Ken Gillespie

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Kenneth James Gillespie
June 28, 1952 (1952-06-28) (age 55)

Ken Gillespie, Vice Chief of the Defence Force (Australia) at the 2008 National Anzac Day service, Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
Nickname Ken
Place of birth Brisbane, Queensland
Allegiance Flag of Australia Australia
Service/branch Australian Army
Years of service 1968-Present
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands held Commander Australian Contingent, Operation Slipper
Land Commander Australia
Commander West Sector, Operation Tanager
Battles/wars East Timor
War in Afghanistan
Awards Officer Of The Order Of Australia
Distinguished Service Cross
Conspicuous Service Medal

Lieutenant General Kenneth James Gillespie AO, DSC, CSM (b. 28 June 1952), is the current Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Force.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Ken Gillespie enlisted in the Australian Army in 1968 as an apprentice. He graduated from the Officer Cadet School, Portsea, in 1972, gaining a commission in the corps of the Royal Australian Engineers. Ken Gillespie is married to Carmel and they have a student daughter. He has two grown children from a previous marriage. He is well travelled, enjoys most sports, particularly golf, and is a keen reader.

[edit] Appointments

Gillespie has held a range of regimental and staff appointments:

  • instructor, School of Military Engineering and
  • instructor, 1st Recruit Training Battalion;
  • regimental appointments in the rank of Captain and Major in:
    • 2nd Field Engineer Regiment
    • 5th Field Engineer Regiment
    • 2nd/3rd Field Engineer Regiment
    • 1st Construction Regiment
  • Company Commander at the Army Apprentices School
  • Senior Instructor at the School of Military Engineering
  • 1985: Attended the Australian Command and Staff College, Queenscliff
  • 1986-87: Australian Exchange Instructor at the Royal School of Military Engineering in the United Kingdom
  • 1989: Raised, and then deployed as the second in command and operations officer, the 2nd Australian Contingent to the United Nations Transition Assistance Group in Namibia[1]
  • 1990-91: Standing Chairman of the Quadripartite Working Group - Engineers in the ABCA Armies Agreement
  • 1991: Attended the Australian Joint Services Staff College where he earned a Graduate Diploma in Strategic Studies
  • 1998: Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom
  • 1999 and 2000: Senior National Officer for Australia in the ABCA Program

Senior appointments:

  • Inaugural commanding officer of the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment
  • Staff Officer Operations to the Chief of the Defence Force
  • Inaugural commander of the Australian Theatre Joint Intelligence Centre (ASTJIC), for which he was made a Member of the Order of Australia[2]
  • Inaugural Principal Staff Officer - Intelligence, Headquarters Australian Theatre (HQAST)

Gillespie was promoted to Brigadier in January 1999. In this rank:

  • he was the Chief of Staff Training Command - Army,
  • he commanded the United Nations Sector West multinational brigade in East Timor[3],
  • and he was the National Commander of Australia's contribution to Operation Slipper[4].

Gillespie was promoted to Major General and made Land Commander Australia in January of 2004, and to Lieutenant General as Vice Chief of the Defence force in 2005.

Lieutenant General Gillespie is to assume his new appointment as Chief of Army on 4 July 2008.

[edit] Honours and awards

For his service as the Commander Australian Contingent, Operation Slipper, Gillespie was advanced to Officer of the Order of Australia in the Military Division[4]

Gillespie was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 2002 for "distinguished command and leadership"[3] whilst Commander Sector West deployed on active service with the United Nations Transitional Administration East Timor during Operation Tanager.

Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) (2003)[4]
Member of the Order of Australia (AM) (1998)[2]
Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) (2002)[3][5]
Conspicuous Service Medal (1992)[1]
Australian Active Service Medal with 3 clasps: NAMIBIA, EAST TIMOR, and ICAT
Afghanistan Medal
Defence Force Service Medal with Federation Star (40-44 years of service)
Australian Defence Medal
UNTAG (United Nations Transition Assistance Group) Namibia 1989-90[6] (1992)
UNTAET (United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor)[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b It's an Honour entry - Conspicuous Service Medal, 08 June 1992
  2. ^ a b It's an Honour entry - Member of the Order of Australia, 08 June 1998
    Citation: For exceptional servive to the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force, particularly in the development of the Australian Theatre Joint Intelligence Centre (ASTJIC).
  3. ^ a b c It's an Honour entry - Distinguished Service Cross (Australian), 10 June 2002
    Citation: For distinguished command and leadership as the Commander Sector West while deployed on active service with the United Nations Transitional Administration East Timor during Operation TANAGER.
  4. ^ a b c It's an Honour entry - Officer of the Order of Australia, 26 January 2003
    Citation: For distinguished service to the Australian Defence Force as the Commander Australian Contingent, Operation SLIPPER in the Middle East between October 2001 and March 2002.
  5. ^ Note that since its inception in 1991, only 35 awards of the Distinguished Service Cross have been made.
  6. ^ UNTAG Medal
  7. ^ UNTAET Medal

[edit] External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Vice Admiral Russ Shalders AO, CSC		 Vice Chief of the Defence Force
2005–2008		 Succeeded by
Lieutenant General David Hurley AO, DSC
Preceded by
Lieutenant General Peter Leahy AC		 Chief of the Army
2008-2011		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
v • d • e
Leadership of the Australian Defence Force