Elizabeth Cosson
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| Elizabeth Cosson | |
|---|---|
| 1958 - | |
| Nickname | Liz |
| Allegiance |  Australia |
| Service/branch | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1979 - |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands held | National Operations |
| Battles/wars | East Timor |
| Awards | Conspicuous Service Cross |
Major General Elizabeth Cosson CSC (born 1958) is Australia's most senior female army officer and the first woman to reach the rank of Major General in the Australian Army.
Contents |
[edit] ADF Service
Elizabeth (Liz) Cosson joined the Australian Army in 1979 as an officer cadet and was commissioned in the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps. During the early part of her career she held a number of appointments as a supply and administrative officer.[1]
In 1991 she was appointed to a position at the Royal Australian Air Force Logistics Command where she was responsible for the logistics support to army aviation aircraft. For her work in improving the availability of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter fleet and supporting the fleet deployment to Cambodia, she received a commendation from the Air Officer Commanding Logistics.[1]
In 1995 Cosson served in a number of appointments within Land Command, including a regimental appointment with the 11th Brigade and a logistics staff officer appointment at Headquarters Land Command. During this appointment her responsibilities included logistics planning in support of the 1999 operations in East Timor. In November 1999 she deployed as the Chief of Staff of the Peace Monitoring Group, Bougainville.[1]
She was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2001 Australia Day Honours List "for outstanding achievement as the Chief of Staff, Peace Monitoring Group, Bougainville, and in logistic planning and management of the Combat Force as the Staff Officer Grade One Logistics, Land Headquarters".[2]
On her return from Bougainville she served with Defence Corporate Services before being seconded to the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade in the House of Representatives. In 2002, Cosson commenced a three year appointment in strategic logistics planning and was responsible for logistics policy and for developing concepts to improve logistics information systems.[1]
In in December 2005 she became the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Brigadier in the Australian Army.[1]
Major General Cosson is a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff College at Queenscliff (1994) and the Defence Strategic Studies Course (2005). She holds a Graduate Diploma in Management Studies, a Bachelor of Social Sciences and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies.[1]
She is married to Brigadier James Baker,[1] who is also currently serving in the Australian Army as the Commander of Joint Task Force 631 in Timor Leste.[3]
She served in the Corporate Services and Infrastructure Group of the Defence Department as the Director General Regions and Bases.[4] In this position she is responsible for the management of integrated service delivery to Defence bases across Australia.
[edit] Kovco affair
Cosson was appointed in April 2006 to investigate the circumstances surrounding the repatriation of the body of Jacob Kovco. On 15 May 2006, following a meeting with the Victorian Coroner, she left a CD ROM containing a draft copy of her confidential report in a public computer in the Qantas Club lounge of Melbourne Airport.[5] Parts of the report were subsequently broadcast.[6] This incident is now the subject of a Defence Department inquiry.[7]
[edit] Promoted to Major General
In November 2007, she became the first woman to be promoted to the rank of major general in the Australian Army, and only the second female officer to be promoted to two-star rank in the Australian Defence Force, after Air Vice Marshal Julie Hammer, who retired in 2005. Cosson as head of National Operations within the Defence Support Group has become responsible for the management of 80 ADF bases and garrisons across the country.[8] At this time, although about 13% of the ADF were women, there were only four at the one-star level: Commodore Robyn Walker, Commodore Vicki McConachie, Brigadier Lyn McDade and Air Commodore Margaret Staib.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g Elizabeth Cosson Biography on Department of Defence site
- ^ Australian honours site
- ^ Brigadier James Baker Biography on Department of Defence site
- ^ Brendan Nicholson and Misha Schubert Hand-picked officer devastated by bungle, The Age, 19 May 2006
- ^ Patrick Walters, Bungle brigadier taking it very hard, The Australian, 19 May 2006
- ^ Rachel Carbonell, Defence admits losing report, Lateline, 17 May 2006
- ^ Patrick Walters, Nelson sets limits for Kovco team, The Australian, 19 May 2006
- ^ Mark Dodd, First female two star general named, The Australian, 12 November 2007
- ^ David McLennan, Historic Promotion Despite Kovco Bungle, The Canberra Times, 12 November 2007
