Chief of Army (Australia)

Chief of Army (Australia)
Incumbent	David Morrison

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).

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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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. Reflecting this change from a staff to a command role, the post was renamed Chief of Army in 1997.

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.

Rank and pre-nominal	Name	Post-nominal(s)	Term began	Term ended	Time in Appointment
General Officer Commanding Australian Military Forces
Major General Sir	Hutton, EdwardEdward Hutton	KCB, KCMG	000000001902-01-29-0000January 29, 1902	000000001904-11-10-0000November 10, 1904	70001000000000000001 year, 7002285000000000000285 days
Major General	Finn, HarryHarry Finn	CB, DCM	000000001904-11-11-0000November 11, 1904	000000001905-01-12-0000January 12, 1905	50000000000000000000 years, 700162000000000000062 days
Chief of the General Staff
Colonel	Bridges, WilliamWilliam Bridges	CMG	000000001909-01-01-0000January 1, 1909	000000001909-05-25-0000May 25, 1909	50000000000000000000 years, 7002144000000000000144 days
Major General Sir	Hoad, JohnJohn Hoad	KCMG	000000001909-05-26-0000May 26, 1909	000000001911-05-30-0000May 30, 1911	70002000000000000002 years, 70004000000000000004 days
Lieutenant Colonel	Wilson, Francis AdrianFrancis Adrian Wilson	DSO	000000001911-06-01-0000June 1, 1911	000000001912-05-10-0000May 10, 1912	50000000000000000000 years, 7002344000000000000344 days
Brigadier General	Gordon, Joseph MariaJoseph Maria Gordon	CB	000000001912-05-11-0000May 11, 1912	000000001914-07-31-0000July 31, 1914	70002000000000000002 years, 700181000000000000081 days
Colonel	Legge, James GordonJames Gordon Legge	CMG	000000001914-08-01-0000August 1, 1914	000000001915-05-23-0000May 23, 1915	50000000000000000000 years, 7002295000000000000295 days
Colonel	Irving, GodfreyGodfrey Irving		000000001915-05-24-0000May 24, 1915	000000001915-12-31-0000December 31, 1915	50000000000000000000 years, 7002221000000000000221 days
Colonel	Foster, HubertHubert Foster		000000001916-01-01-0000January 1, 1916	000000001917-09-30-0000September 30, 1917	70001000000000000001 year, 7002272000000000000272 days
Major General	Legge, James GordonJames Gordon Legge	CB, CMG	000000001917-10-01-0000October 1, 1917	000000001920-05-31-0000May 31, 1920	70002000000000000002 years, 7002243000000000000243 days
Lieutenant General Sir	White, BrudenellBrudenell White	KCMG, KCVO, CB, DSO	000000001920-06-01-0000June 1, 1920	000000001923-06-10-0000June 10, 1923	70003000000000000003 years, 70009000000000000009 days
General Sir	Chauvel, HarryHarry Chauvel	GCMG, KCB	000000001923-06-11-0000June 11, 1923	000000001930-04-15-0000April 15, 1930	70006000000000000006 years, 7002308000000000000308 days
Major General	Coxen, WalterWalter Coxen	CB, CMG, DSO	000000001930-04-16-0000April 16, 1930	000000001931-09-30-0000September 30, 1931	70001000000000000001 year, 7002167000000000000167 days
Major General Sir	Bruche, JuliusJulius Bruche	KCB, CMG	000000001931-10-01-0000October 1, 1931	000000001935-04-20-0000April 20, 1935	70003000000000000003 years, 7002201000000000000201 days
Lieutenant General	Lavarack, JohnJohn Lavarack	CB, CMG, DSO	000000001935-04-21-0000April 21, 1935	000000001939-10-12-0000October 12, 1939	70004000000000000004 years, 7002174000000000000174 days
Lieutenant General	Squires, ErnestErnest Squires	CB, DSO, MC	000000001939-10-13-0000October 13, 1939	000000001940-01-26-0000January 26, 1940	50000000000000000000 years, 7002105000000000000105 days
Major General	Northcott, JohnJohn Northcott	CB	000000001940-01-27-0000January 27, 1940	000000001940-03-17-0000March 17, 1940	50000000000000000000 years, 700150000000000000050 days
General Sir	White, BrudenellBrudenell White	KCB, KCMG, KCVO, DSO	000000001940-03-18-0000March 18, 1940	000000001940-08-13-0000August 13, 1940	50000000000000000000 years, 7002148000000000000148 days
Lieutenant General	Sturdee, VernonVernon Sturdee	CBE, DSO	000000001940-08-14-0000August 14, 1940	000000001942-09-09-0000September 9, 1942	70002000000000000002 years, 700126000000000000026 days
Lieutenant General	Northcott, JohnJohn Northcott	CB	000000001942-09-10-0000September 10, 1942	000000001945-11-30-0000November 30, 1945	70003000000000000003 years, 700181000000000000081 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Sturdee, VernonVernon Sturdee	KBE, CB, DSO	000000001945-12-01-0000December 1, 1945	000000001950-04-16-0000April 16, 1950	70004000000000000004 years, 7002136000000000000136 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Rowell, SydneySydney Rowell	KBE, CB	000000001950-04-17-0000April 17, 1950	000000001954-12-15-0000December 15, 1954	70004000000000000004 years, 7002242000000000000242 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Wells, HenryHenry Wells	KBE, CB, DSO	000000001954-12-16-0000December 16, 1954	000000001958-03-22-0000March 22, 1958	70003000000000000003 years, 