Captain Brendon Clark, DSD, for services to the New Zealand Defence Force
Captain Brendon Clark has served with the Royal New Zealand Navy since 1992 and trained as a Seaman Officer, serving operationally on a range of warships and in staff positions across the New Zealand Defence Force.In July 2021, Captain Clark was deployed to Bahrain as Commander of the Combined Task Force 150 (CTF150), which operates under the umbrella of the United States Naval Command, uniting 34 nations to conduct Maritime Security Operations in the Middle East Region. At a lower rank than is normally set for the role, he commanded CTF150 for a period of six months, contributing to a record-breaking year of drug seizures in the Middle East region. He was fundamental in developing the capacity and capability of numerous regional countries through a demanding and varied leadership engagement programme. Captain Clark’s pragmatic approach impacted on the primary funding streams of terrorist organisations with 14 successful interdictions, netting 2,486kg of heroin, 11,467kg of hashish, 1,578kg of methamphetamine and 16kg of Captagon pills, which was a first for the Combined Maritime Force.