Chief of Army (Australia)

Chief of Army
=
Incumbent
Richard Burr
since 2 July 2018
Style Lieutenant General
Member of Australian Defence Force
Reports to Chief of the Defence Force
Term length Four years (renewable)
Inaugural holder Major General Sir Edward Hutton
Formation 29 January 1902

The Chief of Army is the most senior appointment in the Australian Army, responsible to both the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) and the Secretary, Department of Defence (SECDEF). The rank associated with the position is lieutenant general (3-star).

Lieutenant General Richard Burr, the incumbent Chief of Army, has held the post since 2 July 2018.

History

The first Commander of the Australian Army was titled General Officer Commanding, Australian Military Forces, in line with the usual British practice of the time.[1] Experience soon showed that the position concentrated more power than the Ministers for Defence—of whom there were twelve in as many years in 1901–1913—liked.[2] Moreover, the British Army had encountered administrative problems in the Second Boer War which led to the abolition of the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Forces there in 1904, and its replacement by an Army Board.[3]

In 1904, Minister for Defence Anderson Dawson commissioned a report which recommended a similar system for Australia, with a Military Board consisting of four military members, the minister, and a finance member. This was implemented by his successor, James Whiteside McCay. However instead of creating a Chief of the General Staff as per the report, McCay's Military Board consisted of only three military members, the Deputy Adjutant General, the Chief of Ordnance, and the Chief of Intelligence.[4] The post of Chief of the General Staff was finally created by the new Minister of Defence, George Pearce, in 1909, with Colonel William Bridges becoming the first Chief of the General Staff. The military members of the Military Board then became the Chief of the General Staff, Adjutant General, Chief of Ordnance, and Quartermaster General.[5]

During the Second World War, the threat of invasion led to a reversion to the old system. A Commander in Chief, General Sir Thomas Blamey, was appointed, and the Military Board was suspended, with its powers being transferred to the Commander in Chief. The post of Chief of the General Staff remained, but was now subordinate to the Commander in Chief.[6] This was successful from a military point of view but the problem of a concentration of power recurred and, after the war ended, the government decided to re-form the Military Board. Blamey was replaced by Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee in 1945 and the next year the post of Commander in Chief was again abolished, with Sturdee becoming Chief of the General Staff.[7]

The system continued until the reforms of Arthur Tange in 1973. The three services were unified under the Department of Defence. The Military Board was abolished and the Chief of the General Staff became subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Force Staff and the Secretary of Defence.[8] Reflecting this change from a staff to a command role, the post was renamed Chief of Army in 1997.[9]

Appointees

The following table lists all those who have held the post of Chief of Army or its preceding positions. Ranks and honours are as at the completion of their tenure.[10]

