30/12/2022
Congratulations SGT Smith on your award, and the amazing achievement in the system development.
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New Year Honour๐ Sergeant Hayden Smith has received the DSD for his work creating a classified data flow system, which is now being used by the RNZN as well as New Zealandโs Five Eyes partners.
In September 2019, Sergeant Smith, then a Corporal, was posted into Support to Military Operations within Defence Intelligence, and was solely tasked with creating the system.
The system was so complex that teams within the Five Eyes nations could not resolve the issue of transporting classified data to the Five Eye Intelligence Enterprise.
โI didnโt think I was going to get a New Year Honour for the work,โ Sergeant Smith said.
โWhen I was told, I was gobsmacked. There were times I didnโt think Iโd pull it off, especially the first six months, it was like drinking from the firehose. I had no idea how a wee Corporal could solve this complex issue, especially being told that the other partners hadnโt solved it fully.
The work was completed in conjunction with the Navyโs Frigate Systems Upgrade project and has been critical in operationalising the project and integrating $26 million worth of sensors with the wider New Zealand Defence Force, other government agencies and partner nations.
Read moreโก๏ธ nzdf.mil.nz/sgt-smith-new-year-honour
