Navy frigate undertaking diplomacy in Asia
The Navy frigate HMNZS TE MANA is spending a month undertaking activities in support of defence diplomacy in South East and North East Asia.
After participating in Exercise BERSAMA SHIELD—a Five Power Defence Arrangements exercise also involving Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom and based out of Singapore—TE MANA moved on to visit ports in Vietnam, China, Republic of Korea, Japan and Guam. The port visits are part of a long-standing programme of defence diplomacy in the region.
In the waters around Guam TE MANA will take part in activities with the US Navy and will dock at the US Navy facility there. The ship’s docking there flows from the announcement by the former US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta during his visit to New Zealand in September 2012 authorising RNZN ships to visit US Navy facilities subject to a case-by-case waiver.
TE MANA returns to New Zealand in June.
Photo: TE MANA berthing in Shanghai on 9 May.
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HMNZS TE MANA to conduct anti-piracy patrols from November
Defence Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman has announced the deployment of the frigate HMNZS TE MANA to the Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman late this year to assist the international anti-piracy patrols there.
“TE MANA will join the Combined Maritime Force (CMF), which is the multinational task group designed to combat piracy in the region,” said Dr Coleman.
“The frigate will be part of the maritime security taskforce for three months from November this year, after having a work-up period in Australia.
“A New Zealand Defence Force P-3K2 Orion maritime patrol aircraft will deploy with the CMF for three months from mid-2014.”
Read the Minister's full announcement.
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Important Information on Ballot Allocation for Gallipoli 2015
On 25 April 2015 we commemorate the centenary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli in Turkey. The Minister of Veterans' Affairs has announced the ballot allocation for the 2000 New Zealand attendance passes:
- 10 pc of places by ballot specifically to direct descendants of Gallipoli veterans.
- 10 pc of places by ballot specifically to veterans of all conflicts.
- 75 pc of places by ballot to all New Zealanders
- 5 pc of places (100 places in total) reserved for allocation by the Government to special groups.
For detail go here.
CPO Teresa Ikenasio has been promoted to Warrant Officer, the first woman in the medical trade to attain Warrant Officer rank in the Royal New Zealand Navy.
“It’s an honour to be recognised with promotion to Warrant Officer,” she says. “I hadn’t anticipated making it that far when I joined. It’s also a nice step for the Medical trade to have a female Warrant Officer.”
Photo: WO Ikenasio gets her new rank slides from her husband, CPO Rodney Ikenasio and WO Lynette Bokany, the first woman Command Warrant Officer.
River Plate legend celebrates 97th birthday in his namesake galley
The legendary Vince (Cyclone) McGlone (pictured here with Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Jack Steer) celebrated his 97th birthday at the Vince McGlone Galley at Devonport Naval Base on 28 March.
Vince is the oldest surviving veteran of the 1939 Battle of the River Plate, having been a seaman on HMS ACHILLES in the first major naval engagement of WWII, which saw the sinking of the German pocket battleship GRAF SPEE.
Vince is the face of the Navy’s current television recruitment commercial. You can view the commercial on YouTube here.