Thomas Allen

Warrant Officer Thomas Allen, of Porirua, received the Distinguished Service Decoration for services to the New Zealand Defence Force.  Since being made an Additional Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1998, Warrant Officer Allen has continued to contribute to the Royal New Zealand Navy as an electronic warfare specialist.  He has completed four operational deployments under the Operation Enduring Freedom umbrella.  He has been cited in several Allied reports for his outstanding impact in getting the most out of intelligence systems for coalition operational requirements.  The level of respect with which he is held by the Allied forces, in particular those of the United States, has been such that he has been specifically requested on a number of occasions because of his understanding of the operational support required in a military operations environment.  Warrant Officer Allen's contribution to the Allied intelligence cause has been significant in a highly specialised and technically challenging discipline.