Lucaz
Im hearing you about the Reserves but heres the argument that VFM are using, if you remove the following three from the NZDF you will save $76 mil they are
1. The Reserves,
2. The Boeings 757, and
3. DTA (Defence Technology Agency).
These are some of the options being put forward to Cabinet to decide in Jul / Aug, I dont fancy being the senior leadership of NZDF at the moment to preserve current capability something has to be sacrificed and im glad I dont have to make these choices.
CD
AND
Lets start with the TF, as a rifleman of some experience I can accurately state that I can train a civilian from basic to the Infantry battalion faster than it would for a TF soldier and they would be prepared for kinetic operations, this cant be said of the TF who were sent to the Solomons. TF do provide capable individuals but at $21Mil a year to provide individuals dont cut it anymore its more cost effective to bring them thru RF basic, corp trg & then into the Battalions as you can see this is Army centric only dont know enough about the other services to offer an opinion.
The Boeings are a great piece of kit unfortunately they are restricted in where they can fly into when supporting operations lets take Astan, Auck to Dubai to drop off paks and cargo and thats as far as they can go. They are restricted from flying into Astan as they dont have the (MAWS), flight deck armour and BAE Systems North America (Tracor) AN/ALE-47 countermeasures dispensing system. Only the C130H flys direct from Dubai to Bamyan because they have this equipment this restriction only applies to Military aircraft entering ISAF control now FEDX a civilian firm are not bound by this restriction and flys direct into Kabul and this is the real reason Govt has questioned the Boeings, why upgrade our 757 when we could charter FEDX or possibly get a better aircraft in the near future.
The bureaucracy is already shedding the fol ranks from the Army with Navy and Air going thru the same process;
10 Cols
15 Lt Cols
65 WO1
24 WO2 and
numerous people who's trades no longer exisit or will cease to exsist like admin, engr plumbers/sparkies/carpenters just to name a few. And this is for this year only & I can tell you it wont come close to $5mil same happening in the other two services. $76m is only part of the $350m we have to save within the next 3 years there are some huge projects that have to be funded from within NZDF budget,
ANZAC upgrade,
B vehicle Logistics upgrade,
Replacement Tanker etc
and no extra money for the next 5 - 10 years sentimentality has taken a back seat to cold harsh fiscal reality.
Now im not justifying it as my rank bracket is on the line too, at least we have learnt from our previous mistakes where interservice rivalries led to NZDF losing a valuable capability ACF. Something has to give & I keep saying it either we dictate the changes or government will and you know who the biggest loser :smash will be if government dictates our changes!!.
CD
I will be honest, I have concerns both about the expected reductions (and where) as well as that additional funding for the NZDF will not be available for the next 5-10 years. I see this situation as being ripe for Government to stuft things up, leaving the NZDF in less of a position to meet NZ defence needs if/when things go 'pear-shaped' than it already is.
Elimination of the Reserves IMO removes a potential 'holding place' for current NZDF personnel who no longer wish to serve full-time, but would still like to keep a hand in. Also, for a number of other national forces, the Reserves provide a sort of home guard/cadre unit, able to provide responses in the event of disaster, as well as a framework in the event of a large scale mobilization.
Now, for the elimination of some trades from the NZDF, how/why are some being eliminated? Engineers, electricians, carpenters, etc all strike me as being Corps of Royal NZ Engineer positions. If that is the case, is there any plan for 'civilian' assets to provide NZDF construction needs? If so, what is the expectation in unsafe/threatened areas? Would a civil firm work with the NZDF in potentially hostile territory, and if so, would it cost less/be more effective than NZDF personnel? Some how I have my doubts.
Elimination of the Defence Technology Agency also strikes me as a very poor idea. Granted the NZDF budget is small, and only a small portion of that goes for research and testing, but still... Is the expectation that the NZDF is going to become completely reliant on outside agencies for testing and evaluation of all NZDF technological needs? I understand not attempting to compete researchwise with a behemoth like the US (~13% of defence spending is on R&D), but no in house capability would mean a complete reliance on MOTS solutions. Depending on what/how it is done, the NZDF might not even be left with the means to independently evaluate which MOTS or commercial solution best fits NZ needs. Again, not a good position IMO.
As for the elimination of over 100 senior field grade officer and warrant positions... While if some of the personnel are 'dead weight' more concerned with empire building than delivering a useful capability that is understandable. However, the NZDF would also be losing a significant amount of experienced personnel, given that the officers would likely have all served at least a decade, if not more.
That amount of serve experience cannot normally be replaced easily, if it turns out that it is still needed.
Pretty much the one area where I do not really have significant reservations is the expectation to eliminate the B757's. While they can/do provide some useful capabilities, IMO they are too expensive for the amount and type of service they provide. From my POV, as B727 replacements, the B757's should never have been selected in the first place since there were better options available at the time of purchase. That is of course all water/dam at the point. Much like the C-130H LEP of course.
In short, I worry that the NZDF (or perhaps Government/MoD) is being penny-wise, but pound foolish.
-Cheers
