Speech
Officer Cadet School (New Zealand) graduation
To view more images, click here
E nga mana, e nga reo, e kui mā, e koro mā e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Nga rangatira me nga tamatoa a Ngāti Tumatauenga, tēnā koutou. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen warm greetings to you all. I also greet the leaders and soldiers of the New Zealand Army.
I specifically acknowledge: Brigadier Peter Kelly, Acting Chief of Army; Brigadier Mark Wheeler, Land Component Commander; Major General Phan Tien Hac from the Viet Nam People’s Army; and Your Worship Sue Morris, Mayor of the Ruapēhu District.
Thank you for inviting me and Lady Janine to the 2012 graduation and prize giving of the Officer Cadet School of New Zealand. I consider it to be an honour to be the reviewing officer for the 43rd graduating class of a New Zealand Commissioning Course.
As many of you know, this is not the first time I have attended such a ceremony. The first was my own graduation at the Officer Cadet School in Portsea, Australia - exactly 36 years and two days ago - on 10 December 1976. Since then, I have attended these ceremonies many times, including serving as a reviewing officer. However, today is a special occasion for me because it is the first time I have been the reviewing officer of an officer graduation ceremony since being appointed as the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in August last year. Notwithstanding my involvement, I understand how very special this day is for the graduating class. To quote a line from a song by the late Billy T. James – “You’re here at last, you’re finally here at last!”
The event
This graduation parade is an important milestone for you, the 28 members of the graduating class: the 25 New Zealanders, two Australians and single Vietnamese graduate. It is rightly a day of relief and celebration. Relief and celebration because at midnight you will cease to be officer cadets. You will have your “pips” pinned on your uniform by those you have selected, people who have a special relationship to you and who have supported you through your life.
Today marks the end of a year of intensive training that included about 100 days in the field, practicing, testing and perfecting a host of different military skills. In the field you have experienced some of the highs and lows of soldiering: here in Waiouru, in the jungles of Brunei and in the metropolis of Mangakino. That’s where being a soldier and a leader were taught, practiced and reinforced. And there has been intensive academic study as you’ve learnt the essential precepts of the military art, doctrine and command – the knowledge required of officers and leaders.
As your reviewing officer and as the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over New Zealand, I congratulate you all for what you have achieved.
Completing this New Zealand commissioning course is a significant accomplishment. It has required serious determination, applied intellect and proper endeavour. Some who started with you on the course were unable to or not fit enough to complete it. Being fit enough to graduate is not simply a matter of physical capacity. I’m sure there were moments - in the cold night out there in Waiouru or during periods of intense study that you questioned why you were putting yourself through this. Well you have, and you can be proud of that. You can be relieved you are here at last and you can rightly celebrate your achievements.
A commissioned officer
I’ve found that in life and military service it doesn’t pay to dwell too much on the past and what has been. Looking to the future is a better prospect. You cannot change what has happened. You can, however, shape your tomorrow.
Tomorrow you will get an inkling of why you stayed the course and are still here as your new career as a commissioned officer begins. Life will be no easier, in fact it’s about to get harder, but it promises some fantastic opportunities. The most privileged opportunity you will get is that of leading soldiers.
Being a commissioned officer does not make you a leader. Today, I want to challenge you to think about your leadership, what it means to you personally, what it might mean to others and how you can apply the wisdoms gained during your course for your future career and your everyday life.
In due course you will receive a commissioning parchment. For the New Zealand graduates, that document will be signed by me and the Minister of Defence. It will confirm your status as a commissioned officer. I expect that similar documents will be granted to the three overseas graduates.
The wording on your commissioning parchment will describe the special commitment expected of you as a commissioned officer in the Army. Its wording will seem archaic, with uncommon words and phrases such as “well-beloved”, and “we reposing especial trust and confidence in your loyalty, courage and good conduct”. This age-old language, common to commissioning documents throughout the Commonwealth, should not blind you to its combination of fundamental directions, obligations and values.
The commissioning document directs you to follow the lawful commands of superior officers while maintaining, to the best of your abilities, the order and discipline of the men and women under your command. In turn, it also commands them to obey you as their superior officer. It requires you to carefully and diligently discharge your duty and, in return for the trust and confidence that our Sovereign has placed in you as a commissioned officer of the New Zealand Army and Defence Force, to demonstrate loyalty, courage and good conduct. These expectations, and especially courage, are at the essence of war-fighting and the heart of the four values of the New Zealand Defence Force -, comradeship, commitment, integrity and courage.
Be sincere in holding to the values, obligations and directions intrinsic to your commission. I say your commission because once it is awarded it is yours – own it and treasure it. Then, it is for good reason that you should ponder your obligation and the “burden” of command.
You may well learn first-hand the context of those four values soon enough. While professional militaries, like the New Zealand Defence Force, attempt to ensure all those who serve in their name are kept safe, the reality is that military service carries risks of injury and death. All New Zealanders have been again reminded of those risks in 2012 with the deaths of five members of the New Zealand Army in Afghanistan in August. In all, 10 soldiers have died in the last two years attempting to bring peace and stability to that troubled land. Their deaths will continue to cast a grey shadow over the close knit family that is the New Zealand Army for some time.
