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Wellington-based Malayan Veterans Sought

28 July 2010

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is currently seeking Wellington-based New Zealand military veterans who served during the Malayan Emergency and the Indonesian Confrontation in the late 50s and 60s who have not yet received their Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal.

The Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) medal is a Malaysian government initiative that recognises service in Malaya, Borneo, and Singapore.

The PJM Medal honours the valour and sacrifices made by the New Zealand Forces who served in Malaya / Malaysia for at least 90 days, between 31 August 1957 and 31 December 1966. This also includes service in Singapore up to 9 August 1965.

“While many of these veterans have already received their medal we believe that there are still a number of veterans in the Wellington region who may not be aware of their entitlement,” said Donald Anderson, NZDF Assistant Director Medals Policy.

Since 2005 over 3,800 of these medals have been issued.

Mr Anderson said, “If you think you may qualify, please complete an application form, contact us online through our contact form, or phone the NZDF Medals Office on 04 527 5270.”

This medal may also be issued to the legal next of kin of deceased Malayan veterans – if you think your relative may have qualified for this medal, all the information and application forms are on the PJM page of the Defence Medals website - http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz

Note for ex-British military personnel living in New Zealand:

Ex-British military personnel who served in Malaya / Malaysia or Singapore must apply for the PJM medal via the United Kingdom system. The application information is on http://www.veterans-uk.info/medals/pingat.html

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PRESENTATION OF PJM MEDALS TO NEW ZEALAND VETERANS AT THE 53RD MALAYSIA INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION

14 June 2010

The Malaysian Ministry of Defence has been directed by the Cabinet of Malaysia to host a presentation of Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) medals, including presentation to New Zealand veterans, on 29 August 2010. The presentation will be held in Malaysia in conjunction with the 53rd Independence Day (Merdeka) celebrations.

The Malaysian Government will be hosting veterans at the following activities:

29 August 2010         Dinner and PJM medal presentation ceremony

30 August 2010         Veterans attend Merdeka celebration; visit to military camp and cemetery

31 August 2010         Attend and participate in “Merdeka” Parade

1 September 2010     Sight Seeing (organised)

New Zealand veterans who are planning on attending any of the above activities, are requested to advise their attendance no later than 30 June 2010, directly to Aaron Hanley, Adviser Commemorations, Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand on freephone 0800 483 8372 or by email to veterans@xtra.co.nz . 

Eligibility for the PJM medal will be confirmed by Veterans' Affairs New Zealand, before details of veterans attending the activities are passed to the Malaysian High Commission.

Veterans who attend the activities in Malaysia will be responsible for meeting their own expenses for travel and accommodation.

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Defence Personnel named in Queen's Birthday Honours

4 June 2010

Eleven New Zealand Defence Force personnel have been named in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours. 

The recipients are as follows:

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM):

Squadron Leader James Robert JENNINGS, Royal New Zealand Air Force

To be an Additional Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM):

Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas John GILLARD, Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery

To receive the Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD):

  • Group Captain Mary Elizabeth COX (Retired), Royal New Zealand Air Force
    Commander Jason Stewart HAGGITT, Royal New Zealand Navy
    Lieutenant Blake William HERBERT, ED, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Territorial Force)
    Lieutenant Michael William KOBERSTEIN, New Zealand Intelligence Corps
    Major Simon Montague MARRIOTT, Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (Territorial Force)
    Commander Andrew Gavin McMILLAN, Royal New Zealand Navy
    Corporal Matthew William PEARCE, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
    Wing Commander Brendon PETT, Royal New Zealand Air Force
    Major Brendon Patrick WOOD, Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps

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Minister congratulates Vietnam War hero

29 May 2010

Veterans' Affairs Minister Judith Collins has congratulated Lieutenant Colonel Morrie Stanley, MBE (Retired), who today received an Australian Unit Citation for Gallantry during the battle of Long Tan in Vietnam.

Mr Stanley was presented the citation at a function in Auckland today by Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith MC (Retired) Officer Commanding in 1966 of D Company of 6 Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) on behalf of the Australian Government. The ceremony was attended by military officials, members of his former unit, veterans, family and friends.

The citation recognised Mr Stanley's actions during a fierce battle in a rubber plantation on 18 August 1966 in which 105 Australian troops confronted a force of 2500 battle-hardened North Vietnamese.

Mr Stanley was the Forward (Artillery) Observer from 161 Battery, 16 Field Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Artillery, attached to D Company, 6RAR during the Battle of Long Tan.

"Amid heavy gunfire and in driving monsoon rain, Mr Stanley directed a hail of artillery fire from US, Australian and New Zealand units down on the enemy positions," Ms Collins said.

