Chief Of Army - Change Of Command

Speech to Chief of Army Change of Command Ceremony and Farewell to Major General Louis Gardiner ONZM; Waiouru Military Camp, Waiouru; Thursday, April 30 2009.

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

It is my great pleasure to participate in today's ceremony as the representative of the New Zealand Government.  We have welcomed the new Chief of Army, Major General Rhys Jones, and I look forward to continuing the working relationship we developed in his position as Joint Force Commander.

However, it is with both pleasure and sadness that I join with you all to farewell the outgoing Chief of Army.

Time - so they say - goes by faster as you get older.

I first met General Lou three years ago.  It was here at Rongomaraeroa o Nga Hau e Wha, the New Zealand Army Marae.  I was a recruit on basic training.  He was the newly chosen rangatira of Ngati Tumatauenga.

I remember the same man I see now: tall, smiling and self-effacing; projecting warmth that few associate with the profession of arms.

It is with both pleasure and sadness that I join with you all to farewell our Chief of Army.

Throughout history there have always been soldiers.  However, there are few warriors.  The soldiers are obvious by their uniforms and badges.  The latter are recognisable by their spirit - by their personal presence.  Soldiers are very good at knowing who they will trust their lives and the lives of their children to.  They entrust them to the warriors.

General Lou - from my first impressions as a recruit to getting to know you better as Minister - I have never doubted that I would be happy to go to war with you and equally confident that you would care for the lives of other Kiwis whose lives were entrusted to you.

You took the rudder of this waka in troubled waters.

The Army was having ongoing difficulty recruiting and retaining soldiers and was under great duress meeting the demands of politicians both operationally and financially.  Instead of fighting the problem - you embraced it.  You danced with it.

You took the toughest course that any Chief can take in a culture that stands for decisive action.
 
You said: "Steady!  I have the rudder and we will hold our heading and do the basics well."

And you have achieved that without doubt.  The New Zealand Army is the better for your leadership, your wisdom and your patience.  It is also the better for the many systems you have left in place in order to pass those values on to younger generations of military leaders.

Your surname comes from the Saxon word 'Gar' - meaning a weapon. You began your military career in the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps.  Your corps motto then was "To the Warrior - His Arms."

I know that your greatest weapon is your mind - hence the nature of my presentation to you earlier today.

I will miss our chats, both around Parliament and also on the many visits we participated in together.  Go well, departing rangatira of Ngati Tu.  I wish you, your wife Judith, and your three children - Matthew, Erin and Benjamin - many sunrises together.

Sua Tela Tonanti: To the Warrior - His Arms.

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.