NZDF members have helped mentor over 1600 officer cadets, including 48 women, at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul in the past three years (Photo / NZ Defence Force)

Govt extends NZ's military deployment in Afghanistan until 2018

Author: NZME staff,
Publish Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2016, 8:41PM

The Government is extending the military deployment in Afghanistan, weeks after extending our presence in Iraq.

The training programme will be extended until June 2018, after what the Defence Force says has been a successful deployment so far.

The New Zealand personnel are training junior officers in the Afghan National Army at an academy that is situated outside of Kabul and led by the United Kingdom.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee said the deployment is needed to help build the capacity of the Afghan National Army, and to help guide the junior leaders of the Afghan Army.

He said NATO has also extended its deployment, so we'll be standing alongside international partners in "countering the threat of international terrorism".

Senior national officer Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Brown said 70 percent of the graduates of the most recent training programme will go into the infantry and most will go into frontline units.

He said seven of the graduates are women, and the programme will be training many more women over the next few years.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has also announced a further $2.8 million in funding for the Afghan National Police and Central Prison Department.

The latest funding will be delivered through the United Nations Development Programme. It takes New Zealand's total commitment to Afghan security forces to $11.3 million.