Navy chaplain recognised for exceptional work with SAS families

Chaplain Class 3 Rich Lander was presented with a Chief of Army Commendation at a ceremony in Auckland last week, following a four-year stint with the 1st New Zealand Special Air Service (1NZSAS) at Papakura Military Camp. 

The commendation was for his “exceptional dedication and initiative” through his work in conceiving, establishing and leading the Family Support Team (FST) for the families of deployed personnel.

The FST set a new standard of excellence in operational family support and made an enduring contribution to the welfare capability of the SAS and the wider New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), according to his citation. 

Chaplain Lander had identified a critical gap in coordinated family support and in response established a proactive and sustainable framework for family engagement, which has now been integrated into operational planning.

It has also significantly strengthened the SAS community and delivered tangible benefits such as improving family resilience, enhancing command awareness, and fostering a strong sense of connection and trust between deployed personnel and their families, the citation said. 

Chaplain Lander, who grew up in Winton, Southland, said he was surprised and humbled by the commendation.

“I guess it’s just doing the job and looking after our people the best we can. This was certainly a team effort and couldn’t have done it on my own. I was very lucky to have such a great FST and a fully supportive 1NZSAS command team.”

Chaplain Lander said the NZDF had an amazing range of resources and supports available to personnel and their families.

One of the FST’s major thrusts was to not wait for partners and families to reach in when there was a problem, but to front foot things and reach out to those who remained at home while personnel were deployed.

“This often took the form of a ‘cold’ phone call on behalf of the FST and command, introducing ourselves, being interested in how things were going for them, and offering support and resources,” Chaplain Lander said.

“The idea was that the FST would just maintain the connection with partners and families through the period of deployments.

“In addition to the phone calls, we held deployment dinners for partners and kids to attend, meet the FST and command elements, and importantly, other partners and families of deployed personnel, with the intention of building a sense of community.

“Feedback has been really positive from our personnel and partners alike. Even just receiving a phone call seemed to make a difference for some.”

When he enlisted in the Navy in 2016, Chaplain Lander never envisaged he would be working alongside New Zealand Army personnel directly, let alone the SAS.

He found there was a different culture to Navy, which involved different approaches and language.

“The SAS are a very motivated, hard-working and committed group of service personnel, who consistently want to excel at their role. In many ways, these are attributes demonstrated by personnel in all branches of the military – but the obvious difference is that the SAS are constantly at the sharp end.”

Chaplain Lander has now posted back to Devonport Naval Base as the co-ordinating chaplain.