Dunedin soldier lands UN posting

Dunedin soldier Colonel Ants Howie says he is looking forward to "a challenging role" after being appointed as a senior military advisor for the United Nations in war-torn Somalia.

During the year-long appointment Colonel Howie will help train the Somalia Defence Force and police, a big challenge in a country he described as a "failed state".

Col Howie has extensive military experience and has twice led overseas deployments in the Sinai in 1993 and in Iraq in 2004.

He is a senior officer in the Army's Reserve Forces and has been granted special leave from the Corrections Department for the assignment. 

"This is a unique opportunity and I am very much looking forward to what will be a challenging role. Despite some progress, Somalia continues to be a failed state which makes it a particularly difficult UN mission," he said.