It's not often you get to introduce your own nephew as guest speaker for rotary who has led such an interesting and varied life totally committed to the safety and welfare of our nation.
Kurt began his presentation by explaining how he was introduced to the military. Growing up in small town Levin surrounded by his mates and a love of cars. School wasn’t really his thing and he began to ‘drift’. At the time it didn’t feel like a big deal. Little did he know that the choices he made then were going to give him the direction he needed in life.
The path he was leading began to catch up with him to the extent that he got into a bit of trouble with the law. He quickly realised he was heading down a road that was not going to end too well. He remembers having an epiphany ‘if I don’t sort myself out now – I will be in serious trouble”.
Kurt comes from a family of soldiers. His grandfathers fought in the war. His Dad was in military service in Vietnam as was his uncle, his brother and his cousin. His Grandmother was in the Airforce alongside his aunt, and his mother was a sergeant in the Women’s Corp. Family history was to give him what he needed - structure, standards, consequences and purpose, a time to reset and rebuild.
Kurt explained the military has a way of exposing your weaknesses. It taught him discipline, accountability and reliability but not in a textbook way. It became something he learnt from and relied upon.
Eventually he was deployed to Afghanistan as part of CRIB13 as a section commander. For the first time he was not just responsible for himself – he had a team relying on him to make the right calls. A different level of pressure where the consequences are real and immediate. Over the next 7 months Kurt came to realise that it was on him to constantly balance the mission to ensure everyone came home to the families they had left behind.
After deployment he moved into an instructor role, teaching others how to operate and maintain the NZLAV, which was one of the most rewarding parts of his career. He maintains ‘you are not just passing on skills – you are preparing people for real situations'.
Being in Afghanistan left him with a real ‘itch’ to return. He then began private contracting after completing a SNCOs course. To him it felt like a challenge he couldn’t ignore and has never regretted the decision he made.
Kurt spent the next ten years working in Afghanistan supporting the USAID operations. His focus shifting from combat to helping create sustainability – supporting local communities and enabling business opportunities. He built a good and strong team around him. Many of whom he still keeps in contact with today and who he would vouch for without a moment's hesitation.
This decade of time did not come without its risks. Over that time his military training saw him protecting a client from a potential stabbing. He found himself walking into a Taliban/insurgent meeting. His vehicle and home area was mortared. Suffice to say this was becoming the ‘norm’ for him.
Kurt was quick to mention there are two sides of a world that many do not see. On one hand there is risk, conflict and uncertainty. On the other, is people just trying to live their lives as best they can. Building trust became just as important as security. He learnt that not everyone who is different from you is against you.
Kurt still works in security today having joined the company of RED WOLF. Having met and married Paula through a chance meeting in an airport, and then welcoming two sons, he chose to step away from contracting and focus on family. The risk was too big in his previous work to let this impact his future for them.
Today his life is very different – he has rejoined the territorial force (not being able to totally give up the structure that helped to define him as the man he is). He still travels and teaches but the work is ‘mostly’ a lot closer to home.
Kurt remarked how there is a lot of overlap between the work he was doing and rotary. It’s all about service, community and helping people build better lives. Relationships and trust create the real security communities need. More importantly ‘it’s what you pass on that matters’.