700196000000000000096 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Garrett, RagnarRagnar Garrett	KBE, CB	000000001958-03-23-0000March 23, 1958	000000001960-06-30-0000June 30, 1960	70002000000000000002 years, 700199000000000000099 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Pollard, RegReg Pollard	KBE, CB, DSO	000000001960-07-01-0000July 1, 1960	000000001963-01-20-0000January 20, 1963	70002000000000000002 years, 7002203000000000000203 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Wilton, JohnJohn Wilton	KBE, CB, DSO	000000001963-01-21-0000January 21, 1963	000000001966-05-18-0000May 18, 1966	70003000000000000003 years, 7002117000000000000117 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Daly, ThomasThomas Daly	KBE, CB, DSO	000000001966-05-19-0000May 19, 1966	000000001971-05-18-0000May 18, 1971	70004000000000000004 years, 7002364000000000000364 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Brogan, MervynMervyn Brogan	KBE, CB	000000001971-05-19-0000May 19, 1971	000000001973-11-19-0000November 19, 1973	70002000000000000002 years, 7002184000000000000184 days
Lieutenant General	Hassett, FrankFrank Hassett	AC, CB, CBE, DSO, LVO	000000001973-11-20-0000November 20, 1973	000000001975-11-23-0000November 23, 1975	70002000000000000002 years, 70003000000000000003 days
Lieutenant General	MacDonald, ArthurArthur MacDonald	CB, OBE	000000001975-11-24-0000November 24, 1975	000000001977-04-20-0000April 20, 1977	70001000000000000001 year, 7002147000000000000147 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Dunstan, DonaldDonald Dunstan	KBE, CB	000000001977-04-21-0000April 21, 1977	000000001982-02-14-0000February 14, 1982	70004000000000000004 years, 7002304000000000000304 days
Lieutenant General Sir	Bennett, PhillipPhillip Bennett	KBE, AO, DSO	000000001982-02-15-0000February 15, 1982	000000001984-02-12-0000February 12, 1984	70001000000000000001 year, 7002362000000000000362 days
Lieutenant General	Gration, PeterPeter Gration	AO, OBE	000000001984-02-13-0000February 13, 1984	000000001987-04-12-0000April 12, 1987	70003000000000000003 years, 700158000000000000058 days
Lieutenant General	O'Donnell, LawrenceLawrence O'Donnell	AC	000000001987-04-13-0000April 13, 1987	000000001990-04-12-0000April 12, 1990	70002000000000000002 years, 7002364000000000000364 days
Lieutenant General	Coates, JohnJohn Coates	AC, MBE	000000001990-04-13-0000April 13, 1990	000000001992-04-30-0000April 30, 1992	70002000000000000002 years, 700117000000000000017 days
Lieutenant General	Grey, JohnJohn Grey	AC	000000001992-05-01-0000May 1, 1992	000000001995-07-07-0000July 7, 1995	70003000000000000003 years, 700167000000000000067 days
Lieutenant General	Sanderson, JohnJohn Sanderson	AC	000000001995-07-08-0000July 8, 1995	000000001997-02-18-0000February 18, 1997	70001000000000000001 year, 7002225000000000000225 days
Chief of Army
Lieutenant General	Sanderson, JohnJohn Sanderson	AC	000000001997-02-19-0000February 19, 1997	000000001998-06-23-0000June 23, 1998	70001000000000000001 year, 7002124000000000000124 days
Lieutenant General	Hickling, FrankFrank Hickling	AO, CSC	000000001998-06-24-0000June 24, 1998	000000002000-07-15-0000July 15, 2000	70002000000000000002 years, 700121000000000000021 days
Lieutenant General	Cosgrove, PeterPeter Cosgrove	AC, MC	000000002000-07-16-0000July 16, 2000	000000002002-06-27-0000June 27, 2002	70001000000000000001 year, 7002346000000000000346 days
Lieutenant General	Leahy, PeterPeter Leahy	AC	000000002002-06-28-0000June 28, 2002	000000002008-07-03-0000July 3, 2008	70006000000000000006 years, 70005000000000000005 days
Lieutenant General	Gillespie, KenKen Gillespie	AC, DSC, CSM	000000002008-07-04-0000July 4, 2008	000000002011-06-24-0000June 24, 2011	70002000000000000002 years, 7002355000000000000355 days
Lieutenant General	Morrison, DavidDavid Morrison	AO	000000002011-06-24-0000June 24, 2011	Incumbent	70002000000000000002 years, 70033952000000000003,952 days

Images – Chief of Army

Ken Gillespie
(2008–2011)

Peter Leahy
(2002–2008)

Peter Cosgrove
(2000–2002)

The official limousine of the Chief of Army at the 2008 National Anzac Day service, Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

Images – Chief of the General Staff

Phillip Bennett
(1982–1984)

PollardRG1963.2.jpg

"Reg" Pollard
(1960–1963)

Henry Wells
(1954–1958)

"Syd" Rowell
(1950–1954)

Vernon Sturdee
(1945–1950)
(1940–1942)

John Northcott
(1942–1945)
(1940)

"Brudenell" White
(1940)
(1920–1923)

John Lavarack
(1935–1939)

Julius Henry Bruche
(1931–1935)

"Boss Gunner" Coxen
(1930–1931)

"Harry" Chauvel
(1923–1930)

James Legge
(1917–1920)
(1914–1915)

Joseph Gordon
(1912–1914)

William Bridges
(1909)

Gen Sir Edward Hutton.jpg

Edward Hutton
(1901–1909)

See also

• List of Australian generals and brigadiers

References

• Beaumont, Joan (2001). "Australian Defence: Sources and Statistics". South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press. pp. 75–76. 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.