Departure Of First Nzdf Contingent To The Solomon Islands
The first contingent of NZDF personnel will depart from Ohakea for the Solomon Islands on an Air Force Hercules on
Wednesday 23 July at 10:30 am.
The first flight will comprise 18 Defence Force personnel and an Iroquois helicopter. This group also includes the New
Zealand Senior National Officer and the Air Component Commander for the operation.
The aircraft will route through Townsville and is scheduled to arrive in Honiara at 1:10pm local time on Thursday 24
July. Mark Burton, Minister of Defence and Major General Martyn Dunne, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand will farewell
the deploying personnel at Ohakea.
A further eight Hercules flights will deploy the rest of the New Zealand contingent between 24 Jul and 1 Aug 2003.