Medal for model soldier

Major Roger Earp was one of 17 NZ Defence Force personnel honoured yesterday. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Major Roger Earp had a confession to make after being awarded one of America's top military decorations yesterday.

"I'm still not sure exactly what I did to deserve it. I'll be totally honest, but it's an incredible honour.

"I'm an individual who has been singled out but I really think it's awarded to the whole contingent."

Seventeen New Zealand Defence Force personnel have achieved the rare distinction of receiving medals from the United States Army for their service in Afghanistan.

Major Earp, from Tauranga, was one of 10 recipients of the Bronze Star. Seven colleagues received US Army Commendation Medals.

Permission had to be obtained from the Queen for the soldiers to accept and wear the American medals, which were presented by US Ambassador William McCormick at a ceremony in Wellington.

"Kiwi engineers from the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team are helping to build a school, police stations and a vital new hospital wing," Mr McCormick said.

"Their work has been used as a model by many other countries.

"The NZDF contribution to Combined Joint Task Forces shows NZ's commitment to the shared goals of the international community."

The only occasion recently when New Zealand soldiers received US honours was in 2004, when the SAS received a US Presidential Unit Citation for its work in Afghanistan.

Defence Minister Phil Goff said since 2002 more than 500 NZ defence personnel had served in Afghanistan and had helped play a vital role in rebuilding Bamyan province.

Major Earp's part in that job was as a patrol leader. His team of a dozen soldiers plus two interpreters patrolled two of Bamyan's southern districts looking for evidence of activity by the Taleban and their allies.

"When you've got a couple of districts about the size of Otago and Canterbury, it's a big area," Major Earp said.

"I think just our mere presence and working with the locals and developing that relationship over time with them really creates a safe environment, because they would relay to us if people came in who wanted to cause trouble.

"It's amazing country. I really enjoyed the experience but it's pretty rugged, pretty demanding. There's not a lot of roading.

"There's no tarseal in the whole of Bamyan province, it's all metal or gravel dirt roads, and many of the villages are inaccessible by road, so to get there you've got to walk. If people really want to hide down there it's pretty easy to do so."

But Major Earp and his team were able to find some of those hiding places. They uncovered a weapons cache and just before his return home in July last year, they had found evidence of several others.

"You're trying to draw information from them, you're trying to find out what's going on, you're trying to find out who is intimidating who, you're trying to find out where the weapons caches are.

"If you couldn't have a strong relationship with the local people then you're wasting your time."

Major Earp, who joined the Army in 1987 and served in East Timor, left soon after his return from Afghanistan, but has maintained his Army ties by joining the Territorials.

He said he looked back on his six months in Afghanistan with pride.

"I felt we made a difference. We provided an environment where the locals could get on with their lives, so I felt it was definitely worthwhile."

* Award recipients:

Bronze Star: Air Commodore Gavin Howse, RNZAF. Lieutenant Colonel Michael Alexander, NZ Army. Lieutenant Colonel Michael Hickman, NZ Army. Lieutenant Colonel Alistair MacKinnon, NZ Army. Lieutenant Commander James Gleeson, RNZN. Major Roger Earp, NZ Army. Major Marcus Linehan, NZ Army. Major Mark Taylor, NZ Army. Staff Sergeant Dugald Brown, NZ Army. Staff Sergeant Kevin Cowsill, NZ Army

Army Commendation Medal: Group Captain John Duxfield, RNZAF. Major Andrew Shaw, NZ Army. Captain Dean Rennie, NZ Army. Lieutenant William Petersen, NZ Army. Chief Petty Officer Communications Analyst Stephen Lock, RNZN. Warrant Officer Class Two Michael Hadfield, NZ Army. Corporal Aaron Packer, NZ Army.


DECORATIONS

* The Bronze Star, instituted in 1944, is awarded for heroic or meritorious acts. It ranks 10th in precedence of 50 US Army decorations.

* The Army Commendation Medal was instituted in 1945 for acts of achievement or meritorious service. It ranks 16th in precedence.