At this time, I want to acknowledge the family members of the late Lt Tim O’Donnell DSD, who are here today. Lt O’Donnell was a graduate of this school and the first of the 10 fatalities, and I want to thank you - Mark, Maryanne and Anna - for your on-going support for the Memorial Leadership Award that bears Tim’s name.
Ladies and gentlemen of the graduating class, each and every one of those who have died or been injured in Afghanistan, and in every war and conflict, has operated under the orders and instructions of officers. Those officers - men and women like yourselves - primary difference from you is the start date of their commissioned service. Some of those officers are here today to witness your graduation, and like you, every one of them here today shares the achievement of a graduation ceremony.
Leadership
Another point of similarity between those who have graduated and you about to graduate is the opportunity to lead. Being able to order someone to do something simply because you are their senior by rank does not make you a leader. The former United States President General Dwight Eisenhower, who led the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War once quipped that: “You do not lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership.” In other words, convincing people to do things, to follow you comes from respect which is earned, and not given as of right or position.
Each of you on this graduation parade is here because you have demonstrated the potential to be both an officer and a leader. Over the past 12 months you have been given opportunities to practice your leadership, under tuition. Today you are being watched by practiced leaders as you are commissioned as officers. Tomorrow you start being assessed as leaders, not by instructors but by your soldiers – and they are demanding evaluators.
What will make you a “good leader”? Is it the qualities that you exhibit, the values you hold, or is it your actions, intentions and or example you set? If you ask the person standing on your left what qualities they think make a great leader and then ask the person on your right the same question you would probably get a different response, and your own views might also be different. And that is as it should be.
If you ask me what do I think makes a great leader; my view is that leadership is a personal thing, and it’s about the way you perform your role within your team. The knack of leaders who can inspire and motivate is regarded by some as a mystery. We may all know good or bad leaders, but defining leadership and what makes for a good or bad leader has perplexed great minds.
Leadership is less about mystery and more about common-sense and mutual respect. One of the best summaries of the attributes of a leader I have read was in a speech given by a Major C.A. Bach at the graduation ceremony of American officers about to leave for service in Europe during the First World War. In his address, he concluded with three telling statements that go to the heart of leadership, military or otherwise - know your people, know your business, know yourself.
Your greatest resource, whether you are commanding a platoon, a company, a battalion or an army is not the equipment and weaponry you have at your disposal, but the men and women under your command and care. An officer recognises the different strengths, weaknesses and skills that individuals bring to their team, and uses those to lead the team to best advantage. A leader treats the people in the team fairly, both in awarding punishment and in giving praise. A leader looks after his or her people and puts their needs first. Knowing your people is how an officer shows comradeship.
Knowing your business requires you to understand fully your role. To lead the soldiers under your command, you must know your people, your equipment and your mission. In knowing your business, you will have considered all the possible permutations and outcomes of your assignment. You will be able to give the right orders when difficult circumstances arise. If you don’t know the fundamentals of your business, you cannot expect the men and women under your command to follow your instructions. Knowing your business is how an officer shows commitment.
Knowing yourself is essential. We are all different, with different strengths and different weaknesses. Even a quick examination of history shows different people with different personal attributes who have gone on to become great leaders. Look within yourself - build on your strengths and address your weaknesses. Only you truly know yourself completely, but others do observe. As an officer you will be judged by what you do, not what you say. So when you make a mistake, you need to be accountable. Own it, fix it, learn from it and move on. Knowing and being true to yourself is a matter of integrity.
In combination, knowing your business, knowing your people and knowing yourself well points to a universal value for those who aspire to be a leader - courage. Leading takes courage. Whether that’s the courage of your convictions or the courage demonstrated by your deeds – it is the value upon which good leadership rests. Someone who professes to be compassionate yet lacks courage also lacks integrity, and is usually insincere and false.
To that end, leaders need to do more than just speak of their values. They need to show their commitment to them in their dealings with others. It should always be “I was wrong” and “we were right” and when doing things, it’s “we can” and “I do” and in sharing responsibility, it’s “I lost” and “we won.” This is how when you’re the leader you should lead.
Through the uncertainty and challenges that you will face as officers, your best tool in leading others will be the strength of your character. That is yours to own, and yours to mould. Nobody else can do that for you. All of you young leaders here today have the potential to do great things in your armies, in your country, and throughout the world.
If there is a single message that you take away from my address, it is leaders lead to make a difference for their people. Leaders see the potential in people and circumstances, not the problems. Having started with a musical theme, let me finish with one – leadership is the wonder of seeing a written musical score and hearing the incredible music even before it is played!
You young graduates, congratulations on your achievement and especially those of you who receive prizes. Congratulations also to the Officer Cadet School for its consistent efforts to produce the highest quality officer graduates. Kia ora, kia kaha kia manawanui katoa: I wish you all good health, be strong and have courage for the future.