Rear Adm. John Martin, New Zealand chief of Navy, presented Rear Adm. James Loeblein, chief of legislative affairs for the secretary of the Navy, with the New Zealand Chief of Navy Commendation Medal, April 6.

Loeblein is the first non-New Zealand naval officer to have received the medal, which is awarded to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the Royal New Zealand Navy.

While on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, Loeblein spearheaded efforts to reduce training and information sharing-barriers between the United States and the Royal New Zealand Navy. These barriers were a primary point of discussion during the Five Eyes Naval Staff Talks in 2016, in that they directly impacted the RNZN's ability to fully coordinate with coalition partners. Loeblein worked with various U.S. Navy commands to determine possible courses to a positive resolution, and in 2017, the United States agreed to lift restrictions. This resulted in improved training opportunities and opportunities to more fully integrate New Zealand Naval Officers with coalition forces during operations, exercises and engagements.

"It's important to recognize extremely valuable work and effort in all our people as leaders," said Martin. "It's so easy to take each other for granted in terms of relationships and not only what Loeblein has done to make change for the New Zealand Navy but also for our partnership is unique. His work has been a wonderful example of courage and commitment to our values."

Loeblein was initially meeting with Martin about his contributions to the Five Eyes Deputy Chief of Navy Talks in Victoria, Canada last October. Little did Loeblein know Martin was awarding him the commendation.

"I was truly humbled," said Loeblein, about the recognition. "I've had the honor of working with our New Zealand friends in a number of jobs throughout my career, and been a part of our sea-services working closely together. As we look for ways to become more efficient, to work smarter and faster, it is our cooperation and interoperability that will make the difference in our warfighting successes."

Five Eyes is comprised of a five-nation intelligence sharing community including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States. It began from U.K. and U.S. intelligence cooperation in World War II, matured during the Cold War, and continues to protect the national interests of all its members today.