Reliance on Territorials rattles critics

Source: Ministry of Defence. Herald graphic.

The state of the New Zealand Defence Forces is under fire again as part-time soldiers are called on to make up most of the next overseas peacekeeping mission.

Thirty-three of the 45 personnel who will travel to the volatile Solomon Islands next month are Territorial soldiers. It is a mix unseen since World War II, and is being seized on by some as a sign of how stretched the full-time personnel are.

But the Government insists it is a vote of confidence in the reservists rather than a consequence of a lack of full-time soldiers. "If we didn't have confidence [in the reservists], then there would be no difficulty to find regular forces to send up there," Defence Minister Phil Goff said.

With the host of commitments around the world now soaking up Kiwi troops, critics are not so sure.

National Party defence spokesman Murray McCully said the make-up of the Solomons group sent a strong message. "The Government has made a good deal out of the money spent on [military] hardware, but the message that comes through ... is that there has been a failure to match that with investment in human resources."

Mr Goff argued that $4.6 billion over 10 years had been committed to recruiting and retaining defence personnel, and it was bearing fruit.

Total personnel numbers had increased by about 600 last year, more than planned.

Figures obtained by the Herald show the total Defence Force size has plunged from 20,165 in July 1991 to just 13,419 in July this year. Mr Goff wants to see an increase of up to 15 per cent in personnel over 10 years.

The annual attrition rate for the Defence Forces stands at 13.45 per cent, but Mr Goff said this too was on the improve.

New Zealand First MP Ron Mark, a former Army officer, holds the Territorials in high regard but said the Government was not doing enough to recruit and retain defence personnel.

The challenge was keeping up with international commitments and being able to respond to an emergency request. "We have gotten away with tasks over the last few years because people have appropriately asked us what we might be able to provide should we be asked, and then asked us for that."

Stanley Newman, head of the Defence Association, a lobby group, said the Army could boast only two full-strength companies of soldiers when it should have four.

Many Army troops were committed to training with the new Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs), leaving a depleted number to fulfil the growing number of international commitments.

"We understand one reason retention is so disappointing is that blokes feel they are not getting anywhere. When they come back [to New Zealand] to go through cycles of training to maintain skills they are suddenly called off to do another peace-keeping job somewhere else."

Pay was also a problem, when so many other professions were paid far better. Security jobs and other defence forces around the world presented an attractive option for highly skilled Kiwi personnel, Mr Newman said.

Mr Goff said the Government could not hope to compete with the money offered by security services around the world, but had made four "salary adjustments" in recent years to improve the situation. No further pay increases were being considered.

Mr Newman said the upside of sending a group to the Solomons comprised mostly of reservists was that, if successful, it would give the Defence Forces "a lifeline to clutch on to".

"If we didn't have [the reservists], I would be interested to know where we would find [the troops]."

For their part, the Territorials are just happy to get an opportunity to prove themselves.

Russell Keatley, who heads the South Island Territorial regiment that most of the Solomons-bound troops are drawn from, said the advent of an overseas force comprised largely of reservists was a natural progression for New Zealand.

"It shows a lot of confidence in the reserve by the hierarchy in the Army. But we are just mirroring what is happening in the rest of the world."