Military Review English Edition January-February 2014 | Page 70

Lessons of a Coalition
Partner in Afghanistan
The information contained in this article is not necessarily
the official view or opinion of the New Zealand Army.

2002-2013

Lt. Col. Sholto Stephens, New Zealand Army

T

HIS IS THE ERA of the Afghan generation for the New Zealand Defence Force.
Apart from substantial contributions in the Sinai, Timor Leste, and the Solomon Islands, members of the New Zealand Defence Force generally consider Afghanistan to be
its premier international military commitment since 9/11. Moreover, Afghanistan is the
main theater of operations for New Zealand D efense Forces. New Zealand has supported
the coalition in Afghanistan since 2002. Unlike partners from the United States, the United
Kingdom, and Australia, the New Zealand Defense Force has not experienced a sizeable
commitment to Iraq.1
Lt. Col. Sholto Stephens, New Zealand Army, is a cavalry officer who has
served on active duty since 1990. His operational experience includes
four tours in Afghanistan and others in Northern Ireland, Bougainville,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands. A CGSC
graduate, he received the Distinguished Master Tactician award. His
most recent deployment was as the commander of the Bamyan PRT,
September 2012 to its closure in April 2013.

An Afghan man walks hand-in-hand with his daughter along the main street of a Bamyan
bazaar, March 2013. (Cpl. Sam Shepherd, Royal New Zealand Air Force)