. For too long that camp has had to make do with the old gym, but now they have a great facility. Thanks Red.
Lastly I would like to praise the efforts of the Army General Staff. The work to support the Defence Review and the Defence Transformation Project has been a long slog but it has been valuable. As well as the long hours of those doing the review work, those remaining in their normal jobs have had to pick up the work that remains. Not easy. However, Project Alexander remains a model for a well-run project, not only within the Defence Force but also internationally. Equally impressive has been the Army Recruiting team’s success with Saatchi & Saatchi with the award for the Army Bebo site.
Innovation and the drive to achieve excellence are the keys to being a high performance organisation and we are all showing these skills. This has been a busy and hectic month but you can be pleased for what you have achieved.