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HISTORY OF SENIOR NCOs AND EQUIVALENT IN THE ARMED
FORCES OF NZ
Early
years
During
the early Colonial period before 1900 a number
of irregular units were formed by the Colonial
authorities to provide security and policing
functions for the various regions and towns.
These units were generally known as ‘Militias’
and consisted of civilian volunteers who
‘Drilled’ or trained at the weekends and were
available on call-out of a formed body or armed
men when needed.
The New
Zealand Army (Maori) Ngati Tumatauenga,
“Tribe of the God of War” is the land
component of the New Zealand Defence Force.
These New Zealand Forces served with distinction
in wars from the early days – South Africa 1899
– 1902 was the first. A number of Senior NCOs
were among those who served with distinction.
Territorials
In the
years leading up to World War one, the Colonial
forces were re-organised and regulated by the
newly formed General Staff in Wellington, and
formed into a new body known as the “Territorial
Force” (TF) The force was modelled on the
British Territorial Army and through it still
consisted of civilian volunteers, operated on
more standardised training principles than the
militias. This consisted of one night a week,
one weekend a month and two weeks full time a
year.
World
War 1
Thanks
to the work of men such as Colonel Malone and
the British General Godley, New Zealand entered
World War One with the ability to place a
complete and well equipped force into the field.
It was the Territorial's that provided the
various battalions for the New Zealand
Expeditionary Force (NZEF) as the country had no
Regular (full time) Battalions.
It was
the survivors of these initial contingents, men
who had fought their way through the disaster at
Gallipoli, that came the experienced Officers
and Senior NCOs who subsequently led the New
Zealand Division through the bloody fighting of
the Western Front and eventually, to the borders
of Germany as the allied armies finally broke
the stalemate of trench warfare.
World
War 11
In 1939
the Territorial Force was again called upon to
provide the nucleus of an expanded wartime Army.
This was the 2nd New Zealand
Expeditionary Force (2nd NZEF) the
bulk of whose Officers and Senior NCOs were from
the pre-war Territorials.
Once
again it was the pre-war Territorial Officers
and Snr NCOs from which the 2nd NZEF
drew its strength, and it was those men who led
and commanded the various units of the 2nd
New Zealand Division through the bloody setbacks
at Greece and Crete and onward to victory in the
Western Desert and the later Italian Campaign
Senior NCO s Function
The Snr
NCOs and equivalent are often referred to as the
“Backbone” of the armed services. They are the
primary and most visible leaders for most
military personnel. Additionally, they are the
leaders primarily responsible for executing a
military organisations mission and for training
military personnel, so they are prepared to
execute their missions. NCO training and
education typically includes leadership and
management as well as service –specific and
combat training.
Senior
NCOs are considered the primary link between
enlisted personnel and the Commissioned Officers
in a military organisation. Their advice and
guidance is particularly important to Junior
Commissioned Officers, who begin their careers
in a position of authority but generally lack
practical experience
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