A New Zealand Army soldier has been announced as a semi-finalist for Kiwibank’s 2025 New Zealander of the Year for his role in organising an army of skilled volunteers who provide disaster relief support around the country and internationally.

Captain Richard Adams is the founder and national director of the charity Taskforce Kiwi, which is made up of veterans from the New Zealand Defence Force and emergency services, and specialist members of the wider community.

Taskforce Kiwi provides disaster relief support using skilled volunteers who have had emergency and defence careers and provides a continued sense of purpose, identity and community for veterans.

Under Captain Adams’ leadership, Taskforce Kiwi has so far deployed 353 skilled volunteers, contributing 13,479 hours of work to disaster-hit communities across six countries; New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Morocco, the United States and Vanuatu.

“Richard’s innovation and hands-on leadership have not only provided immediate relief but also offered veterans a sense of purpose, identity and community through continued service,” his citation says.

“His efforts have had a direct impact on thousands of lives, making Taskforce Kiwi a beacon of hope for disaster-affected communities and an enduring asset for New Zealand.”

Captain Adams, who works at Christchurch’s Burnham Military Camp in Army General Staff, was “blindsided” by the nomination.

“Especially when you look at who else is in that group. At the same time it was great, recognition of the work of the wider team and for visibility of the organisation.”

The model of using veterans started in the United States in 2010, with an organisation called Team Rubicon, which has about 180,000 volunteers and came together following the Haitian earthquake.

Similar organisations have since started running in other countries, including in Australia, that Captain Adams was involved with for a few years while living in Melbourne.

The trigger for starting Taskforce Kiwi was when Captain Adams returned to New Zealand and in 2021 watched Afghanistan fall to the Taliban.

“I had served in Afghanistan and took the fall reasonably hard. Creating this positive charity was a way for me to deal with that.”

Taskforce Kiwi started with deployments to support flood relief in Australia in 2022 and that was followed by clearing homes and disposing of waste following the Auckland floods.

As they were working in Auckland, Cyclone Gabrielle hit so the team moved from flood relief to cyclone response.

“The first night we were there we did some searches of missing RSE (recognised seasonal employer) workers before clearing silt and homes and helping with some damaged marae.

“We also did a lot of aid deliveries, we had some trucks so could go out to isolated communities, doing needs assessments for what they needed and then delivering those items.”

Since its inception, Taskforce Kiwi’s volunteer numbers have grown to 671.

Alongside his charity work, Captain Adams works full-time with the NZ Army, where he works with a team supporting the development of a drone programme.

The charity work doesn’t intrude on his role as he is able to send his experienced team to disaster zones without him.

He also has a young family, who he said were incredibly supportive.

“I deploy when I can – I recently I helped with bushfire relief in both Loburn and the Port Hills in Canterbury, as well as the Wairoa floods.

“I go when I can, but the great thing about where Taskforce Kiwi is now, is we have plenty of skilled volunteers who can get on the ground and have an immediate impact. It speaks to the skill and experience of the people who we have on board.”

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