NZDF Personnel Named in Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2017
Five New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel have been named in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours List today.
The recipients are:
To receive the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD):
- Staff Sergeant Tina Kathleen Grant, RNZAMC
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force - Brigadier Anthony Bryan (Ants) Howie, ONZM
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force - Squadron Leader Nicholas Michael Pedley, RNZAF
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force - Major Charmaine Maurita Tate, RNZAMC
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force - Major Andrew James Thornton, RNZALR
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force
The New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD) recognises distinguished military service by regular, territorial and reserve members of the New Zealand Defence Force, including command and leadership and service in an operational environment, or in support of operations.
CITATIONS
Staff Sergeant Tina Kathleen Grant , RNZAMC
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force
Staff Sergeant Tina Grant is the New Zealand Army’s liaison for families that have lost family members while in the service of the New Zealand Defence Force, whether it be on operations or in New Zealand.
Staff Sergeant Grant has been a strong advocate for the provision of enduring care by the New Zealand Defence Force for affected families. Following the loss of her husband on operations in 2011 she identified shortcomings in post-casualty support and duty of care by the Army and wider Defence Force. She identified a range of practical services typical of what affected parties could be required to navigate through in times of grief, loss and trauma, and identified simple processes and solutions. In 2012 she was appointed to the newly created function of Army Liaison Officer and primary point of contact for all Army families that have lost family members while in service. She has developed her role further by also reaching out to former Army families who lost members while they were in the service of the Defence Force. She performs voluntary work as an ex-offico member of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association, and the Fallen Hero’s Trust. Staff Sergeant Grant has contributed to wider NZDF initiatives now underpinning a cohesive framework of support for Regulars, Reserves, Civilians, Veterans and their families.
Brigadier Anthony Bryan (Ants) Howie, ONZM
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force
Brigadier Ants Howie was seconded from September 2011 as the Senior Military Adviser to the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), and was subsequently appointed as the Senior Military Adviser to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) until 2016.
He was a member of the Defence Sector Reform Unit, which formed part of the larger Rule of Law and Security Institutions Group for UNSOM. He built confidence and interacted regularly with the main supporters of security sector reform in Somalia, namely the USA, UK, EU, UAE, Turkey, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and with the African Union Peace and Support Commission in Addis Ababa. His success in this role led to him being assigned by the UN to take charge of an expanded Defence Sector Reform Unit. As co-chair of the Defence Working Group, he successfully brought all Somali and international partners together to develop and agree to a single plan to support the Somali National Army and its joint operations with AMISOM against Muslim extremists. Brigadier Howie’s work in the areas of defence reform, strategy development and force generation have contributed significantly to the peace and security of the region.
Squadron Leader Nicholas Michael Pedley, RNZAF
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force
Squadron Leader Nicholas Pedley has undertaken 50 years of service in the Royal Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force as a military pilot, flying instructor and instructor trainer. He began his flying career in 1966 and flew operationally with the Royal Air Force in a range of aircraft.
In the late 1970s he qualified as a Pilot Instructor, Instrument Rating Examiner and as one of the few instructors qualified to train other pilot instructors. He joined the RNZAF in 1986 to fly with №14 Squadron, and was its commanding officer from 1989 to 1992. After a period as a staff officer, he resumed flying duties in 1999 as an instructor at the Pilot Training Squadron and Central Flying School. In addition to his flying duties he was also a member of the Red Checkers display team. In 2014 he was one of the first RNZAF pilots to complete a conversion course to the new T-6C Texan trainer. He has performed the demanding role of instructing instructors for more than 30 years, with pilots trained or influenced by Squadron Leader Pedley going on to conduct military operations and occupy positions at the highest leadership levels of the Royal New Zealand Air Force and in the wider aviation industry.
Major Charmaine Maurita Tate, RNZAMC
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force
Major Charmaine Tate was first operationally deployed as a Medical Officer to East Timor in 2002 and was the Regimental Medical Officer for 1NZSAS Regiment from 2004 until 2013.
As Regimental Medical Officer she deployed on several occasions to Afghanistan, was a member of the New Zealand medical team in Sumatra following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and has also been involved with New Zealand Search and Rescue. Following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake she commanded Urban Search and Rescue medical teams and later that same year was sent to assist in Japan following the major earthquake and tsunami in March. She has been dedicated to supporting Defence Force personnel and their families, especially those in the Special Forces community suffering from deployment-related illnesses and often long after they have left military service. Much of her medical development and training has been completed outside the Defence Force and at a personal cost and she has undertaken professional military training and education not usually associated with specialist officers in order to provide a military context for her professional medical duties. Major Tate has gone beyond the normal requirements and expectations of the New Zealand Defence Force in performance of her medical duties.
Major Andrew James Thornton, RNZALR
For services to the New Zealand Defence Force
Major Andrew Thornton served as a Military Liaison Officer with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) from September 2015 to March 2016, and was also appointed Operations Officer in Malakal.
During his deployment, 18 UNMISS personnel and 13 logistics contractors on a barge travelling along the Nile were taken hostage by a large South Sudanese rebel group and a team was sent to negotiate their release. Negotiations were conducted in the presence of heavily armed soldiers, and the rebels threatened to shoot down any helicopter that came too close to the site of the negotiations without their clearance. At the conclusion of negotiations an anti-aircraft machine gun fired several rounds at the helicopter sent to evacuate the hostages. Major Thornton was a lead planner for the recovery operation and co-ordinated the helicopter evacuation. He personally attended the negotiation site and utilised his previous personal relationships with the rebel leadership to support the United Nations negotiators in securing the release of the hostages. Major Thornton’s leadership and local knowledge were key to the success of the recovery operation, particularly given the limited capacity of local government agencies to execute such an operation, and the mistrust that existed between the South Sudanese parties involved and the United Nations.
