Mike Palairet

My association with Defence goes back to the day I enlisted in the RNZAF as a Cadet Pilot on 4 July 1958 – aside from previous membership of Sea Cadets and Air Training Corps in Auckland, where I had lived. As it panned out, I graduated as a Navigator in 1960, and spent the next 10 years flying in the Maritime role. I started on Sunderland Flying Boats, including three years at Lauthala Bay in Fiji, and then became involved with the Lockheed Orions, including participation in the initial training with the US Navy in California for five months. This very memorable time culminated in delivering the second of five Orions to New Zealand. As a Qualified Navigation Instructor, I then became responsible for developing training courses for follow-on crews in New Zealand.

My flying career was abruptly cut short at two weeks’ notice to become the RNZAF Regional Recruiting Officer for Otago and Southland for three years, based in Dunedin . This also entailed duties as Honorary Aide de Camp to the Governor General any time he was in Dunedin.

The rest of my career revolved around four years on the Directing Staff of the Air Force Staff College, and staff appointments in Personnel and Logistics matters with stints in Headquarters, Auckland and Singapore. The flying connection continued through membership of the adjudicating committee for the Old Commonwealth Fincastle Trophy Anti-submarine Competition, and through projects to establish the NZ contribution to the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in Sinai, and the Number 2 Squadron Skyhawks at Nowra, Australia.

For my final eight years I was Director of Force Development as a Group Captain in Defence Headquarters, involved in helping to write the 1991 White Paper for Defence, and drafting the first Corporate Plan and Output Plan.

My association with IT began in being asked as a civilian to help the Project Manager with the initial implementation of SAP, from early 1995. By the end of the year I became Project Manager, and was duly appointed to head the SAP Support Group to manage the NZDF’s SAP systems in production. The mandate grew to include providing a basis for project teams, and undertaking numerous enhancements and upgrades. Along the way, we became certified as a Customer Competence Centre in 2001.

The idea of setting up a User Group grew out of the shared experience of Telecom, Trust Bank and Defence in the jump-start training courses, and the first implementations of SAP R/3 in NZ, although Cadbury’s already had a system that was implemented from Australia. Derek Locke was the first Chairman, until he joined SAP NZ as Consultancy Manager, and was replaced by Russell Jones of Carter Holt Harvey. I replaced Russell in May 2000 when he moved to USA, although from the start I had been collecting names and lists of activities to assist in keeping minutes of the meetings. As Chairman, I had felt the most important objective was to foster networking among the SAP customers in New Zealand, especially to breed confidence in the new customers, to whom SAP must have seemed a daunting prospect. It was also important, however, to generate programmes that were sufficiently interesting and relevant to attract members to the meetings. I believe we have been ably supported in this endeavour by customers who were game enough to “get up front” and talk about their experiences, also offering tips and tricks; and SAP and Partners who presented new functions in the SAP suite of programmes. I must say that involvement with the User Group has given me a lot of satisfaction, buoyed up by the ready support offered by the key players.

As I will shortly be leaving the New Zealand Defence Force to sample the joys of retirement, I have been pleased to hand over the reins to Julian, confident in the level of support that you the members will give him.

May you all go from strength to strength

Mike Palairet