KEY POINTS:
A New Zealand soldier, who shot himself and a colleague when his rifle accidentally discharged in Afghanistan in October, will face charges over the incident, the Defence Force has confirmed.
The soldier was shot in the leg, while a second soldier was hit in the arm and side when the gun went off inside the Humvee vehicle they were travelling in.
Both soldiers are in New Zealand, one back doing light duties and the other still recovering.
Major-General Rhys Jones, commander joint forces New Zealand, today confirmed the discharge had not been a mechanical failure and said the man would be charged over failing to meet safety procedures.
It was not yet decided exactly what charge or charges he would face, and the inquiry into the incident was continuing, he said.
If the soldier was found to be at fault, he would face a fine and disciplinary measures.
Major Gen Jones was speaking at a briefing on troops posted overseas today, outlining activities and operations they were involved in.
The NZDF faced a challenging year in 2008 as an "unstable world" put pressure on the organisation's resources.
Staff retention continued to be an issue, particularly in technical areas, he said.
New Zealand staff deployed overseas comprised eight in the Middle East; 26 on the Sinai Peninsula; 10 in southern Lebanon; 117 in Afghanistan; one in Iraq; one in Kosovo; three in Sudan; three in South Korea; 183 in Timor-Leste; 44 in the Solomons; and seven in Antarctica.
In one of New Zealand's largest deployments, Afghanistan, 107 people working in the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamyan province were continuing to have an impact.
Projects had included the construction of 20 new village wells; the repair of five bridges; the completion and opening of five police stations; the construction of a high school and supply of equipment to hospitals.
However, despite positive support from the local population, the level of Taleban activity in the area was increasing, he said.
In southern Lebanon a 10-person battlefield clearance team has been working since February 2006 to assist with the clearance of unexploded ordinances left over from the 30-day war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Maj Gen Jones said since its arrival, the team had located and destroyed 1718 explosive remnants of war of various types. Of those, 1634 were cluster bombs.
The team had cleared 300,000 sq m of land, returning 13 sites to the Lebanese people, including one complete township.
Although the work was dangerous, the level of professionalism within the New Zealand team was such the NZDF was confident they would remain safe.
In the Solomons, recent political instability had increased the level of threat, although Maj Gen Jones said the voting out of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare boded well for a "positive and cooperative future" with the Solomon Islands government.
He expected 2008 would be busy with continued pressure on the Defence Force resources.
"It's not a stable world at the moment," he said.
Retention of staff into middle and senior ranks was an ongoing issue throughout the army, navy and air force.
Once people had finished training, and one or two overseas postings, they often got itchy feet, or wanted to have a family and found the NZDF life incompatible with that.
NZDF was exploring ways of tackling the problem, including looking at increasing pay rates, particularly for technical staff, he said.
Of the 28 people supporting the management of Antarctica, 21 were based in Christchurch and seven on the ice. The number of people actually on the white continent would be increased in the new year with a new deployment including 10 engineers who would construct new buildings, and repair older structures.
Maj Gen Jones said NZDF would watch the actions of Japanese whaling ships heading into the southern oceans, in the same way it always monitored activities in the area.
Japan's whaling fleet plans to hunt 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and, for the first time in 40 years, 50 humpback whales over the Antarctic summer.
The fleet is already on its way south followed by anti-whaling activists.
- NZPA
