This article describes the current structure of the New Zealand Army. It includes the army's order of battle and the headquarters locations of major units.
From the 1880s, the structure of the army has evolved with changing defence needs and financial constraints. New Zealand deployed a division jointly with Australia at the beginning of the First World War, eventually despatching personnel to fill out a full division. Five divisions (three attenuated at home in NZ) were raised during the Second World War. A division was initially raised through Compulsory Military Training from 1949.
Damien Marc Fenton's A False Sense of Security? outlines parts of the army's structural evolution since the Second World War. The Army had had three military districts, Northern Military District at Auckland, Central Military District at Palmerston North, and Southern Military District at Christchurch in 1946. The New Zealand Division was disestablished in 1961. In 1963, a Combat Brigade Group (1st Brigade), Combat Reserve Brigade Group (3rd Brigade), and Logistic Support Force (formed from the former 2nd Infantry Brigade Group) were established, each to be based on a district HQ. On 1 September 1970, two formations, Home Command and Field Force Command, were established to administer the home base and deployable forces respectively.
In 1978, Land Forces Command (New Zealand) emerged, replacing Home Command and Field Force Command, and the two operational brigades at the time, 1 and 3 Brigades, were disbanded and replaced by Task Force Regions, at Papakura, Palmerston North, and Christchurch. Still later on after the 1983 Defence Review Land Forces Command was split into Land Force Command at Takapuna and Support Command at Palmerston North. Support Command later moved to Trentham. The two commands were joined once again at Trentham as Land Command after 1998, which in 2001 was amalgamated with the other services' operational headquarters to form Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand.
A skeleton listing of New Zealand Army units, grouped under Land Force Command and Support Command and seemingly circa 1984, can be seen at Desmond Ball's "The Anzac Connection."
According to an organisation chart and map published on the New Zealand Army's website the Army's order of battle is as follows:
The 1st Brigade was formed on 13 December 2011 by amalgamating the units of the 2nd Land Force Group and 3rd Land Force Group. It is effectively a 'shopping basket' of units which can be raised in readiness preparatory to an operational deployment, and does not have any operational deployment role.
Headquarters Deployable Joint Task Force-Land (HQ DJTF-L) was formed by redesignating the headquarters of the 3rd Land Force Group in late 2011. It was expected that the headquarters would move to Linton Military Camp in the Manawatu after December 2012. As of 1 January 2013, it was announced that the headquarters was to be redesignated HQ Deployable Joint Interagency Task Force (DJIATF) and be moved under the command of Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand. In late 2014 Colonel John Howard handed over command to Colonel Glenn King.
Army General Staff (Wellington)
Land Component Command, HQ Joint Forces New Zealand (Seddul Bahr Road, Trentham)1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment (Papakura Military Camp)A Squadron
B Squadron
D Squadron (Commando) - designated the Counter Terrorist Tactical Assault Group until 2009.
E Squadron (EOD)
Support Squadron
Special Operations Training Centre
Reserve Squadron
1st (New Zealand) Brigade
Headquarters, 1st Brigade (Linton Military Camp)
1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Linton Military Camp)
Alpha Company
Victor Company
Support Company
Combat Service Support Company
2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Burnham Military Camp)
Alpha Company
Bravo Company
Delta Company
Support Company
Combat Service Support Company
Depot Company
Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (Linton Military Camp)
Wellington East Coast Squadron
NZ Scots Squadron
Waikato Mounted Rifles Squadron
Support Squadron
16th Field Regiment, Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery (Linton Military Camp)
161 Battery
163 Battery
11/4 Battery (Papakura Military Camp)
2nd Engineer Regiment (Linton Military Camp)
1st Field Squadron
2nd Field Squadron
3rd Field Squadron (Burnham Military Camp)
25 Engineer Support Squadron
Emergency Response Squadron
1st New Zealand Signal Regiment (Linton Military Camp)
1st (New Zealand) Intelligence Company
2nd Signal Squadron
3rd Signal Squadron (Electronic Warfare) (Burnham Military Camp)
4th Signal Squadron (Burnham Military Camp)
25 Cypher Section
2nd Combat Service Support Battalion (Linton Military Camp)
10th Transport Company
21st Supply Company
2nd Workshop Company
5th Movements Company
Combat Service Support Company (North)
38th Combat Service Support Company (Territorial Force)
3rd Combat Service Support Battalion (Burnham Military Camp)
3rd Transport Company
3rd Catering & Supply Company
3rd Workshop Company
2nd Health Services Battalion (New Zealand) (Linton Military Camp)
1st Health Support Company
2nd Health Support Company
3rd Health Support Company (Burnham Military Camp)
General Support Health Company
Logistics Support Company
Linton Regional Support Centre (Linton Military Camp)
Training and Doctrine Command
Headquarters, Training and Doctrine Command (Waiouru Military Camp)
NZ Collective Training Centre (Linton Military Camp)
Tactical School (Linton Military Camp)
Combat School (Linton Military Camp)
School of Artillery (Linton Military Camp)
School of Military Intelligence (Linton Military Camp)
School of Military Engineering (Linton Military Camp)
Logistics Operations School (Linton Military Camp)
School of Signals (Linton Military Camp)
Mission Command Training School (Linton Military Camp)
Trade Training School (Trentham Military Camp)
Army Command School
Officer Cadet School (New Zealand)
Non Commissioned Officer & Warrant Officer Development Wing
Army Leadership Centre (Burnham Military Camp)
The Army Depot (Waiouru Military Camp)
Waiouru Military Training Facility (Waiouru Military Camp)
2/4th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Burnham Military Camp)
Canterbury Nelson Marlborough and West Coast Company
Otago Southland Company (Dunedin)
3/6th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Papakura Military Camp)
Auckland (Countess of Ranfurly’s Own) and Northland Company
Hauraki Company (Tauranga)
5/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Trentham Military Camp)
Wellington, West Coast and Taranaki Company (Linton Military Camp)
Wellington (City of Wellington’s Own) and Hawke’s Bay Company (Wellington)
In addition, Logistics Command (Land), which is headquartered at Trentham Military Camp, reports to the Defence Logistics Command. Logistics Command (Land)'s sub units are the Wellington Regional Support Centre (located at Trentham Military Camp) and the Southern Regional Support Centre (located at Burnham Military Camp).
