16 March 2010
By Judith Martin
New Zealand Defence Force personnel now deploy on land based operations with some of the best protective equipment in the world.
Securing that kit, which is now worn and used by Kiwi troops throughout the world, was a carefully researched, trialled and implemented process. From body armour, gloves and glasses, to goggles, helmets and patrol packs, the gear was hand-picked to ensure troops have what they needed when they need it.
The Army officer who led the team behind the procurement, Lieutenant Colonel James Kaio, has been awarded a Chief of Army commendation for his work.
More at home on operations than in a desk job, LTCOL Kaio had the requisite experience to know what soldiers need and want to ensure their efficacy and safety; he has served in Bougainville, East Timor, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, with his second deployment to Afghanistan as the liaison officer working with American troops.
Although he didn’t know he’d be taking on a capability role on his return to New Zealand, he took a keen interest in the soldiers’ systems he saw around him — what soldiers wore, what they carried, how kit interacted with weaponry, and load carriage in different terrains. He observed their night-fighting capabilities, and what was coming out on the market in this area.
He says he used his own experience, and that of other experienced soldiers, as well as what he gleaned in Afghanistan throughout the Soldier Modernisation Programme.
“Everything we looked at buying would have to be able to be up-scaled or down-scaled, depending on the climate, terrain and threat. In Afghanistan our soldiers now have improved body armour which can stop an AK 47 round, while the threat is different in the Solomon Islands so soldiers there have a different kit issue.”
LTCOL Kaio says his team designed user requirements and went out to industry “to get the best equipment we could from around the world.”
The soldier personal protective equipment project required extensive coordination within Army General Staff and with Joint Force Headquarters, and featured a comprehensive field evaluation as part of the competitive tendering process.
“We did a standard two-week trial, putting the soldiers through physically demanding activities such as route marches, the confidence course and even throwing them into swimming pools. During the second phase of the evaluation the soldiers conducted a series of tactical tasks ensuring the combination of equipment was fit for purpose.”
The commendation citation mentions that LTCOL Kaio was able to secure funds for the project “at a time of limited fiscal resources, by presenting Army’s senior leaders with well-reasoned and compelling presentations supported by thorough staff work.”
He smiles at a suggestion he has a sharply-honed sense of commerce as well as good soldiering skills.
“No, it’s more the gift of the gab, I’m not a businessman at all,” he laughs. “It was easy to convince the command chain, once they saw the kit, that this was what we needed. They had faith in it, and understood that it could save soldiers’ lives.”
LTCOL Kaio was also commended on his work with the Defence Force Night Vision Equipment (NVE) Programme. As well as overseeing the introduction into service of the new Night Vision Goggle (NVG) his team has completed exhaustive trials of the various other categories of NVE. This programme is scheduled to deliver new night capable weapon sights and aiming devices in August and other hand held observation devices by the end of the year.
After 19 years in the Army he finds capability work “very satisfying. Any operationally-focused projects that will ultimately make our soldiers more effective will always appeal to me.”