Rank and prefixNamePostnominal(s)Term beganTerm endedTime in appointment
General Officer Commanding Australian Military Forces
Major General SirEdward HuttonKCB, KCMG29 January 190210 November 19041 year, 285 days
Major GeneralHarry FinnCB, DCM11 November 190412 January 190562 days
Chief of the General Staff
ColonelWilliam BridgesCMG1 January 190925 May 1909144 days
Major General SirJohn HoadKCMG26 May 190930 May 19112 years, 4 days
Lieutenant ColonelFrancis Adrian WilsonDSO1 June 191110 May 1912344 days
Brigadier GeneralJoseph Maria GordonCB11 May 191231 July 19142 years, 81 days
ColonelJames Gordon LeggeCMG1 August 191423 May 1915295 days
ColonelGodfrey Irving24 May 191531 December 1915221 days
ColonelHubert Foster1 January 191630 September 19171 year, 272 days
Major GeneralJames Gordon LeggeCB, CMG1 October 191731 May 19202 years, 243 days
Major General SirBrudenell WhiteKCMG, KCVO, CB, DSO1 June 192010 June 19233 years, 9 days
General SirHarry ChauvelGCMG, KCB11 June 192315 April 19306 years, 308 days
Major GeneralWalter CoxenCB, CMG, DSO16 April 193030 September 19311 year, 167 days
Major General SirJulius BrucheKCB, CMG1 October 193120 April 19353 years, 201 days
Lieutenant GeneralJohn LavarackCB, CMG, DSO21 April 193512 October 19394 years, 174 days
Lieutenant GeneralErnest SquiresCB, DSO, MC13 October 193926 January 1940105 days
Major GeneralJohn NorthcottCB27 January 194017 March 194050 days
General SirBrudenell WhiteKCB, KCMG, KCVO, DSO18 March 194013 August 1940148 days
Lieutenant GeneralVernon SturdeeCBE, DSO14 August 19409 September 19422 years, 26 days
Lieutenant GeneralJohn NorthcottCB10 September 194230 November 19453 years, 81 days
Lieutenant General SirVernon SturdeeKBE, CB, DSO1 December 194516 April 19504 years, 136 days
Lieutenant General SirSydney RowellKBE, CB17 April 195015 December 19544 years, 242 days
Lieutenant General SirHenry WellsKBE, CB, DSO16 December 195422 March 19583 years, 96 days
Lieutenant General SirRagnar GarrettKBE, CB23 March 195830 June 19602 years, 99 days
Lieutenant General SirReg PollardKBE, CB, DSO1 July 196020 January 19632 years, 203 days
Lieutenant General SirJohn WiltonKBE, CB, DSO21 January 196318 May 19663 years, 117 days
Lieutenant General SirThomas DalyKBE, CB, DSO19 May 196618 May 19714 years, 364 days
Lieutenant General SirMervyn BroganKBE, CB19 May 197119 November 19732 years, 184 days
Lieutenant GeneralFrank HassettAC, CB, CBE, DSO, LVO20 November 197323 November 19752 years, 3 days
Lieutenant GeneralArthur MacDonaldCB, OBE24 November 197520 April 19771 year, 147 days
Lieutenant General SirDonald DunstanKBE, CB21 April 197714 February 19824 years, 304 days
Lieutenant General SirPhillip BennettKBE, AO, DSO15 February 198212 February 19841 year, 362 days
Lieutenant GeneralPeter GrationAO, OBE13 February 198412 April 19873 years, 58 days
Lieutenant GeneralLawrence O'DonnellAC13 April 198712 April 19902 years, 364 days
Lieutenant GeneralJohn CoatesAC, MBE13 April 199030 April 19922 years, 17 days
Lieutenant GeneralJohn GreyAC1 May 19927 July 19953 years, 67 days
Lieutenant GeneralJohn SandersonAC8 July 199518 February 19971 year, 225 days
Chief of Army
Lieutenant GeneralJohn SandersonAC19 February 199723 June 19981 year, 124 days
Lieutenant GeneralFrank HicklingAO, CSC24 June 199815 July 20002 years, 21 days
Lieutenant GeneralPeter CosgroveAC, MC16 July 200027 June 20021 year, 346 days
Lieutenant GeneralPeter LeahyAC28 June 20023 July 20086 years, 5 days
Lieutenant GeneralKen GillespieAC, DSC, CSM4 July 200824 June 20112 years, 355 days
Lieutenant GeneralDavid MorrisonAO25 June 201115 May 20153 years, 324 days
Lieutenant GeneralAngus CampbellAO, DSC16 May 20152 July 20183 years, 47 days
Lieutenant GeneralRichard BurrAO, DSC, MVO2 July 2018Incumbent102 days

Images – Chief of Army

Images – Chief of the General Staff

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Wood 2006, p. 13
  2. ↑ Wood 2006, pp. 50–51
  3. ↑ Wood 2006, pp. xv–xxi
  4. ↑ Wood 2006, pp. 54–59
  5. ↑ Wood 2006, p. 66
  6. ↑ Palazzo 2001, p. 66
  7. ↑ Palazzo 2001, pp. 221–222
  8. ↑ Palazzo 2001, pp. 316–318
  9. ↑ Palazzo 2001, p. 323
  10. ↑ Beaumont 2001, pp. 75–76

References

  • Beaumont, Joan (2001), Australian Defence: Sources and Statistics, South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-554118-9
  • Palazzo, Albert (2001), The Australian Army: A History of Its Organisation 1901–2001, South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-551506-4
  • Wood, James (2006), Chiefs of the Australian army: Higher Command of the Australian Military Forces 1901–1914, Loftus, New South Wales: Australian Military History Publications, ISBN 1-876439-40-8
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