Karl Cummins is a New Zealand military officer and was the Commanding Officer of the

New Zealand Special Air Service The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, is the special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It was formed on 7 July 1955. It traces its origins to ...

from 2012 to 2013. He was one of the subjects of the New Zealand Government's inquiry into

Operation Burnham Operation Burnham was a joint military operation undertaken by the New Zealand Special Air Service and elements of the Afghan Crisis Response Unit and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan's Tirgiran Valley on 21–22 October 20 ...

."Operation Burnham information pack" (PDF).

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; , "Line of Defence of New Zealand") is the three-branched military of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and its realm, promoting its interests, ...

. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2018.Catran, Jenny and Radich, Paul. (2019). ''Brief of evidence of Karl Baxter Cummins for the Government Inquiry into Operation Burnham.''

Career

Cummins enlisted in the

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

in 1989 as a soldier and completed officer training in 1992 where he graduated into the

Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals The Royal New Zealand Signals Corps (RNZSigs) provides, co-ordinates and operates the communications networks of the New Zealand Army. The role of RNZSigs is to support other Arms by providing Communication Information System required for Comma ...

. In 1996 he was selected for service in the New Zealand Special Air Service and served with the unit until 2013 where he served in troop and squadron command roles until he was appointed as the unit's Commanding Officer in 2012. In 2013, Cummins undertook a two-year secondment from the New Zealand Defence Force to the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and was the first appointment under a personnel sharing agreement between the agencies. Cummins served as Assistant Chief Human Resources for the New Zealand Defence Force and as Chief of Staff at

Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand (HQ JFNZ) is the New Zealand Defence Force's (NZDF's) operational level headquarters and is responsible for the command and control of NZDF operations worldwide. It was established in 2001 at Trentham Military ...

Controversies

Government inquiry into Operation Burnham

Operation Burnham was a joint military operation undertaken by the

and elements of the Afghan Crisis Response Unit and

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

's Tirgiran Valley on 21–22 October 2010. Operation Burnham became the subject of the investigative journalists

Nicky Hager Nicolas Alfred Hager (born 1958) is a New Zealand investigative journalist. He has produced seven books since 1996, covering topics such as intelligence networks, environmental issues and politics. He is one of two New Zealand members of the I ...

and Jon Stephenson's book ''Hit & Run: The New Zealand SAS in Afghanistan and the meaning of honour'', which alleged that New Zealand forces had committed war crimes against civilians in the Naik and Khak Khudday Dad villages. In late December 2018, the New Zealand Government confirmed that they would be holding an inquiry into Operation Burnham. The inquiry was headed by former Prime Minister Sir

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, member of parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pal ...

and former

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

Sir Terence Arnold. Between April and November 2011, Cummins was deputy director of Special Operations (DDSO). He also held the role of DDSO in August 2010 when Operation Burnham was conducted.

Search and seizure order at Papakura Military Camp

In 2013, Cummins was the subject of a military disciplinary hearing after it was discovered that he backdated a search and seizure order after drugs and weapons were found at the New Zealand Special Air Service's

Papakura Military Camp Papakura Military Camp is a New Zealand Army military camp located in the Auckland suburb of Papakura North, in northern New Zealand. It is the home of the New Zealand Special Air Service. Geography The camp was established on the outskirts ...

. While Cummins admitted to signing two minutes, which authorised the search and seizure operation two days after it took place, he was cleared, in an investigation headed by Brigadier

Charlie Lott Brigadier Charles Alexander Sylvester Lott is a former New Zealand military officer who served as Deputy Chief of Army from 2011 to 2012, and was Chief of the Joint Defence Services, in a civilian capacity, from 2015 to 2019. Biography Lott se ...

, of four counts of negligence and of making false documents.

Decorations

Cummins has been awarded the following decorations and awards:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cummins, Karl New Zealand Army personnel Living people New Zealand military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) University of Auckland alumni University of Canberra alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century New Zealand military personnel