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New Zealand takes reins in Bamian reconstruction

Army News Service

Release Date: 9/25/2003

By Sgt. Keith Thompson

BAMIAN, Afghanistan (Army News Service, Sept. 25) - "Old Glory" came down to make room for the New Zealand flag, which will fly over the Bamian Provincial Reconstruction Team compound in Afghanistan.

The mission was transferred Sept. 23 to about 100 service members from New Zealand.

"Today is a day the people of Bamian will never forget," said Gov. Muhammad Rahim Aliyar, the Afghanistan Transitional Government's leader in the province and one of the many guest speakers at the ceremony. "We are sad the U.S. is leaving, but we're happy to have our new friends."

The "Kiwis," as the New Zealand troops are affectionately called due to the kiwi bird on their hats and unit patches, will be responsible for helping to maintain security and will oversee reconstruction efforts in the province known for its centuries-old Buddhas.

They will join other provincial reconstruction teams, manned by both Americans and British, in their mission to work with the Afghan Transitional Government to reverse the years of war and destruction that have left its footprints in the Afghan countryside.

"The security and peace we have in Bamian is because of the work of the PRT," said Aliyar. "They did a good job here."

Until the change-of-command ceremony, reconstruction in the land once controlled by Genghis Khan during the 13th century rested on the shoulders of U.S. Civil Affairs Soldiers.

The New Zealand joint force is looking forward to the challenges they will face in the historic province, according to Lt. Col. Neville Reilly, the new PRT commander.

"We're guests here ... and we're going to do everything we can to help you," Reilly said to the many guests present at the ceremony. "We're pleased and proud to work with the Afghan Transitional Government."

New Zealand's ambassador to Afghanistan, Neils Holm, echoed Reilly's optimism as he read a statement from the country's Prime Minister Helen Clark.

"Our countries may be distant, but in an increasingly inter-dependent world, the challenges of Afghanistan are also New Zealand's challenges," he said on behalf of the prime minister.

Holm went on to say that the PRT was a way that New Zealand could "join with the U.S. in a very tangible way" in the global war on terrorism.

Under a newly raised New Zealand flag, and with the 1,500-year-old Buddha statues as a backdrop, the New Zealanders ended the ceremony by performing a traditional Maori Haka dance to the crowd's delight.

(Editor's note: Staff Sgt. Keith Thompson is a member of the 4th Public Affairs Detachment.)