NZ Hosts 2009 ABCA Information Team Reserve Conference

By Maj Rob Te Moana

New Zealand hosted the annual ABCA Reserve Information Team Conference in Wellington recently.

It was attended by Chiefs and Directors of respective ABCA nations Reserve Forces, and delegates from each of the ABCA member nations discussed how to achieve a new level of interoperability between countries. 

The conference was opened with an address by the Associate Minister of Defence, Heather Roy.

The focus of the conference was to bring the heads of each nation’s reserve force together to share and discuss current issues of mutual concern, what role reservists were playing in their respective countries and the direction they were seen to be heading in.

Discussions throughout the week reinforced that, although each nation had a different reservist system in place, they shared many fundamental issues.
 Topics such as recruitment, retention, employer support and the employment of reserves featured prominently, as did training and commitment requirements.

“This year I wanted to ensure that my colleagues leave the conference with information on how to maximise the potential of each of our Reserve Forces through the exchange of information,” said Brigadier Ants Howie, Director Army Reserve and host of the conference.

 “We achieved this, and the conference also gave my colleagues a much better understanding of each nation’s Reserve Forces. This was particularly useful at a time of a global recession where nations are now looking at ways to improve efficiencies and fully maximise the benefits of Reserve Forces in order to meet operational demands.

 “We intend to develop an ABCA document about the lessons learned from deploying Reserve Forces on operations which can inform future planning.”

The international delegates also attended the (NZ) Chief of Army’s conference in Palmerston North and learned about the future challenges that member nation armies will face towards 2025 and how the NZ Army plans to face those challenges.

Note:

ABCA is the name of the American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Armies’ Programme.  It began in 1947 between the USA, UK and Canada.  Australia joined in 1963 and New Zealand became a full member in 2006.  The aim of ABCA is to optimise interoperability, standardise capabilities and enhance mutual understanding of ABCA Armies in coalition operations. It is focused on delivering products that will close interoperability gaps between the participating nations. The programme does this through meetings, VTC, email and in some cases exercises and seminars.  The program is directed by an Executive Council and managed by a permanent office in the USA.