"It was an impossible situation in which the unit faced overwhelming odds. Without Mr Stanley's courage and cool-headed commitment to duty, many Australian soldiers might never have made it out of that plantation alive.

"I congratulate Mr Stanley on this citation from the Australian Government. He is an inspiration and true ANZAC hero of whom all New Zealanders should be proud."

For more information on and images of the Australian Unit Citation for Gallantry see the Australian Government's It's An Honour website.

For more information on the Battle of Long Tan see the Australian website AnzacDay.org.au.

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Ramos-Horta presents medals to Defence Force personnel

25 May 2010

On 20 May President José Ramos-Horta bestowed the Timor-Leste Solidarity Medal on 170 New Zealand Defence Force personnel in recognition of their contribution to the country's independence.

The ceremony was held at Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace in Dili, and participated in by New Zealand's Governor-General Anand Satyanand, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ameerah Haq, East Timorese Defence Force [F-FDTL] Commander, Major-General Taur Matan Ruak, and other State leaders of Timor-Leste.

President Ramos-Horta said that the medals were an accolade for the New Zealand Defence Force, who joined INTERFET [the International Force for East Timor] to promote security in the region in 1999.

"Today we bestow medals to the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) from New Zealand and it is an accolade for their contribution to Timor-Leste to keep security in the country," President Ramos-Horta said.

Sir Anand Satyanand said the New Zealand Defence Force would continue to maintain security in the country, but it would depend on the security situation in Timor-Leste and the agreement signed with the United Nations.

[This article was produced by the Open Source Centre in Timor-Leste]

Images and more information on the Timor-Leste Solidarity Medal can be found on the following page of the NZDF Medals website:

- The Timor-Leste Solidarity Medal

A photograph of the presentation ceremony on 20 May can be seen on the NZDF website reprint of the Open Source Centre article.

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Medal presentation to 6 Hauraki Battalion Group

7 April 2010

Hon Heather Roy address to 6 Hauraki Battalion Group medal presentation; Tauranga Army Hall, Corner 11th Avenue and Devonport Road, Tauranga; Wednesday, 7 April 2010.

Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Julian Sewell, Officers and Soldiers of 6 Hauraki Battalion Group, award recipients, families and friends.

Tena koutou katoa.

It is always a pleasure to attend Territorial Force activities and an honour to be asked to present medals. The pride and sense of belonging one feels from wearing a Defence force uniform is hard to explain to those who haven't. Even greater is the pride experienced at the recognition of what you have achieved, and are being awarded for tonight.

For 112 years, 6 Hauraki Battalion has been preparing soldiers to serve on operations. Today, as I look around it is easy to see that this legacy continues as we recognise officers and soldiers who have returned from service in the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, and Afghanistan, or have completed 12 years continuous service in the Territorial Force.

Many people face the daily challenge of balancing work, family and leisure; you have the added challenge of balancing all of these with Army time as Reserve Officers and Soldiers. This is a significant ask for families and employers, and it is important to acknowledge this support at home and in the workplace. It is this that enables you to train and deploy on operations.

It takes a huge commitment from you as Territorial soldiers to take months out of everyday life, to deploy on operations such as Rata, Crib and Gyro. I note that, with 16 personnel deploying from 6 Hauraki during the last year, this is a significant commitment from your local community too. The three-part team - reservists, families and employers - is critical to the development and success of the NZDF.

There are many parallels between the Defence Force and sports teams. A sports team is more than just a group of players you see on the field. Regardless of how good they are they won't complete a game, let alone a season, on their own. They need to be supported by a dynamic, high utility reserve bench - often with your specialist performers and impact players. In the Defence Force, as in sport, full time versus part-time is not a choice. It's not a case of either/or, but both/and. We need both to achieve success.

Working as you do with a foot in both camps - the military and civilian worlds - I know that the Defence Force appreciates the skills and enthusiasm you bring to the uniform. Speaking with employers I know that they are grateful for the leadership, vision, and technical skills you bring back to the workplace after an exercise, or an operational deployment.

Recently, local employer Moana Pacific Fisheries Ltd was recognised with a Territorial Force Employer Support Award here in Tauranga, and they will go on to represent the Bay of Plenty in the national awards I am presenting at Parliament next week. I commend Mr Eddie Dodd and other employers of this region supporting our Reservists. Without your support and generosity of spirit in willingly releasing your employees, Reserve deployments would be very difficult to achieve.

