Dear New Zealand Defence Force,

I would like to make a request for information relating to RNZN Captain Stephen Lenik’s recent control of the Sea Combat Commander Task Force (CTF) 170 during RIMPAC 2022.

This control is referred to in an article published on the NZDF website, here:

https://www.nzdf.mil.nz/news/nzdf-wraps-...

“Captain Stephen Lenik was the first New Zealander in the role as the Sea Combat Commander of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CTF 170). He was in control of 14 ships, including an autonomous vessel, from six different nations.”

I note that in a 14 July response to an OIA request on the same topic (OIA-2022-4451), NZDF only listed 8 ships that would be under NZDF control:

“The NZDF is not in command of the carrier strike group. The vessels that may be controlled by the NZDF as part of RIMPAC 2022 are: JS IZUMO (Japan), HMCS WINNIPEG (Canada), USS MOBILE BAY (US), BRP ANTONIO LUNA (Chile), SEJONG THE GREAT (Republic of Korea), JS TAKANAMI (Japan), KD LEKIR (Malaysia), USS SAMPSON (US)”

This response can be accessed here:

https://fyi.org.nz/request/19850/respons...

As the number of ships controlled by NZDF apparently changed since 14 July, I would like to make a new request for a list of all ships that were under the control of NZDF during RIMPAC 2022, and their nationalities (i.e. the 14 ships referred to in the NZDF article, including the autonomous vessel).

Yours faithfully,

Scott