Happy Corps Day to the New Zealand Intelligence Corps!

The National Army Museum Te Mata Toa wants to wish all those in the NZIC (past and present), that strive to penetrate the fog of war to find the truth, a happy Corps Day and to thank you for your service.

In honour of their Corps Day, we wanted to share an item in our collection that was recently donated by a current serving member of the New Zealand Intelligence Corps (NZIC). This flag was made in Iraq and flown at Joint Base Camp Taji, Iraq, 2017-2018. It flew alongside the New Zealand and Australian flags, highlighting our Anzac link on active operations.

The flag was made in the traditional British Army Intelligence Corps colours, of which both the New Zealand Intelligence Corps and Australian Intelligence Corps were modelled from. It is Cyprus green, scarlet red, French grey, scarlet red, and Cyprus green, with the two scarlet red stripes edging the central French grey band. The colours have special significance:

• Cyprus green for the colours worn from 1916 by Intelligence Corps officers (tabs and hatbands), the colour of the field security police cap covers by 1923, and the colour used on the armbands and shoulder flashes during WWII.
• Scarlet red for the red rose adopted by the British Army Intelligence Corps. The rose symbolises silence, secrecy, and trustworthiness, and the Latin term sub rosa refers to something done in secret or conversations spoken in confidence.
• French grey is a little more obscure to pinpoint the origin, however it is commonly believed to now represent the “fog of war” that intelligence operators strive to penetrate to find the truth.

Supplied by the NZIC: Lt. P. Awatere, Intelligence Officer, 28th (Māori) Battalion during the Battle of Sidi Rezegh, North Africa 1941.

The New Zealand Intelligence Corps was originally established in January 1942 as part of the Territorial Force. With the reorganisation of the Territorial Force in 1947, the NZIC was disbanded. It was re-established 15 March 1987 as a Regular Force Corps, named the New Zealand Army Intelligence Corps, later dropping “Army” in favour for its original title.

The date was picked to symbolically coincide with the “Ides of March” as a warning about the folly of ignoring timely and accurate intelligence. Roman ruler Julius Caesar ignored the warning from an advisor of impending danger and was assassinated 15 March 44 BC (on the Ides of March). Although not an “A1” source (pardon the intelligence source reliability pun), Roman writers such as Suetonius, Plutarch, and Cicero reported an Etruscan soothsayer, named Spurinna, warned Caesar about imminent danger on the Ides of March. William Shakespeare then immortalised the date with his quote “Beware the Ides of March!” and the folly of Julius Caesar ignoring the ominous warning with his response “He is a dreamer; let us leave him”.

The soldiers in the NZIC are no “dreamers” or omen soothsayers. Intelligence has been, is, and will continue to be foundational for the success of all military operations and the constantly evolving battle-space. It has played major roles in all conflicts New Zealand has been involved with, and will continue to ensure military success at home and overseas. As such, intelligence operators are not so much 007s, but something far better (and cooler in our opinion). They are highly skilled, knowledgeable, detail-driven men and women with an ability to critically sort through large masses of information to find the actionable intelligence to assist decision-making.

Sun Tzu said in The Art of War that if you know the enemy better than you know yourself, the outcome of the battle has already been decided. Strategy and Intelligence are vital to the success of a battle. Therefore, the unofficial NZIC motto is very apt:

Forewarned is Forearmed – Takatu Kia Mataara