Bryce Gurney
Major Bryce Gurney, of Upper Hutt, received the Distinguished Service Decoration for services to the New Zealand Defence Force. Major Gurney was deployed to Afghanistan from April to October 2008 with the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Bamian Province. He served as head of the Development Group, responsible for the implementation of the development programme, including the management of funding provided by New Zealand Aid and the United States Commanders Emergency Response Programme. He undertook a complete review of the funding and delivery cycle of the New Zealand Aid programmes. As a result of this funding from the United States Commanders Emergency Response Programme received a significant boost, increasing from US$2 million to more than US$20 million. Major Gurney was responsible for the management of more than 100 projects, ranging from digging wells for water supply to major road construction projects spread over a large and varied geographical area.