From missions ranging from Aceh to Timor Leste, Afghanistan to Solomon Islands, Iraq to Kosovo, New Zealand Defence Force soldiers, sailors and airmen have racked up a range of skills and training in recent years many people may not instinctively associate with military personnel.
Chief of Army Major General Jerry Mateparae says while his service’s main training focus is on war-fighting operations, “a residual effect of that is that we can deploy and conduct peace support or peacekeeping operations.” In other words, to be able to keep the peace, peace has to first be established.
New Zealand Defence Force personnel all receive extensive training on how to protect themselves and each other, and how to survive and continue working effectively in adverse conditions. In recent years they have seen service in most of the world’s conflict zones, ranging from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq, states throughout Africa, and throughout the Pacific and Indonesia.
A major weapon in their arsenal - it is the one used by far the most - is their ability to talk, listen and generally relate to the different cultures and people they are dealing with. Commonly called “hearts and minds”, it is, while not a new concept, behind much of New Zealand’s success in helping forge peace in selected areas throughout the world.
NZDF personnel were at the forefront of negotiations in one of the Pacific’s most successful peacekeeping operations in recent years, Operation Belisi in Bougainville. The operation was no ordinary peace support mission. New Zealand (and Australian) truce and peace monitors went unarmed to an island where, until only weeks before their arrival, a bitter war had been fought. The monitors originally faced deep suspicion, but used their negotiation skills, their knowledge of the Pacific way of life, and their military professionalism to get alongside the various factions and persuade them to make peace.
As Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson puts it, “New Zealand and the international community can learn lessons from the Bougainville experience.” “Those lessons include that innovation, diplomacy and negotiation can often bring very satisfying results. Our military personnel’s skills as negotiators, peacemakers and peacekeepers cannot be understated.”
Major Rob Te Moana, who works from Headquarters, Joint Forces New Zealand, assists in the planning and organizing of training required to suit individual missions New Zealand Defence Force personnel undertake. An infantry officer who has served in Angola and in East Timor twice, he well knows the importance of training tailored to different threat levels, environments and cultures.
The mission’s threat level - how dangerous it is to the contingent and individuals undertaking the peacekeeping or peace support operations - is the first issue considered when training planning begins. “Then we look at the tasks our personnel are expected to perform. From there we gather as much information as possible to enable us to put together an effective training regime. The information can come from a variety of sources- databases, local knowledge, and other sources.”
Each mission invariably places cultural demands on deployed personnel.
“New Zealand military personnel are fortunate in that the majority appear to have a natural ability to empathise with and understand other cultures. We still provide cultural awareness training though prior to a deployment, along with a raft of other training.
“For Defence Force personnel, the last thing they want or need to do is to offend another culture during their deployment. If that were to happen they would lose the respect of the local people, and any rapport established would be lost as well. If you lose respect it has the flow on effect of diminishing your ability to perform your job effectively. If you lose the hearts and minds of the local populace, you’re creating brick walls in the way of achieving what you set out to do.”