Senior Sergeant Richard McPhail, Gore, QSM, for services to the New Zealand Police and the community
Senior Sergeant Richard McPhail was deployed in 2011 to the Christchurch earthquake operation as the Commander of the mortuary phase. He was responsible for establishing, mobilising and managing the mortuary requirements following the earthquake. He was appointed as the Officer in Charge of the Southland Police Search and Rescue Squad in 1999. In 2003 he was selected as a member of the New Zealand Police National Disaster Victim Identification Unit. He has been deployed internationally as a Disaster Victim Identification Unit member in Phuket, Thailand, the Solomon Islands and Australia. Senior Sergeant McPhail has demonstrated his high standards of leadership, composure and professionalism in very difficult circumstances at both a national and international level. He has received various awards, including the New Zealand Operational Medal in 2006 and the New Zealand Special Service Medal in 2005.