Commander Andrew McMillan, Royal New Zealand Navy, of Narrow Neck
Commander Andrew McMillan received the Distinguished Service Decoration for services to the New Zealand Defence Force. Commander McMillan, then a Lieutenant Commander, served as Commanding Officer of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s Operational Diving Team from March 2008 to January 2010. In November 2008 he led his team to recover much of the wreckage of a helicopter which had crashed into Lake Wanaka, as well as the body of the pilot. In August 2009, in response to a request from the Tongan Government, he led his team to search for and successfully locate the sunken ferry Princess Ashika. The nature of this operation and the sensitivities involved, given the significant loss of life, required considerable diplomacy and tact in meeting both national and family expectations. In October 2009 he and his team responded to another short notice call-out to repair a fresh water pipeline in Samoa, which had been damaged as a result of the tsunami. This was followed by the sad task of searching for bodies in the lagoons. Commander McMillan displayed a high degree of professionalism in successfully completing these missions.