Small But Mighty? New Zealand Ups Afghan Commitment...By Three

In the wake of US calls for NATO allies to increase their deployments to Afghanistan, New Zealand has done just that - increasing its current commitment by 3 troops.

The addition will bring the number of New Zealand troops stationed in Afghanistan to thirteen.

That might seem insignificant compared with US plans to send 4000 troops to add to the current 8400 already stationed in Afghan, but the country will argue that every little helps.

The country’s Defence Minister said in a statement:

 “New Zealand will continue to stand alongside our partners in supporting stability in Afghanistan and countering the threat of international terrorism."

When you take a look at New Zealand’s military statistics, it’s not hard to see why the number is so small:

New Zealand Stats:

Defence Budget: $1.8bn USD

Total Naval Assets: 11

Total Aircraft: 48

Total Population: 4,474,549

Active Military Personnel: 9000

UK Stats:

Defence Budget: $45.7bn USD

Total Naval Assets: 76

Total Aircraft: 856

Total Population: 64,430,428

Active Military Personnel: 151,175

Despite their tiny size, the New Zealand military are currently deployed in a range of locations around the globe:

Afghanistan

New Zealand Defence Forces (NZDF) have been in Afghanistan since 2003. Although the NZ Provincial Reconstruction Team (NZ PRT) closed in April 2013, there are still NZ Army personnel in mentoring roles at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy.

Egypt

There are 28 NZDF personnel in Sinai, Egypt as part of the New Zealand Contingent Multinational Force and Observers. They are stationed there to supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egypt-Israel Treaty of Peace.

Iraq

NZDF personnel are currently deployed to Iraq and working alongside the Australian Defence Force as part of a Building Partner Capability (BPC) mission. There are 112 of them there.

Middle East

There are currently eight NZDF personnel serving as part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation in the Middle East.

South Sudan

The NZDF has three personnel working in South Sudan as part of United Nations Mission in the world’s newest country, with at least one person usually being from the NZ Army.

South Korea

There are four NZDF personnel involved with the United Nations Military Command Armistice Commission in South Korea, monitoring the compliance of the Armistice Agreement between North and South Korea. Usually one or two of the NZDF team are from the NZ Army.

Antarctica

Each year Antarctica New Zealand requests New Zealand Defence Force support for the forthcoming Antarctic summer season.