Military
The New Zealand Defence Force is small and somewhat under-funded compared to many other countries although it is regarded as very professional. Its overseas duties consist mostly of peacekeeping, especially in the Pacific. In the 21st century, peacekeeping detachments have been deployed to East Timor, the Solomon Islands, and Tonga. Engineering and support forces have also been involved in the Iraq War, although New Zealand is not a member of the 'coalition of the willing'. New Zealand's heaviest military involvement in recent decades has been in Afghanistan following the United States-led invasion of that country after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The deployment has included SAS troops.
Read more about this topic: Foreign Relations Of New Zealand
Famous quotes containing the word military:
“The schoolmaster is abroad! And I trust to him armed with his primer against the soldier in full military array.”
—Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832)
“The military and the clergy cause us much annoyance; the clergy and the military, they empty our wallets and rob our intelligence.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“War both needs and generates certain virtues; not the highest, but what may be called the preliminary virtues, as valour, veracity, the spirit of obedience, the habit of discipline. Any of these, and of others like them, when possessed by a nation, and no matter how generated, will give them a military advantage, and make them more likely to stay in the race of nations.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)