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New Zealand Army
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New Zealand Army (Maori: Ngati Tumatauenga, "Tribe of the God of war"), is the land armed force of the New Zealand military and comprises around 4,500 regular personnel and 2,500 non-regulars and civilians.
New Zealand Army's combat units fall under the command of the Land Component Commander. Forces under the Land Component Commander include 2 Land Force Group and 3 Land Force Group and 1 NZ SAS Group.
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Encyclopedia
New Zealand Army (Maori: Ngati Tumatauenga, "Tribe of the God of war"), is the land armed force of the New Zealand military and comprises around 4,500 regular personnel and 2,500 non-regulars and civilians.
Structure of the New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army's combat units fall under the command of the Land Component Commander. Forces under the Land Component Commander include 2 Land Force Group and 3 Land Force Group and 1 NZ SAS Group. The Land Component Commander is under the command of HQ Joint Forces New Zealand at Trentham in Upper Hutt.
Tactical air transport for the army is provided by No. 3 Squadron of the RNZAF.
In the event of full mobilisation and deployment, the three infantry battalions plus the other necessary combat elements would form a brigade group, which exists on paper as 7 Brigade. HQ 2 Land Force Group would, if needed, form HQ 7 Brigade
Land Training and Doctrine Group
- Land Operations Training Centre Waiouru encompasses the main army trade schools:
- Combat School
- School of Artillery
- Logistics Operations School
- School of Tactics
- Royal New Zealand School of Signals
- School of Military Intelligence and Security
- Joint Catering School
- Trade Training School (Trentham)
- Joint Services Health School (Burnham)
- School of Military Engineering, 2 Engineer Regiment (Linton)
Regular Army
Territorial Force
The modern Territorial Force is divided into 6 battalion groups. Each of these is made up of smaller units of different specialities.
The terms 'Regiment' and 'Battalion Group' seem to be interchangeably used, which can cause confusion. However, it can be argued that both are accurate in slightly different senses. In a tactical sense, given that the TF units are groupings of all arms, the term Battalion Group is accurate, though usually used for a much more single-arm heavy grouping, three infantry companies plus one armoured squadron, for example. NZ TF Battalion Groups are composed of a large number of small units of different types.
The term 'Regiment' can be accurately applied in the British regimental systems sense, as all the subunits collectively have been given the heritage of the former NZ infantry regiments (1900-1964).
TF regiments prepare and provide trained individuals in order to top-up and sustain operational and non-operational units to meet directed outputs. TF regiments perform the function of a training unit, preparing individuals to meet prescribed outputs. The six regiments command all Territorial Force personnel within their region except those posted to formation/command headquarters, Military Police (MP) Company, Force Intelligence Group (FIG) or 1 New Zealand Special Air Services (NZSAS) Group. At a minimum, each regiment consists of a headquarters, a recruit induction training (RIT) company, at least one rifle company, and a number of combat support/combat service support companies or platoons.
3/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment previously existed on paper as a cadre. If needed, it would have been raised to full strength through the regimentation of the Territorial Force infantry units.
Army plans now envisage a three manoeuvre unit structure of 1 RNZIR, QAMR, and 2/1 RNZIR (light), being brought up to strength by TF individual and subunit reinforcements.
Major Equipment
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
- 105 x NZ Light Armoured Vehicle (NZLAV)
- 95 Infantry Mobility Vehicle (IMV)
- 7 Light Obstacle Blade Vehicle (LOB)
- 3 Recovery Vehicle (LAV-R)
Light operational vehicles
- 352 x Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle (248 non-armoured / 60 armoured)
- 122 / 23 command and control variants
- 68 / 37 crew served weapon carrier variants
- 95 general service variants
- 15 shelter carrier variants
- 8 ambulance variants
- 13 special operations
Missile/rocket systems
Support vehicles
Fire support/artillery
Weapons
- M2 machine gun .50 Calibre Heavy Machine Gun
- FN MAG 58 7.62 mm General Purpose Machine Gun (replacing the older L7A2 British version)
- C9 Minimi 5.56 mm Light Machine Gun
- M203 grenade launcher
- F88 Austeyr 5.56 mm Assault Rifle
- Benelli M3 12 gauge Shotgun
- SIG P226 9 mm Pistol
M113 Replacement
New Zealand decided in 2003 to replace its existing fleet of M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, purchased in the 1960s, with the NZLAV , and the M113s were decommissioned by the end of 2004. An agreement made to sell the M113s via an Australian weapons dealer in February 2006 had to be cancelled when the US State Department refused permission for New Zealand to sell the M113s under a contract made when the vehicles were initially purchased.
The replacement of the M113s with the General Motors LAV III (NZLAV) led to a in 2001 on the purchase decision-making by New Zealand's Auditor-General. The review found short-comings in the defence acquisition process but not the eventual vehicle selected.
History
War had been an integral part of the life and culture of the Maori people. The Musket Wars dominated the first years of European trade and settlement. The first European settlers in the Bay of Islands formed a volunteer militia from which some New Zealand army units trace their origin. British forces and Maori fought in various New Zealand Wars starting in the north of the country in 1845, and culminating in major campaign in the Waikato in the mid 1860s, during which settler forces were used with great effect. The New Zealand army sent ten contingents to the Boer War.
In World War I New Zealand sent an expeditionary force, the 1NZEF, of soldiers who fought with Australians as the ANZACs at Gallipoli. A New Zealand Division was then formed which fought on the Western Front. In addition the Mounted Rifles fought in Palestine
In World War II the 2NZEF fought in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy. Following Japan's entry into the war, 3rd Division saw action in the Pacific, seizing a number of islands from the Japanese. Smaller, largely New Zealand special forces units, such as the original Long Range Desert Group in North Africa and Z Force in the Pacific also distinguished themselves.
In addition to the two divisions overseas, the Army raised three others at home during the Second World War. 1st Division was formed in the Northern Military District, 4th in the Central Military District, and 5th in the South. They were disbanded after the danger of invasion receded.
The New Zealand Army was formally formed from the New Zealand Military Forces following the Second World War. Attention focused on preparing a third Expeditionary Force potentially for service against the Soviets. Compulsory Military Training was introduced to man the force, which was initially division-sized. However succeeding governments reduced the force first to two brigades, and then a single one, preferring to allocate many of the available resources to maintaining the New Zealand infantry battalion in the Malaysia-Singapore area. That battalion, designated 1st Battalion RNZIR by that time, was brought home in 1989.
Since World War II the New Zealand army has fought in the Korean War, the Malaysian Emergency, the Indonesian confrontation, the Vietnam war, East Timor, and the 2001 Afghanistan War.
Deployments
The New Zealand Army currently participates in three major overseas deployments:
See also
External links
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