The grunts don’t trust the top brass

expressed confidence in the NZDF’S senior leadership, and only 50.6 per cent expressed confidence in the leadership of the army within it.

The navy, with a 53.6 per cent approval rating for the NZDF leadership, and the air force, with 51.4 per cent, were significantly closer to the overall public service ‘‘benchmark’’ of 54.8 per cent. The navy and the air force were also much happier with the leaders of their own services, with approval ratings of 58.5 and 56.3 per cent respectively.

The figures need to be interpreted carefully because they are based on an ‘‘agreement index’’, showing the percentage of respondents who answered ‘‘agree’’ or ‘‘strongly agree’’ when asked if they had confidence in their leaders. It cannot be assumed that everyone else believes that leadership is poor, because some respondents – an undisclosed number in this case – will have ticked the middle box, which represents a neutral opinion.

Nevertheless, the indices should be of concern to the army, which declares on its website that ‘‘leadership excellence is what drives us forward’’. Other data in the survey shows that overall morale in the army and navy is declining.

Whether senior officers will take heed of what the survey is telling them is arguable. An article in last month’s official Army News acknowledged the survey showed a number of areas for improvement, but leadership was not listed as one of them.

The survey results have been released at a time when the top brass are dealing with reputational risk following the fallout from the book Hit & Run, which alleged civilian deaths during an SAS raid in Afghanistan.

Public confidence in the top ranks of the military is essential for New Zealanders to feel so much money should be invested in defence. Engagement surveys are only one measure of an organisation’s health, and assessments by subordinates are often made on the basis of incomplete information.

However, a State Services Commission review of the NZDF two years ago revealed that the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Tim Keating, himself recognised the need for improved leadership performance among his most senior officers.

The survey results suggest that the NZDF, and the army in particular, still have a fair way to go in winning the hearts and minds of their rank-and-file personnel.