Defence Business: Facts, figures and excuses: The NZDF Annual Report 2012 | ADM November 2012

Seldom do the words ‘extremely’ and ‘challenging’ find themselves partnered in an official document, but arguably the authors of the 2012 Annual Report of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) had little choice.

Regarding the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) the report admits that the reporting year (2011/12) ‘has been characterised by the extremely challenging personnel circumstances.’

Sailors, apparently, are abandoning their ships. ‘Attrition has climbed from a manageable 11.25 per cent at the start of the year to an unsustainable 22.96 per cent at year’s end.’

So although the RNZN’s two Anzac frigates delivered the required levels of Mission Availability and Sea Days, the required level ‘was lower than historical norms.’

The shortage of personnel has impacted elsewhere. A maintenance cycle for HMNZS Te Mana was concluded earlier than scheduled and ‘Under normal circumstances, this would have allowed the ship to return to operations earlier than planned but due to the personnel situation, this option could not be pursued.’

Not that such upsets prevented the RNZN from flourishing in several areas. In Rimpac 2012, for example, the fleet tanker Endeavour refuelled 51 other navy ships at sea, ‘which is the equivalent to three and a half years of normal activity.’

In RNZN service since 1988, HMNZS Endeavour’s crew has once again performed above and beyond requirements, only there is a ‘but.’

‘The ship is now beyond its intended design life and as such presents a range of challenges in maintaining capability and availability. It will no longer be compliant with International Maritime Organisation requirements from April 2013.’

So expect a replacement ship purchase announcement in the very near future.

The fleet tanker is not the only ship facing retirement, for although headlined as ‘Modern, Versatile, Capable,’ on the RNZN’s website, HMNZS Manawanui, the Navy’s support vessel for the Operational Dive Team and mine countermeasures, ‘is now 33 years old and becoming increasingly challenging to maintain.’

People problems

Not that youth is much help in operational terms, for the so-called Naval Patrol Force of Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPV), only recently commissioned, are vulnerable to the personnel shortages mentioned earlier.

As the Report explains: ‘In a small ship’s company such as with an IPV, the absence of just one person in a key role has the potential to make the ship unsafe to proceed to sea or render it operationally ineffective.’

There is, however, some light with regard to the two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) that have not yet been fully accepted into service. Full operational release is expected in the coming year and in May 2012 the ‘First of Class Flight Trials for the SH-2G (NZ) Seasprite helicopter were completed.’

Overall, the Seasprites had a mixed year, for although still not achieving planned flying hour targets, ‘the flying rate was higher than previous years.’

Credit for this is due to the newly formed Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, according to the report. There is a bit of chicken and egg though: ‘Sustaining the current flying will assist in generating a full crew establishment during … 2012/13. However, [Seasprite] outputs can not be fully met without addressing the resource shortfall of available aircraft, and the poor supportability of fitted equipment that is appropriate for the directed tasks.’

Also in the air, the maritime patrol, oops, the Airborne Surveillance and Response Forces (ASRF), an ungainly title if ever there was one, only achieved 69 per cent of planned flight hours, ‘due largely to delays in the upgrade program, which significantly reduced the number of aircraft available to fly.’

Indeed there was a week when only the Search and Rescue Orion was available. There are sound excuses for the few Orion hours, including ‘the Mission Systems Upgrade project progressively removing up to four Orions from service during the reporting period leaving two Orions to deliver outputs.’

Moreover, ‘overall maintenance experience reduced due to an increased attrition rate. Aircrew personnel numbers remained just under the required establishment but the overall competence declined due to the reduced rate of flying and corresponding reduction in train ing opportunities. Nevertheless, military tasking was met.’

One aircraft was available for maritime search and rescue and emergency tasks, for all but 42 days. For 31 days a Hercules aircraft was made available in the event of a tasking. For the remaining 11 days alternative arrangements were made to provide coverage.

Availability and preparedness targets were, however, ‘substantially met’ for the Boeing 757s and the legacy/improved Hercules fleets. The Boeings flew 1,130 hours against a target of 1,400 hours while the old/new Hercules fleet flew 1,686 hours against a target of 1,988 hours, or 81 per cent and 85 per cent respectively.

Showing the gleaming new and updated fleets how it should be done, the veteran Iroquois fleet achieved 3,515 against a target of 3,435 hours, or 102 per cent achieved. Not bad, considering that only six of the 12 UH-1H Iroquois helicopters ‘were available for military tasks.’

Due to operational testing and evaluation, the five A109 and two NH90 helicopters delivered during the year were not available for military tasking. How long will it be before these types can match the mighty Iroquois and exceed tasked flying hours?

Army

The New Zealand Army of course can hardly record kilometres marched or potatoes peeled, nor are targets given for rounds fired or trenches dug, but Kiwi soldiers nonetheless made their mark, especially overseas. Army snipers from 2/1 RNZIR were placed second in the 15th Canadian International Sniper concentration in September 2011 in which 27 international teams competed. Regular and Territorial members of the NZ Army Combat Shooting Team won 10 medals, including five gold, at the Australian Army Skill at Arms Meeting in Australia in May 2012.

Moreover, on Exercise Cambrian Patrol, a British Army sponsored competition in Wales, sappers from 2nd Engineer Regiment were one of only four teams to win gold out of 110 teams.

New Zealand’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) naturally took part in, er, special activities. Some of them, such as attending the FSK (Forsvarets Spesial Kommando) winter patrol course, and participating in exercises Paludrin I and II with the British 22 SAS Regiment Mountain Cadre in Norway in the first quarter of 2012 are no less than one would expect.

No eyebrows need be raised either by attending a military free-fall parachute course in the US, but ADM’s curiosity was aroused upon reading that NZ’s SOF ‘participated in Exercise Hong Kong, a counter- terrorist exercise conducted in Hong Kong in May 2012.’ Hmm.