Queen’s Birthday Honours
Eleven New Zealand Defence Force personnel were been named in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours on 7 June, of which three were from the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The RNZAF recipients were awarded as follows ...
Group Captain (Retired) Mary Cox
Group Captain (Retired) Mary Cox
Distinguished Service Decoration
Group Captain Cox represented New Zealand as Defence Advisor in Malaysia and subsequently as Defence Attaché to the Philippines, December 2001– July 2009.
In both appointments, GPCAPT Cox established the trust and respect of senior Defence officials in those countries; this was an achievement in cultures where the military establishments are male-dominated. During her posting to Manila, she was also the first female officer to serve as Dean of the Foreign Armed Forces Attaché Corps in the Philippines.
GPCAPT Cox developed and maintained positive working relationships with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and associated inter-governmental agencies and was able to provide assessments and insights to the Ambassadors that assisted them in progressing engagements and strengthening relationships between New Zealand and the countries to which they were accredited.
GPCAPT Cox holds the highest rank ever attained by a female officer in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and has always projected herself as a positive role model. She is also at the forefront of women’s leadership in the wider New Zealand Defence Force.
Squadron Leader James (Jim) Jennings
Squadron Leader James (Jim) Jennings
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Squadron Leader Jennings completed 49 years of unbroken service with the RNZAF in January 2010, enlisting as an engine mechanic on 17 January 1961.
He commenced pilot training in 1965, qualifying in 1967. He initially flew Vampires before later converting to Skyhawks. SQNLDR Jennings qualified as a Flying Instructor in 1973, and in 1978 he was promoted to his current rank, which was the level that he made a conscious decision to remain at. This has given him a continuing direct association with aeroplanes and their role in training and operations. SQNLDR Jennings served at Headquarters Integrated Air Defence System in Butterworth, Malaysia, 1981–1983. In 1987 he commanded the RNZAF Transport Detachment on operational deployment with the United Nations Iran Iraq Military Observer Group based in Teheran. In March 1976 he was the first and only New Zealand based Skyhawk pilot to be given an order to fire shots across the bows of a Taiwanese boat, which had been detected illegally fishing in New Zealand waters.
SQNLDR Jennings’ length of service, which is unique within the New Zealand Armed Forces, is testament to dedication to duty and a supportive family.
Wing Commander Brendon Pett
Wing Commander Brendon Pett
Distinguished Service Decoration
Wing Commander Pett was posted as the inaugural Commanding Officer Integrated Mission Support Squadron (IMSS) in July 2007.
IMSS was formed to provide software, simulation and mission support to the upgraded P-3K Orion aircraft, but quickly expanded to include support to all Royal New Zealand Air Force operational squadrons and the capability to support the introduction into service of new or upgraded aircraft types. Concurrently, he also assumed the role of Intelligence Trade Sponsor. In this capacity, WGCDR Pett has overseen the formation of a new trade structure, implementation of trade training and the management of intelligence personnel.
WGCDR Pett was instrumental in the acceptance of IMSS as a credible intelligence provider. This included a project which allows the P-3K Orion to seamlessly transfer intelligence information within the New Zealand Defence Force and across other government agencies. He has also identified knowledge based opportunities by establishing close working relationships with the commercial sector.
Under WGCDR Pett’s watch, IMSS has become cemented as the centre of excellence for mission support.