Today’s partnerships underpin tomorrow’s success
In what is an increasingly competitive and strategic environment it’s more important than ever to be in close contact with your friends, partners and allies. Chief of Army Major General Rose King shares her thoughts following a series of recent Army talks
07 March, 2025
Last month I had the privilege of catching up with a number of Canadian Army and other nations’ officials as we attended and supported some of our incredible competitors, including former and current veterans, at the Invictus Games held in Vancouver and Whistler.
Our alignment with Canada, as one of our closest and valued Five Eyes partners alongside Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, is hugely significant for Ngāti Tūmatauenga, the New Zealand Army.
The Five Eyes partnership underpins our broader relationship and reaffirms our shared commitment to defence, security and intelligence as we strive to maintain the international rules-bases system.
There is no denying that today’s global environment has put even more emphasis on the need for us to be ready to respond to whatever the New Zealand Government requests of us.
Looking for ways to not only expand and modernise our armies, but to maximise the return on investment for the Government is an ever-prescient priority, and one that is shared by our partners.
In 2025, the old way of doing things is no longer fit for purpose.
Armies around the world, Ngāti Tūmatauenga included, are looking for ways to evolve and adapt to not just meet the demands of the current environment, but the future fight too. One key part of that is experimentation.
The NZ Army currently has around 30 personnel deployed to California as part of Project Convergence, a large scale multi-national experimental exercise led by the United States and in conjunction with our Five Eyes partners and other likeminded nations.
This is an opportunity for us to be at the cutting-edge of military advancement and observe the new trends in technology and equipment, in order to bring those ideas back home to better serve our people. It’s also a chance for our highly experienced people to share the Kiwi way of working and how we approach the ever-evolving landscape. Our input on that stage is respected and valued.
82nd Airborne Division Paratroopers stack behind a wall outside a Military Operations on Urban Terrain village as part of an urban assault experiment conducted by the 82nd Airborne and Joint Forces during Project Convergence - Capstone 4 at Fort Irwin, Ca
U.S. Army Soldiers with Maneuver Center of Excellence Experimental Company, 1st Battalion, 29 Infantry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade, conduct an urban assault during Human Machine Integration experiments in a training environment - Project Convergence
Conflicts in Europe and the Middle East have shown that warfare’s characteristics have fundamentally shifted. These flashpoints have led to the rapid experimentation and introduction of advanced technologies, including non-kinetic capabilities, which are transforming how soldiers deliver military effects within the land domain.
This forms part of regular and key discussions I am having with our partners around the world.
In the time I spent with Lieutenant-General Michael Wright (Commander of the Canadian Army) I also had the chance to both share some of our lessons learned and the recent challenges we have faced with regards to retention and attrition, as well as hear how the Canadian Army has approached similar issues.
Having the opportunity to learn from and work alongside our trusted partners in this way carries huge benefit for us, particularly as a comparatively-speaking, smaller nation and force.
However, as our partners and ally would attest to, our strength is not in our numbers, but rather our highly-respected and incredibly well-trained people.
I look forward to connecting with our partners again at California in the coming weeks, where our soldiers and personnel will be hard at work to set up us for future success.