Transcribed interview with Richard Hall

 

'What three attributes do you think you require in order to succeed in today’s military world?'

 

'I think the modern operating environment for the military is much more complex than it use to be. So I think certainly flexibility is definitely required as is adaptability, a range of operations in the military life could be involved in, going from everything from peacekeeping right the way through to conventional war. But there are some attributes such as courage that I think I have endured throughout the ages.'

 

 

'Have you found your previous military experiences valuable when undertaking new challenges?'

 

'I think being in the military gives you a degree of confidence, self-discipline and the ability to think problems through and I think those are very useful skills to apply to any part of life.'

 

 

'What skills gained from your military career have you found particularly useful?'

 

'I think the ability apply yourself to any particular problem with a determination and succeed. But I think probably the greatest one is the ability to engage with people to run teams and to encourage and inspire people to do various tasks in sport or what it is that you are trying to achieve.'

 

 

'What one piece of advice would you give to a young person embarking on a new career path?'

 

'I think when they first start a new career, you need to sit and listen and take advice from those around you. So look and listen then apply yourself.'

 

 

'Was joining the army your first choice of career?'

 

'It was, it was something I had always wanted to do as a child and I went through school it remained something I wanted to do. So I was lucky enough to move into the army after school.'

 

 

'At what age did you decide you wanted to be an army officer and why?'

 

'I can’t really remember the exact age, it was always at the back of my mind, like a lot of young boys you envisage a life of excitement when you’re growing up and it never left me.'

 

 

'How important have your friends and family been in terms of realising your dreams?'

 

'Family in particular has been incredibly important. The army expects/demands a lot of you and you have to make a lot of sacrifices in terms of time, your are away an awful lot, I’m incredibly lucky with my wife Cinda who has supported me throughout all of my army life.'

 

 

'What was your motivation in writing your book?'

 

'I think when I came back from Afghanistan I realised how little people in New Zealand understood about what the New Zealand troops were doing in New Zealand. So I saw it as a way to provide people with a resource to give them a better understanding of what we were trying to achieve there.'   

 

 

'Who has been your greatest influence professionally on your military career and why?'

 

'Well I was very lucky in my early career to meet a gentleman called General Farrar Hockley who as a young officer was engaged in the Korean war and became a prisoner of war of the Chinese and made several attempts to escape and wrote several books about his escapades. After the Korean war he then went onto have a very successful career. But the thing that always amazed me was, that he had a tremendous sense of humour and an ability to engage with people regardless of their level in their organisation.  He made everyone he engaged with feel really special. I think that is a really great knack to have, the ability to deal with those people.'     

 

 

'In your own words, what is the key to success?'

 

'I think you’ve got to remain true to yourself; you’ve got to continue to have a sense of humour and to put problems into perspective. I think it’s too easy to get wound up very early about little things, so it is making sure as you go through your career you understand that you are dealing with human beings, with individuals and you have a task and a responsibility to look after them and if you look after them they will look after you.'        

 

 

'What difficulties have you had to overcome in order to succeed?'

 

'I think there are always times when you are faced with very difficult decisions and these could be difficult decisions based upon if people are up to the tasks you have given them, whether you need to do something about that or whether you are making a decision that you are getting a lot of advice from other people in a different direction that you are sure in your own mind it isn’t the right thing to do, I think in those circumstances you’ve got to sort out the team you are working in, what you are trying to achieve and often going with your gut reaction.'

 

 

'What is the greatest challenge you have faced and how did you overcome this?'

 

'There was a time on operations in Northern Ireland when I had to make a decision that I knew was going to put people’s lives at risk. For a variety of reasons it seemed to me like the right thing to do. I took advice from a number of different people, but ultimately the decision was mine and I had to make the decision and I had to responsibility if the decision went badly wrong. So it was one of those things that you had to sit down and work through eventually I did make the decision and it seemed to be the right one.'