Defence force review - thoughts?

Govt accused of 'Pollyanna view' of Defence Force
Thursday, 04 September 2008

Defence Minister Phil Goff is being accused of taking a Pollyanna view of the state of the military after a Defence Report said it was finding it difficult to sail, the airforce to fly and the army would struggle to take part in combat.

The report painted a picture of defence forces hamstrung by a lack of staff and poor equipment.

Reacting to it, Mr Goff said forces worldwide faced a major challenge to attract and retain staff, New Zealand was no different.

The total number of personnel in the defence forces was at its highest level in seven years, he said.

Since 2005 the Government had committed $4.6 billion in operational funding to develop capability.

It had also injected $4b since 2002 to replace outdated equipment in all three arms of the NZDF.

National's defence spokesman Wayne Mapp said he was astonished Mr Goff had stated the defence force was the best equipped ever.

"Phil Goff needs to take the rose-tinted glasses off," Dr Mapp said

In the report, the army said while land forces were "partially" prepared for low level conflicts, the army was not equipped to meet higher threat situations – "nevertheless, a company group response was provided for Afghanistan," it noted.

"Deficiencies in command and control, firepower, and compatible protection and mobility for combat service support elements would impair effectiveness in conventional military operations, and the more challenging peace support operations," the report said.

The airforce had "insufficient personnel" to meet air and ground crew levels and it was only "partially prepared" for complex maritime air operations.

Doesn't sound great but equally doesn't sound horrifically different to any other recent view of our defence capability!

Would rather have the summary of the report than the media's take on it of course...