A Conversation with General Angus J. Campbell, AO, DSC Chief of the Defence Force, Australia

To RSVP or if you have any questions, please contact Pia Huesch at [email protected].

Speaker

• General Angus J. Campbell, AO, DSC, Chief of the Defence Force, Australia

Moderator

• Dr. Ian Lesser, Vice President, The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF)

Please join us for a conversation with General J. Angus Campbell, Chief of the Australian Defence Force, on current security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, and on the implications for European and transatlantic strategy and partnerships.  General Campbell will offer brief remarks, which will be followed by a moderated conversation with participants.

General Campbell joined the Australian Army in 1981, graduating from the Royal Military College - Duntroon in 1984. He was assigned to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and initially served as a platoon commander in the 3rd Battalion (Parachute), The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR). He then served in troop and squadron command appointments within the Special Air Service Regiment. In 2001 he was appointed the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR). During his command, the battalion group deployed to East Timor, as a component of the United Nations Transitional Administration East Timor. General Campbell has also served in a range of staff appointments including as Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of Army, as a strategic policy officer in Army Headquarters, an instructor at the Australian Command and Staff College, and as Chief of Staff to the Chief of the Defence Force.

In late 2005, he joined the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet as a First Assistant Secretary to head the Office of National Security. He was subsequently promoted to Deputy Secretary and appointed to the position of Deputy National Security Adviser. In these roles he was responsible for the preparation of advice to the Prime Minister on national security matters and for coordinating the development of whole-of-government national security policy. Upon his return to the Australian Defence Force in 2010 he was appointed to the rank of Major General and led the Military Strategic Commitments staff in Defence headquarters until January 2011, when he assumed command of Australian forces deployed in the Middle East Area of Operations. He subsequently served as Deputy Chief of Army from 2012 to 2013, when he was promoted to Lieutenant General to command the Joint Agency Task Force responsible for the implementation of Operation Sovereign Borders. In 2015, he was appointed Chief of the Australian Army. General Campbell was subsequently promoted and appointed to command of the Australian Defence Force in 2018.

General Campbell holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of New South Wales as well as a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from Cambridge University. He is a graduate of the Australian Army Command and Staff College.