The Army's newly appointed Chief, Major General Tim Keating stressed the importance of leading from the front when he took over from his predecessor Lieutenant General Rhys Jones at a ceremony at Trentham Camp on Tuesday 15 February.
"We have to continue to grow and develop as an Army to meet the intent of our Government and to continue to add a high level of value to our nation. We must become an Army that has an almost singular focus on improving our operational capability, particularly the capability that we are going to deploy overseas.
"We must be always capable of deploying, and build on our ability to be ready for the next operation - the one that we don't yet know about. We must be armed, equipped, trained and led by the best that New Zealand has to offer. Everything we do and our entire focus must be on winning - we have to want to win with a passion in our training so that it extends into our operational deployments."
Leadership is about service to those who are being led rather than a focus on leaders themselves, he said. "The leadership within our Army is obvious when I see the vast array of operational service here in front of me," said MAJGEN Keating as he surveyed his Guard of Honour. "It is exemplified by those who have deployed and know the sort of leaderships skills required there."
LTGEN Jones, now Chief of Defence Force, promoted his successor to the rank of Major-General immediately before the handover parade. He presented him with the Chief of Army's ceremonial sword, and the Chief of Army's korowai.
"Tim Keating is the first officer cadet whose initial training occurred in New Zealand to reach the rank of Major General," said LTGEN Jones. "That is a symbol of us as a nation reaching maturity with its Army. MAJGEN Keating is confident, competent and will be a great leader of the Army at a time of great pressure and immense change, and at a time when we have to squeeze the most out of every man, woman, and dollar that we have, and every activity we undertake."
NZDF
