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