Three New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) soldiers serving in Afghanistan are to return home after a breach of operational security that involved them passing information and photos to a commercial company. Operational security relates to the procedures and protection of information that might potentially be used by an adversary.

Because of their behaviour and the fact that it went against clear guidance given to all personnel deploying on operations, the decision to return the soldiers to New Zealand was made immediately after the incident. Subsequently, an investigation was conducted in Afghanistan to determine if the soldiers had contravened the Armed Forces Discipline Act.

Two of the three were found guilty of an offence and received formal punishment. "The return home of these three personnel was a command decision," said Commander Joint Forces NZ Air Vice Marshal Peter Stockwell. "Irrespective of the investigation into whether the acts contravened military law, the NZDF sets and expects very high levels of professionalism and behaviour from its people - this is especially the case in an operational theatre where the protection of information is vital to the overall security of New Zealand interests and activities.

On this occasion those standards have not been met and as a consequence these three soldiers will be returned to New Zealand at the earliest opportunity."

"Let me be very clear that this is not about a group of young soldiers just taking a photograph of themselves; soldiers have been doing this since the availability of cameras. These three are returning to New Zealand because of a series of actions and errors of judgment on their part that did not meet the standards we expect of our people."