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Raising The Bar

Friday 20 March 2009, 5:10PM

By Heather Roy

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TRENTHAM

Speech to the New Zealand Defence Force Joint Junior Staff Course Graduation Dinner; Trentham Military Camp, Trentham, Upper Hutt; Thursday, March 19 2009.

PMC, Air Marshal Crooks, Air Vice Marshal Lintott, Diplomatic Representatives from Australia and The Philippines, senior Defence Force staff, Associate Professor Glyn Harper, distinguished guests, staff, graduates and partners.

Thank you for inviting me to address your graduation dinner tonight. This is the first time I have had the pleasure of speaking to an event as significant as this and, as a new Minister in a new Government, it is particularly pleasing to be part of a new era in the development of the New Zealand Defence Force.

Eight weeks ago, 33 students from New Zealand, the Philippines and Tonga - spanning all three services and the public sector - arrived here with a sense of both excitement and foreboding.

For many officers, 'joint' and 'staff' evoke similar feelings to the experience of leaving home and going to work or university. You no doubt looked forward to learning more about the wider world of the profession of arms, and were excited at being chosen to be part of the first ever joint junior staff course to be held in New Zealand.

With that came the anxiety - which is absolutely normal in high achievers - of being challenged beyond your current boundaries and, perhaps, having to let go of the hands-on excitement of tactical control that has been your service career to date. As professionals, you have had to learn to dance with the resistance of change that comes from within.

However, you've all made it. For that, I salute you - not only because my rank in the Territorial Army is Sapper - but because you have crossed over into the next level of your profession. This first step up is, for many, the hardest and that is reflected in our retention figures at around your rank level.
A decade ago, a dinner group like this would not have tested my ab initio training in medal recognition. The increased operational tempo of the NZDF is instantly apparent now when I look around the room at your mess kit lapels.

It was also about a decade ago when a few brave souls started publishing and conducting conferences on what was then labelled 'Jointery'. This is, of course, a term better reserved for a street cafe in Amsterdam and the label 'Jointness' appeared - followed by the current simpler description of what is now one of our doctrinal cornerstones.

Many of those visionaries are sitting here tonight as your staff and senior guests. I am aware that you 'very few' didn't find the reception for your ideas very warm in the single service world in which you first spread them. To you, I wish to express particular thanks for your pursuit of what 'could be', rather than 'what is', your hours of research and teaching and for picking yourself up and carrying on after each of the many rebuffs you received. You too, had to learn to dance with the resistance.

You changed tactics as necessary and stuck tenaciously to what you believed in. To be here at the Defence Force College and this graduation must be gratifying. Like you, I know that there is still much work to do to develop the NZDF into a truly Joint organisation - but I know you're up to the task and that you have so many more supporters at senior levels than in those early days of the mid-90s. You can count me in the number of those who believe in this approach.

However, this goal exists on a continuum. I do not envisage us repeating the Canadian experiment. Joint does not equal 'same', and I pointed out to a group two weeks ago that purple clothing should be left for drag queens. Each service has its own whakapapa and kaupapa. When these are blended, we get the synergy that is needed in exactly the same way a multi-cultural nation that embraces its differences achieves so much more.

That is one of the many reasons why the presence of students from other countries is important. It's not just a matter of being neighbourly that we and our allies offer places on such courses. Kiwis gain as much from the presence and fresh perspectives of international students as they do in coming here. So to the students and diplomatic representatives from Australia, the Philippines and Tonga: thank you for enriching our training by your presence. Thank you for dancing with our resistance.

Designing and delivering a new course takes enormous effort and I also wish to acknowledge all the staff - military, academic and administrative - for your tireless energy; enthusiasm and from time to time patience under duress. The future success of graduates is a reflection on your ability and so, in effect, you put your reputation on the line every time a class ends. You have - and will continue to - I'm sure, set the bar ever higher. Well done.

I wish to acknowledge the NZDF's debt to families - who serve our nation every day - parents, who guided your early education and imbued the values that enabled you to be here; whanau, who have and will continue to speak proudly of their sibling or cousin in the NZDF; partners and children.

There is nothing more powerful than a proven theory learned well. It is the vehicle that enables knowledge and experience to be transported from one situation to another. In an increasingly ambiguous, complex and asymmetric security environment, I cannot emphasise strongly enough the importance of continuous education and personal development. Doctrine, tactics and threat assessments must be continuously re-written and updated. Theory does not. This course has advanced your professional theoretical base and that is essential to successful higher command.

However, there have been many proven theories learned by thousands of experienced warriors. Why is it then that few of them reached higher command or, if they did, failed to perform in battle? The other vital ingredient is a strong sense of humanity. The relationships you have formed on this course will serve you well in future peace and future war. I urge you to keep in touch with each other.

In a famous historic battle, a newly-promoted cavalry Major took his objective and - from the crest - saw the enemy command group retreating in disarray. He held his ground instead of pursuing and capturing them. When his superior commander arrived and he told him what he had seen, the General became enraged:

"Why didn't you pursue them?" he asked.

"Sir, my orders were to capture this hill," was the reply.

The General stared at him briefly and said, "The Emperor made you a Major because he thought you would know when it was appropriate to disobey him!"

You are at, or approaching, senior officer status. Don't ever forget that doctrinally correct solutions - both on courses and in battle - are not necessarily the right solutions. Your country offers you senior rank in the belief that you know the difference and, in looking at the syllabus of your course and the calibre of your staff, I know this course has challenged you with this reality.

You will be aware that we are about to commence the first Defence Review since 1997. It will look out to 2035, when many of you may still be serving and hold very senior rank. While the current economic downturn brings extra challenges to the process, that is not a reason for us to under-pitch the review. We may have to delay action on some choices, but better times will enable well-thought out research to be implemented.

I realise that 2035 seems a lifetime away now, but ponder these questions as they are some of those that we will have to grapple with in the Defence Review:
1) The demographics and GDP of NZ then?

2) What will a 19 year-old Kiwi be like then?

3) What technologies will be pre-eminent then (society and military)?

4) What will the world's governance, management and legal systems i.e. UN, international courts, nation versus non-nation state actors etc look like then?

5) The world population and GDP spread, based on current trends then?

6) What wealth will we be seeking to defend?

Graduates, you have now moved - or are about to move - beyond influencing the battle by your own personal presence, but you can never dismiss the relevance of that. Neither are you grand strategists yet. Yours is a complex, subtle and vital role - to interpret commanders' intent and to remove impediments to success so that joint end-states are achieved. I congratulate you all on that achievement and wish you good luck and safe service as you face your new challenges.

Well done.