This Statement of Intent focuses on the medium term. It emphasises the core business of the NZDF - including our strategic priorities, how we go about managing our business and how we intend to measure our performance.
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is a professional Defence Force with specialist operators in the sea, land and air environs. But we conduct our business in an integrated way which creates a joint effect; greater than the sum of the single Service parts. Everyday our servicemen and women are contributing their skills to this joint effect in Multi-Agency Operations and Tasks in the New Zealand environment, in peacekeeping operations, security and stability operations, and defence diplomacy activities overseas.
Our recent past continued to be characterised by a high activity tempo. The combination of our commitment to operations overseas, to multi-agency operations and tasks in and around New Zealand, and to the process of modernisation of the Defence Force has provided some real challenges in the maintenance of the personnel base, the serviceability of equipment and the preparedness of force elements for higher-threat operations.
During 2007/08, and during the current period, the NZDF fulfilled all of its required obligations to the government: the Navy had deployed a major part of its Naval Combat Force, the frigate HMNZS Te Mana, in support of coalition operations in the Persian Gulf; the Army had deployed company groups in Afghanistan and Timor Leste and a platoon group in the Solomon Islands; and the Air Force had elements of the Rotary Wing Transport Forces deployed in Timor Leste. In addition to the other 60-odd personnel deployed on other operational missions around the world, the NZDF, the Navy and Air Force in particular, continued to conduct operations and tasks in the New Zealand environment in support of other agencies of government - Fisheries, Customs, Police, and so on. At the same time, the NZDF was preparing to accept into service the seven new vessels for the Navy, under Project Protector, and making appropriate arrangements for the upgrade and replacement of aircraft for the Air Force. I am proud of what we achieved and I know that members of the NZDF, Servicemen and women and civilian staff are too.
My main concern with a high activity tempo, in particular our commitment to operations overseas, is that the skills required for higher-end military employment are in danger of being degraded or lost. The accumulative effect of ongoing, concurrent operational deployments - at the current level - does cause significant tension between the provision of forces for current operations, and being ready for future and potentially more lethal operations. In essence, when Army force elements deploy to the current theatres of operation, they lose a proportion of their combat capability, which had been achieved up to that point. Upon return those elements need to rebuild for higher threat scenarios.
I anticipate that the NZDF will maintain a similar level of commitment to government-approved overseas operational missions over the next three years (2009 - 2012) as we have achieved in the last three years. Equally, the schedule of important operations and tasks in support of other government departments in and around New Zealand will continue.
As Chief of Defence Force I, together with my Executive Leadership Team, understand the challenges faced by the NZDF. It is these challenges that largely determine our strategic priorities for the future. The biggest challenge we face is to sustain a high activity tempo - as a matter of routine - at the same time as rebuilding and modernising the NZDF within the fiscal resources allocated to us. This challenge gave rise to the 2007/08 Defence Transformation Programme (DTP) - a programme of work designed to ensure that the NZDF, whilst preserving military capability, delivers simpler, better, more effective and more efficient support activities in the Human Resource Management, Logistics and Headquarters areas. It is also designed to ensure that the NZDF can deliver the expectations of government’s now and into the future. This must continue to be our prime focus.
Our strategic priorities are embedded into our current list of strategic initiatives - as contained in this Statement of Intent. The most important of these initiatives enable the rebuilding and modernisation of our military capabilities and relate to Personnel (recruiting and retention) and Equipment (the orderly introduction into service of new and upgraded equipment). The equipment dimension is driven through the on-going Defence capital acquisition programme. Naturally, this programme will be reviewed during the current Defence Review.
The main items on the Defence capital acquisition programme, (new vessels for the Navy under Project Protector and replacement and upgraded aircraft for the Air Force) are being realised. As these vessels and aircraft are progressively introduced into service over the next few years, they will significantly enhance the overall military capabilities of the NZDF.
Looking forward to 2012, other major items are currently on the programme or are being investigated to improve the NZDF’s capabilities. These will all be subject to review by the current Defence Review.
Since 2005, the NZDF has been improving its organisational and management capability. Significant progress has been made and these now need to be embedded and matured. Work will continue on improving the NZDF management and governance processes.
The NZDF will not be immune from the current global financial turmoil. As clearly directed by the Government, we need to ensure that every dollar spent achieves value for money. We are endeavouring to achieve this through the DTP and other recent efficiency and effectiveness programmes, and will continue to highlight this requirement in our plans for the future.
At this time, the Defence Outcomes and the NZDF Mission Statement have not changed. I welcome Defence Review 09. That review will be primarily focused on providing recommendations for the most appropriate defence capabilities required to meet New Zealand's security interests. This should ensure that New Zealand's armed forces have the right balance of capabilities for the foreign policy and security requirements of the next decade and beyond.
Subject to the results of the current Defence Review, the Outcomes and Mission Statement continue to reflect the Government’s defence policy and future intentions. Regardless of the current challenges, improvements continue to be made in the way the NZDF operates. I remain confident that our longer-term vision of “Three Services as One Force, being the best in everything we do” is being achieved.
J Mateparae
Lieutenant General
Chief of Defence Force
New Zealand Defence Force
27 April 2009
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