I am Professor of War Studies at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. I was the Director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies for eight years and am now Massey Project Manager of the Centenary History of the New Zealand and the First World War.
A former secondary school teacher, I joined the Australian Army in 1988 and after eight years transferred to the New Zealand Army, where I reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. I was the New Zealand army’s official historian for the deployment to East Timor and am the author of more than twenty books many which achieved best seller status.
Academic Qualifications
1997 Doctor of Philosophy, University of New England (Armidale, NSW)
‘Kip' — Major General Sir Howard Kippenberger: A Study of Command. An analysis of the command abilities of Major General Sir Howard Kippenberger.
1982 Master of Arts (Hons. Class II), University of Canterbury
The Fall of Singapore and its Impact on Australia and New Zealand.
1981 Bachelor of Arts Degree, University of Canterbury.
1980 Diploma of Teaching, Christchurch Teachers' College.
Employment History
2011 - Present Massey Project Manager, Centenary History Project
2005 - 2011 Director and Associate Professor
2009 Promoted Professor of War Studies.
2003 - 2005 Acting Director, Centre for Defence Studies
2001 - 2005 Massey University - Title of Associate Professor of Military Studies conferred 12 June 2002.
1996 - 2001 New Zealand Army.
1988 - 1995 Royal Australian Army
1985 - 1988 Subject Master - Marist College, North Sydney
1982- 1984 Teacher - Catholic High School, Griffith, NSW
Personal Awards
2015 Individual winner of Massey University Research Medal
2012 Queens Service Medal for services to historical research
2010 Fulbright Senior Scholarship
Membership of Academic Boards/Committees
Selection Committee Fulbright New Zealand
General Editor, Anzac Battle Series
WHAM Research Network.
War in History journal
Cognition Education (Consultant)
Governance Group for the Centenary History Project
Chair, Editorial Board, Massey University Press
Palmerston North Defence History/Heritage Advisory Group
Editorial Advisory Board Member, War in History, United Kingdom.
Massey University – New Zealand Defence Force Joint Working Group in Professional Military Education.
Massey University College of Humanities and Social Science College Board, since 2003.
Massey University College of Humanities and Social Science Postgraduate Studies Committee, 2001-2003.
Massey University Board of Defence and Strategic Studies, 1996-2000.
Massey University Implementation Board for the Bachelor of Defence Studies, 1998-2000.
Wellington Polytechnic's Master of Education Advisory Board, 1997.
Advisory Committee for Historical Branch, Department of Internal Affairs/Oxford University Press for the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History, 1997-2000.
Police and Armed Services Working Party for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Department of Internal Affairs, 1997-1998.
Kippenberger Military Archive and Research Library Management Committee, 1996-2000.