The profession of arms is a unique vocation and one we've joined for many reasons, but the common among them is supporting peace and freedom. However announcing intent is not the same as carrying out an action. To win on operations, or in any endeavour we must all be prepared to take the field, to win and not to leave until our work is done. Tonight I'm delighted to honour and congratulate those who have done just this. You join many others in furthering the proud history of your unit with your contribution to peace and freedom.

And, lest we forget, the price of peace and freedom is eternal vigilance.

Kia Kaha

Medal Recipients:
Major Grant Arrowsmith, Royal New Zealand Armed Corps: New Zealand General Service Medal (Afghanistan) primary operational area and New Zealand Operational Service Medal

Warrant Officer Class Two Clint Savage, Royal New Zealand Army Logistics Regiment: New Zealand General Service Medal (Timor-Leste) and Timor-Leste Solidarity Medal

Private Damien Morgan, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment: New Zealand General Service Medal (Solomon Islands), New Zealand Operational Service Medal

Private Justin Goodwin, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment: New Zealand General Service Medal (Solomon Islands), New Zealand Operational Service Medal

Captain F. Grieve, Royal New Zealand Armed Corps: Efficiency Decoration

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Medals awarded for service in Timor-Leste to aid worker

29 March 2010

[This New Zealand Red Cross news story, also published in the Whangarei Leader on 30 March 2010, has been republished with the permission of the National Office New Zealand Red Cross].

Being held hostage and shot at in a war zone is all in a day's work for an exceptional Whangarei man.

Warwick Inder is one of New Zealand Red Cross' most experienced aid workers with more than 25 years' experience. Since joining Red Cross in 1985, Mr Inder has been on 11 missions working in countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Tajikistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Belarus, China and Timor Leste.

Mr Inder's Red Cross work has been recognised for the first time with the New Zealand Operational Service Medal and the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 (Timor-Leste).

But Mr Inder says medals are not why he is a Red Cross delegate.

"It is not something that really worries me too much. I have done it for the enjoyment of what I have done and where I have been."

Mr Inder joined the Red Cross about the age of 42 after working for many years for the Northland District Health Board. While at a meeting for the health board in Wellington, Mr Inder met a returning Red Cross delegate for Angola.

"I said I was interested and asked how I go about working for the New Zealand Red Cross," Mr Inder says.

"He said send your CV to Wellington and give his name as a reference. Ten days later I was on my way to Ethiopia."

For the next eight months Mr Inder was employed by the New Zealand Red Cross to work for the International Committee of the Red Cross. After the Ethiopia drought of 1985, he worked in refugee camps in Sudan's Kassala region as a sanitary engineer, well digger and in infectious disease control.

He then went to Peshawar in Pakistan to be part of a team building a tent field hospital to help the overflow of wounded coming out of Afghanistan. From then on Mr Inder barely had a break between missions, other than two years from 1999 to 2001 when he returned home from the Pacific to buy land, build a house and develop an avocado orchard of 400 trees and produce calla lilies under plastic for export to the Japanese market – and assist the New Zealand Red Cross in Whangarei. Mr Inder says he could write a book about his work where he has operated out of offices being shaken by bombs exploding outside, flown in an aircraft under gun fire while being used as a shield for a Russian plane, and been taken hostage more than once.

"It is an interesting job," Mr Inder says. His last mission was for more than two years in East Timor starting in March 2006. Mr Inder was head of delegation for the international Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent in Timor Leste, and co-ordinated with the Timor Leste Red Cross to assess needs, manage development of hospitals and camps, and distributing emergency food and aid.


Mr Inder, 67, is enjoying the peace and sunshine of Whangarei while keeping an eye open for any Red Cross work overseas.

"I will do it for as long as they want me," he says.

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International medal awarded to New Zealand Red Cross aid worker

15 March 2010

[This New Zealand Red Cross news item has been republished with the permission of the National Office New Zealand Red Cross].

New Zealand Red Cross aid worker Joyce Hood will receive the highest honour in the nursing profession on 18 March.

The Florence Nightingale medal is awarded to people who distinguish themselves in times of peace or war by showing exceptional courage and devotion to the wounded, sick or disabled or to civilian victims of conflict or disaster.

Ms Hood returned from Iraq to New Zealand to attend an award ceremony hosted by Their Excellencies The Governor-General of New Zealand The Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand and Lady Susan Satyanand in association with New Zealand Red Cross.

The ceremony commemorated the 12 years of duty and service to others Ms Hood has given on 11 missions, during 80 months in highly volatile areas such as Afghanistan, Timor-Leste and Iraq.

Speaking from Najaf, Iraq, Ms Hood said, "I am humbled to be awarded the Florence Nightingale medal. I love my the work that I do with New Zealand Red Cross and I get just as much back from it as I give."

