‘Nowhere on the battlefield is out of reach’: new NZ Army ‘loggie’ commander
The new commander of the New Zealand Army’s logistics battalion will draw on a wide range of experience and background to ensure soldiers have what they need to fight on the battlefield.
18 December, 2024
Lieutenant Colonel James Russell, a veteran ‘loggie’, recently took over as commanding officer of 2nd Combat Service Support Battalion (2CSSB), based at Linton Military Camp.
“I am incredibly excited and privileged to be leading 2CSSB into 2025. Every officer aspires to command roles, and leading a battalion as big as this will no doubt be a career highlight.”
Born in Tokoroa before moving to Auckland, where he attended Westlake Boys’ High School, Lieutenant Colonel Russell has enjoyed a variety of experiences throughout his Army career.
Enlisting straight from school in 2004, he almost immediately crossed the ditch for his officer cadet training in Canberra, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Geography.
After further training at Canberra’s Royal Military College in 2007, he commissioned back into the New Zealand Army Brigade with 3rd Logistics Battalion as a platoon commander
“That first leadership role was amazing. I loved serving a small platoon of passionate professionals, and it was a great re-introduction to New Zealand after my Australian training."
Lieutenant Colonel Russell has held a number of leadership and senior positions across the regiment and Army General Staff, and has deployed to the Solomon Islands and Iraq.
He recently wrote a master’s thesis on the leadership of NZ Army logistics in North Africa and Europe during the Second World War.
One of his career highlights was being equerry to King Charles III for his visit to New Zealand (as the then Prince of Wales) in November 2019.
Lieutenant Colonel Russell said he has large shoes to fill in taking over command from Lieutenant Colonel Vanessa Ropitini, left
Personnel from 2CSSB pay tribute to outgoing Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Vanessa Ropitini
One of Lieutenant Colonel Russell’s career highlights was being appointed equerry to King Charles III (Prince of Wales at the time) in 2019
Lieutenant Colonel Russell said the coming year would be about 2CSSB continuing to build skills and experience in providing logistics in what could be an “austere and contested environment”.
“Modern warfare is not only underscoring the criticality of combat service support, but it is also demonstrating that nowhere on the battlefield is out of reach,” he said.
“We must also be able to defend ourselves and provide our service under greater threats than before."
He said he’ll be leaning on all his experiences in this latest role, as the Army continues to operate in a challenging environment.
“It’s about being really smart about working with what we’ve got.
“We have some really talented and hardworking people in the battalion, and we’ve got some awesome work already planned for the year.
Lieutenant Colonel Russell and Major Jono Steele – both alumni from Auckland’s Westlake Boys’ High School – will link up in leadership roles at 2CSSB
Lieutenant Colonel Russell said his leadership style was “less about the person at the top, and more about empowering the leaders below”.
“Those platoon commanders and section commanders – all the way down to our junior soldiers.”
The 2CSSB role means he will work alongside fellow Westlake Boys’ High old boy, Major Jono Steele, who is currently the Officer Commanding of 5th Movements Company.
“Westlake Boys High instilled in us both not only a culture of pursuing excellence, but also that 'better never stops'.
“Having that shared understanding with Jono is going to be really empowering as we instinctively understand what that means,” Lieutenant Colonel Russell said.