The military's failure to adequately deliver aid

The military's failure to adequately deliver aid

Twice last week this country's contribution to international
tsunami relief was affected by the Royal New Zealand Air Force's
failure to maintain its aircraft in sound operational condition.
The first Air Force Hercules dispatched to northern Sumatra was
grounded in Indonesia when a crack was discovered in the
manifold. A few days later the second Hercules on the tsunami
mission struck mechanical problems, preventing Foreign Minister
Phil Goff from making an intended excursion to the disaster zone
after the Jakarta aid meeting.

It is automatic to blame parsimonious Governments for the
state of the armed forces. It is true that defense budgets were
slashed in the early 1990s, from 2.3 percent of gross domestic
product to 1.2 percent. But most countries were cutting defense
expenditure at that time, just after the collapse of the Soviet
bloc. It was called the "peace dividend." The savings contributed
to fiscal improvement in Western economies which helped to
produce a decade of remarkable prosperity.

The RNZAF's five Hercules are nearly 40 years old but two
years ago the Government announced an upgrade that was expected
to extend their use by 15 years. If the aircraft are not
obsolete, not peripheral to modern military requirements and not
forgotten in defense spending, why are they continually breaking
down? They should be constantly ready for an emergency, and
reliable. They are plainly neither. Their breakdowns are now well
beyond a joke. They are becoming a national embarrassment.
-- The New Zealand Herald, Auckland, New Zealand