Ms Hood is the project manager for the medical training programme in Najaf, where she runs courses for doctors and nurses to update their emergency care skills as well as giving bedside teaching.

Ms Hood has previously received the East Timor Medal and the New Zealand Operational Service Medal for her service in East Timor in 2000 and the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 (Afghanistan) primary operational area for her work in Afghanistan in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

This year, New Zealand Red Cross celebrates 50 years of its international humanitarian aid worker programme, which sees up to 30 Kiwi aid workers overseas at any one time.

Interviews with Ms Hood can be arranged from 15 March to 24 March after which she will again be overseas. High resolution pictures of Ms Hood are available from the New Zealand Red Cross.

Joyce Hood's mission history with New Zealand Red Cross:

2010 Iraq, Najaf
2009 South Ossetia, Tskhinvali
2008 South Ossetia, Tskhinvali
2007 Sudan, Khartoum
2006 Afghanistan, Kandahar
2004 Afghanistan, Jalalabad
2003 Afghanistan, Kandahar
2002 Kenya, Lokichokia
2001 Sudan, Juba
2000 Timor-Leste, Dili
1999 Afghanistan, Kandahar

To read more about New Zealand Red Cross aid workers overseas see the NZ Red Cross website.

For information on becoming an aid worker see the NZ Red Cross website.

To read more about aid workers who have recently been awarded medals see the 9 March 2010 item below or see the NZ Red Cross website.

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Medals awarded to International aid workers

9 March 2010

[This New Zealand Red Cross news item has been republished with the permission of the National Office New Zealand Red Cross].

Wellingtonian Red Cross humanitarian aid workers Marion Picken and Colleen Clark have each been awarded the New Zealand Operational Service Medal and the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 (Afghanistan) primary operational area for their work in Afghanistan.

The New Zealand Operational Service Medal is awarded in recognition for operational service on behalf of New Zealand, and the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 (Afghanistan) primary operational area recognises New Zealand personnel (both military and non military) who have served in Afghanistan from December 2001.

New Zealand Red Cross Chief Executive John Ware presented the medals to Mrs Picken and Mrs Clark in a ceremony at Red Cross national office last week.


During the ceremony, Mrs Picken and Mrs Clark's achievements and continued dedication to international humanitarian work on behalf of New Zealand Red Cross was celebrated by Red Cross staff, family and friends.

Health aid worker Mrs Picken has been an international aid worker with New Zealand Red Cross for 12 years, and been on mission to places such as Sudan, Kenya, Pakistan and also Indonesia, where she was awarded the New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami).

The New Zealand Operational Service Medal and the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 have been awarded to Marion for her two missions to Afghanistan, where she worked at hospital north of Kabul as a midwife, nurse and health aid worker. Her work in Kabul included dealing with people injured in car crashes, landmines, and "obstetric disasters".

Mrs Clark has been with Red Cross 23 years, and has been in field service to countries such as Pakistan, Zaire, Thailand and Indonesia, where she was also awarded New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami).

The former St John paramedic has been awarded the New Zealand Operational Service Medal and the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 for her work in Afghanistan where she helped set up the Kabul ambulance service in cooperation with the Afghanistan Red Crescent, the Norwegian Red Cross and the Kuwait Red Crescent Society.

Mrs Picken, who lives in Wellington with her partner Lewis and two young children is getting married this Saturday.

Mrs Clark lives in Wellington with her husband Les, and works on an oil rig off the Taranaki Coast when she is not on mission with Red Cross.

This year, New Zealand Red Cross celebrates 50 years of their aid worker programme, which sees approximately 30 aid workers overseas at any one time.

Most recently, New Zealand Red Cross has sent two aid workers to the Pacific to assist in the wake of cyclone Pat and Rene in February, and to the Solomon Islands to help clean up after the earthquake and tsunami in January this year. New Zealand Red Cross have offered support to the Chilean Red Cross should assistance be required.

New Zealand Red Cross, as part of the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, currently supports 24 humanitarian aid workers deployed around the world working in fields such as health, water and sanitation and construction. New Zealand Red Cross' international aid worker programme is supported by NZAID, the government's international aid agency.

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Medals awarded to Red Cross worker

13 January 2010

New Zealand Red Cross humanitarian aid worker, Andrew Cameron, has been awarded the New Zealand Operational Service Medal and the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 (Afghanistan) primary operational area for his work in Afghanistan.

Central Hawkes Bay Deputy Mayor Michael Waite and New Zealand Red Cross National President Penny Mason will present the medals to Mr Cameron in a ceremony in Waipukurau this Thursday 14 January.

