Assistant Chief of General Staff - Capability
COL Phil Collet

10 April 2007

GREAT SOLDIERS ARE THE BACKBONE OF THIS ARMY

Before taking up the appointment as ACGS Capability, I was serving in Washington DC as the Military Attaché to the United States Army. During my time there I was often reminded by members of the US Army and US Marine Corps of the high regard in which they hold our Army. Representatives of the Headquarters Department of Army reaffirmed this during their recent Staff Visit to New Zealand. All of this is good to hear, and reaffirmed my view that we have great soldiers, led by officers who can stand their own in comparison to their international peers, supported by a strong corps of NCOs who remain the backbone of the Army.

Having been able to live with and closely observe the world’s most powerful land force for three years, I wondered when I returned home how our much smaller Army would seem in comparison. Overall I was pleasantly surprised. We are undergoing perhaps the most significant and rapid period of modernisation in our post World War Two history. More than a billion dollars of modern, “high tech” equipment has been received and absorbed giving us the protected mobility, the communications and the firepower that was previously so sorely lacking. A cavalry company from 1 RNZIR will be able to generate more direct fire than one of its counterparts from an American Stryker Brigade. Our light infantry can be deployed on operations with equipment, communications and weapons that are comparable to their American counterparts. But there’s still a long way to go, and quite a few challenges to be overcome. There are still significant land projects scheduled for the next decade, to improve our reconnaissance surveillance and intelligence, our CSS and Command and Control capabilities. There is also much to be done to rectify shortfalls in equipment within units and to rebalance unit equipment holdings. Doctrine and tactics need to change to reflect the complex environment in which we will continue to operate.

One way to help steer us on the right course during this modernisation is a programme of experimentation. We are using a series of Battle Laboratories to help prepare the Army for further change. An example is the Battle Laboratory that 2/1 RNZIR will conduct to help develop tactics and identify equipment requirements for urban operations. Another is the Battle Lab for unmanned air systems (UAVs) we are running with 16 Fd Regt. Using a simple and cheap prototype UAV developed by the Defence Technical Agency and manufactured by a local company, we have been able to understand what will be required to train UAV operators, how to deconflict their operations, how to interpret the information they provide, and how to operate them. We have been able to develop this knowledge at little cost and are now in a good position to evaluate our needs and identify what UAVs might be the most useful to us. The experimentation programme is a small, but significant step in the process of being a world class Army. The efforts of the personnel who are making it happen, and the support of their Commanders, is appreciated.

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