PERSONNEL safety was among the topics of discussion at the biennial
Britain/Australia/New Zealand (BRITANZ) discussions between the
chiefs of the Australian, New Zealand and UK defence forces held
in Canberra recently.
UK Chief of Defence Staff General Michael Walker, New Zealand
CDF Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson and Australian CDF General Peter
Cosgrove discussed global and regional security issues, defence
cooperation programs and the Five Power Defence Arrangement.
GEN Cosgrove said although all of the discussions had been targeted
at understanding each other’s positions more clearly, sharing
insights to improve operational effectiveness and keeping personnel
safer, the effects of the recent meetings would not be seen at
ground level in the short term.
“There’s probably not something that personnel will see in the
next five minutes, but there is an undoubted spin-off for our
people to operate more effectively and safer,” GEN Cosgrove said.
He said the shared origins of Australia, New Zealand and Britain
made close military alliance almost a forgone conclusion.
“It’s easy to describe the traditional links, but the contemporary
links have added a dynamism to the relationship and have invigorated
it, because global terrorism affects us all,” he said.
“We’ve found ourselves operating in similar environmental and
adversary threats in the same countries a long way from home,
which means that we’ve needed to talk professionally and not just
reflect on warm bonds from times past.”
AIRMSHL Ferguson said high-level meetings such as BRITANZ paid
off when Defence personnel from the three nations worked together,
as occurred on a number of recent operations and exercises, such
as Exercise Bersama Lima.
“New Zealand has been engaged seamlessly with Australia in the
Solomon Islands with RAMSI,” he said.
“We would not have been able to operate in Iraq had it not been
for our ability to integrate immediately and seamlessly with the
British forces.”
GEN Walker said the ease with which the three nations could operate
together sprang from their similar heritage.
“We have an interoperability of the mind and cultural ways of
doing things in military terms that not many other armies do,”
he said.
