New Zealand Defence Force

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New Zealand Defence Force Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa
The tri-service badge
Service branches	Royal New Zealand Navy New Zealand Army Royal New Zealand Air Force
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	Governor General Anand Satyanand (as the representative of Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand)
Minister of Defence	Phil Goff
Chief of Defence Force	Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae
Manpower
Military age	17 years of age for voluntary military service; soldiers cannot be deployed until the age of 18 (2001)
Available for military service	984,700 males, age 17-49 (2005), 965,170 females, age 17-49 (2005)
Fit for military service	809,519 males, age 17-49 (2005), 802,069 females, age 17-49 (2005)
Reaching military age annually	29,738 males (2005), 28,523 females (2005)
Active personnel	8,998 (ranked 129)
Reserve personnel	2,230
Deployed personnel	732 (as at 2 March 2007)
Expenditures
Budget	NZ$1.7 Billion (2006-07)
Percent of GDP	1%
Related articles
History	Military history of New Zealand
Ranks	New Zealand military ranks

The New Zealand Defence Force consists of three branches: the New Zealand Army; the Royal New Zealand Navy; and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The Commander-in-Chief of the NZDF is New Zealand's Governor-General Anand Satyanand who exercises his power on the advice of New Zealand's Minister of Defence, Phil Goff. The commander and head of the NZDF is the Chief of Defence Force (CDF), Lieutenant General Jeremiah (Jerry) Mateparae who also acts as the primary military advisor to the Minister of Defence.

New Zealand's armed forces have three defence policy objectives; to defend New Zealand against low-level threats, to contribute to regional security; and to play a part in global security efforts. New Zealand considers its own national defence needs to be modest, due to its geographical isolation and benign relationships with neighbours.^[1]

1 History
2 Branches
3 Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand
4 Future
5 External links
6 See Also
7 References

New Zealand's military developed from the United Kingdom, which provided security for the European settlers in New Zealand, and later when the colony achieved dominion status. An independent New Zealand military only developed in the early twentieth century, and later served with Australians alongside the British in both World War I and II. As New Zealand grew more independent of the British, closer military ties were developed with Australia and the United States. New Zealand is a signatory of the ANZUS treaty, a defence pact between it, Australia and the United States. Since the United States suspended its obligations to New Zealand in 1986, due to the latter's anti-nuclear policy that refused US ships access to port, New Zealand co-operates only with Australia under the treaty. The NZDF came into existence under the Defence Act of 1990.

Before entering New Zealand, US ships must declare whether they are nuclear propelled or carrying nuclear weapons. Since the US has a policy of "neither confirm nor deny", they have not visited New Zealand. However, they may visit if they declare that they are nuclear-free.

See main article New Zealand Army

New Zealand's Army consists of around 4,500 full time and 2,500 part time troops. Most troops are infantry. New Zealand does not deploy tanks, although it does have just over 100 LAV AFVs. The New Zealand SAS is the army's special forces unit. Other Army regiments are:

Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles
Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery
Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers
Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals
Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment
Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps
Royal New Zealand Army Nursing Corps
Royal New Zealand Army Dental Corps
Corps of Royal New Zealand Military Police
New Zealand Intelligence Corps

HMNZS Te Mana, one of New Zealand's two frigates

See main article: Royal New Zealand Navy

The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) consists of two Anzac class frigates, developed in conjunction with Australia. Eight other vessels are in use, consisting of patrol vessels and logistics. Over the next few years the RNZN will acquire seven new vessels: one large Multi-Role Vessel, two Offshore Patrol Vessels, and four Inshore Patrol Vessels. All of these new vessels will be part of Project Protector and will be built to commercial standards.

See main article: Royal New Zealand Air Force

The Royal New Zealand Air Force consists of 50 aircraft, consisting of P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft and Lockheed C-130 Hercules and other transport aircraft. The RNZAF does not have a strike force following the retirement of its A-4 Skyhawk and Aermacchi MB-339 squadrons. A plan to acquire 28 F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft was cancelled in 2000. The NH90 helicopter has recently been ordered to replace Bell UH-1 Iroquois. The PAC CT/4 Airtrainer is locally produced.

The operational forces of the three services are directed from Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand near Trentham Military Camp in Upper Hutt. From this building the Air Component Commander, Maritime Component Commander, and Land Component Commander exercise command over their forces. Commander Joint Forces New Zealand (COMJFNZ), currently Rear Admiral Jack Steer, controls all overseas operational deployments and most overseas exercises.

New Zealand states it maintains a "credible minimum force," although critics maintain that the country's defence forces have fallen below this standard.^{[attribution needed]} With a claimed area of direct strategic concern that extends from Australia to Southeast Asia to the South Pacific, and with defence expenditures that total around 1% of GDP, New Zealand necessarily places substantial reliance on co-operating with other countries, in particular Australia.

New Zealand is an active participant in multilateral peacekeeping. It has taken a leading role in trying to bring peace, reconciliation, and reconstruction to the Solomon Islands and the neighboring island of Bougainville. New Zealand maintains a contingent in the Multinational Force and Observers and has contributed to UN peacekeeping operations in Angola, Cambodia, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia. It also participated in the Multilateral Interception Force in the Persian Gulf. New Zealand's most recent peacekeeping experience has been in East Timor, where it initially dispatched almost 10% of its entire defence force and continues to be the second-largest force contributor.

New Zealand participates in sharing training facilities, personnel exchanges, and joint exercises with the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, Tonga, and South Pacific states. It also exercises with its Five-Power Defense Arrangement partners - Australia, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Singapore. Due to New Zealand's antinuclear policy, defense cooperation with the U.S., including training exercises, has been significantly restricted since 1986. Recently the USA military has served along side New Zealand forces in Afganistan and Iraq, New Zealand and the USA have good military relations.