A New Chief of the Australian Defence Force
Advancing Transformation or Marking Time - my new CSIS article
Last week, the Australian government announced a series of changesin the higher command and control of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The changes were expected, with the term of the current chief of the defence force, General Angus Campbell, due to expire this coming July.
Most significant was news of the appointment of Vice Admiral David Johnson as the incoming chief of the defence force, the highest-ranking military officer in the ADF. Johnson is a long-time Canberra insider, who has been the vice chief of the defence force for several years. Prior to that, he served as the Canberra-based chief of joint operations. He is a known quantity to politicians, journalists, and the senior leadership group of the ADF as well as the Department of Defence.
Interestingly, Johnson has only been appointed for a two-year term. Normally, chiefs of the defence force and service chiefs are appointed to four-year terms. This shortened tenure may be a problematic decision for the government as Johnson may well be considered, from the outset, as a short-timer; those beneath him and in other government departments might decide to “wait out” instead of initiating the transformation that the ADF needs as the Indo-Pacific region changes rapidly.
Despite the institutional and leadership challenges of a short term, the new chief of the defence force will have an array of significant strategic challenges that he must make progress with during his term
You can read the rest of my analysis, published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, here.