Commander Jason Haggitt, Royal New Zealand Navy, of Stanley Point
Commander Jason Haggitt received the Distinguished Service Decoration for services to the New Zealand Defence Force. Commander Haggitt has gained 21 years of rotary wing military flying experience since he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1988. During an exchange posting with the Royal Navy he led demanding deployments to Bosnia and Belize and in 2000 led two operational deployments to Timor Leste as Commanding Officer of No.3 Squadron Detachment. He later transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy and was posted to HMNZS Te Kaha where he was involved in the first operational deployment of Seasprite helicopters, when the ship supported Operation Enduring Freedom in the Gulf of Oman. In 2009, Commander Haggitt led a Seasprite flight as part of the New Zealand Defence Force support to the Samoa and Tonga tsunami relief operations.