The ceremony will celebrate Mr Cameron’s achievements and continued dedication to international humanitarian work on behalf of New Zealand Red Cross.

Mr Cameron has undertaken a total of four international aid missions over the past five years, helping thousands of vulnerable people in Afghanistan, Sudan, Kenya and Yemen.

The New Zealand Operational Service Medal is awarded in recognition for operational service on behalf of New Zealand, and the New Zealand General Service Medal 2002 (Afghanistan) primary operational area recognises New Zealand personnel (both military and non military) who have served in Afghanistan from December 2001.

Mr Cameron completed his first nine month mission to Afghanistan in 2008 and returned in 2009 for a further three months working as the Hospital Project Manager at Jalabad Public Hospital in Kandahar. He describes his first deployment to Afghanistan as fascinating.

“The people in Afghanistan have been troubled by years of war, and the complex and ever changing situation of unrest is showing no respite. They are unfortunate to have conflict thrust upon them,” Mr Cameron says.

During his time in Afghanistan, Mr Cameron had to adjust to restrictions, curfews and a high security threat level as part of the experience, which he says was extraordinarily rewarding.

"In Afghanistan you are in the middle of a war zone. There were troops on the street all the time and a feeling of tension, but it’s all part of making a difference in the lives of people who need it most,” he says.

Mr Cameron has since completed a six month mission in Yemen working as a Public Health Specialist after leaving Afghanistan in May 2009. After a brief return to New Zealand, Mr Cameron is now is set to commence a 12 month mission in Najaf, Iraq as Hospital Project Manager later this month.

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Defence Personnel named in New Year's Honours

5 January 2010

On 31 December 2009, it was announced that six New Zealand Defence Force personnel will receive New Year’s Honours. The recipients are:

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM):
Warrant Officer Class One John Carruthers BARCLAY, Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps

To be an Additional Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM):
Colonel (Retired) Richard Lewis HALL, OBE, Colonels’ List New Zealand Army

To receive the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD):
Captain Dougal Andrew BARKER, Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps

Wing Commander Mark Stanley BRUNTON, Royal New Zealand Air Force

Major Bryce Cameron GURNEY, The Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers

Major Peter Warren JACOBS, Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps

Full details of the awards and recipients have been published on the NZDF website.

Also see the NZDF Feature Story 'WO1 John Barclay receives New Year Honour' published on the NZDF website on 19 January 2010.

Images and background information on the honours and awards awarded to NZDF personnel in the New Year's Honours 2010 can be found on the following pages of the NZDF Medals website:

- The Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) page

- The New Zealand Order of Merit page

- The New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD) page

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NZDF Medal update from the Minister of Defence

13 October 2009

Wayne Mapp, Minister of Defence, spoke this afternoon at the 93rd RNZRSA National Council Meeting in Wellington.  On the NZDF Medal he said:

"Grappling with the future is one part of my responsibilities. Ensuring that we learn from, and remember the past is another.

Military service places unique demands on people, whether they are deployed overseas or not. The training is rigorous. The discipline can be tough. The hours can be demanding. It is a calling apart from normal civilian life. This is why service in our armed forces deserves special recognition.

The Government is committed to formally recognising non-operational service. This is long overdue. Medallic recognition for those who undertook Compulsory Military Training and balloted National Service has been under consideration since the late 1990s. The Associate Minister and I are currently considering a report from the Joint Working Group proposing the best way forward for this important project."

The full speech by the Minister can be read on http://www.beehive.govt.nz

For more information on the proposed medal see the NZDF Medal Frequently Asked Questions page.

The new medal is intended to recognise military service from 3 September 1945 to the present.


NZDF is NOT currently accepting applications for the planned New Zealand Defence Force Medal. It is anticipated that a call for applications will happen in 2010.

Related media statement:

18 June 2009 - New Defence Force medal planned

Related updates:

27 April 2010 - NZDF Medal - update

11 September 2009 - NZDF Medal Survey - update

10 August 2009 - NZDF Medal Survey - update

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Personnel Branch, Headquarters New Zealand Defence Force has responsibility for all medals issues relating to current or past service in the New Zealand Armed Forces. The Medals Staff at Personnel Branch conduct research into all claims for medallic recognition whether for an individual's service or for service in areas of operation where no current medallic recognition exists.

The following medals initiatives are currently under consideration by the NZDF or the Government:

The planned New Zealand Defence Force Medal

Long Service and Good Conduct Medal Review

A review of medals awarded for long and unblemished service has been under way for some time. It is anticipated that a proposal for improving the system of Long Service and Good Conduct Awards will be put before the Government for consideration in 2010.

 

 This page was last reviewed 29 July, 2010 and is current.