25 January 2006
Blenheim man Lance Corporal Jayd Smith recently left a New Zealand summer - and fiancé Kelly – for a white Christmas in the Bamyan province of Afghanistan, where temperatures in the harsh winter climate plummet below zero.
LCPL Smith was deployed in December with 93 other New Zealand Defence Force personnel, who make up the seventh New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team to be deployed to the province. The team assists the Afghan Government by promoting reconstruction in Bamyan and assessing civil, political and military reform efforts.
LCPL Smith will be maintaining and repairing weapons systems in the region, and inspecting foreign weapons. “I’m really looking forward to seeing a different culture, and doing my job in an operational environment,” he says.
The Army was the perfect career choice for the 29-year-old, whose interests include hunting and four-wheel driving.
"I joined the Army to get another trade, for job security, and for travel overseas."
This is the soldier's second deployment. In 2000 he was deployed to East Timor as a rifleman. He will return to New Zealand in May.
For further information contact Major Charmaine Pene, Army Public Relations, on 021 487 980 or (04) 496 0296