Public servants have been told to cut back on expenses after some $875,000 was spent by chief executives between July 2008 and June 2010.

The body of Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell and his two injured colleagues have been moved to Bagram airbase and will be evacuated to NZ.

Tim O'Donnell grew up dreaming of being a soldier. He first revealed his military aspirations aged 4, in his grandmother's arms. She encouraged him by giving him an Army helmet.

The attack in which Lieutenant Timothy O'Donnell died yesterday was in a particularly troubled part of Afghanistan, where the mountainous terrain lends itself to ambushes by Taleban insurgents and criminals.

Labour leader Phil Goff knows the pain of the grieving O'Donnell family - his nephew was killed in Afghanistan three years ago.

The New Zealand soldier killed in Afghanistan overnight was a decorated officer who had been in the army for five years.

New Zealand's first combat death in Afghanistan is not a reason to withdraw our troops from the country, Prime Minister John Key says.

Maggie Tait, who visited Bamiyan in May, reflects on life on the New Zealand base there in the wake of its first combat death.

A New Zealand soldier has been killed and two others injured in an attack on a routine patrol in Afghanistan, the Defence Force announced today. A local interpreter with the patrol was also injured during the attack.

Thirty-four soldiers from just one army base have faced drinking-related court charges in the first six months of this year.

Wayne Mapp has confirmed the WikiLeaks report of a missile threat faced by an RNZAF Hercules in Afghanistan last year.

Poor policy and a culture of not asking questions led to senior Defence Force staff double-dipping on allowances, a report has found.

The Auditor-General Lyn Provost has questioned the values within the New Zealand Defence Force which allowed a belief to develop that any officer could be ordered to commit an unlawful act.