New Zealand Defence Force facts for kids
The New Zealand Defence Force (or NZDF) is the armed forces of New Zealand. It is divided into three parts: the New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The NZDF is headed by the Chief of Defence Force or CDF. The current CDF is Rhys Jones.
The original military of New Zealand in the 19th century was the British army. In the 1840s, residents in New Zealand started forming militia units. Starting in 1858, New Zealand formed small regular army units. The country formed a small flotilla in the 1860s for naval service. By 1941, the army, the navy, and the air force were separate services. The Defense Act 1990 created the NZDF.
Images for kids
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Lt. Richard Alexander "Dick" Henderson, New Zealand Medical Corps, carrying a wounded soldier on a donkey during the Battle of Gallipoli.
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Two soldiers from the Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles during an exercise in 2010
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A New Zealand Army NZLAV at Tekapo Military Camp
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HMNZS Te Kaha in Cook Strait along with other RNZN ships
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A RNZAF Boeing 757, Two Lockheed P3K Orions and a Lockheed C130H Hercules in formation
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New Zealand and Australian military personnel boarding a United States Navy helicopter during a humanitarian aid mission to the Solomon Islands in 2007
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Two members of the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan during 2009
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HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Endeavour and the South Korean destroyer ROKS Choe Yeong at RIMPAC 2012
