Mark Andrew Kelly

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Mark Andrew Kelly
Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales
Allegiance Flag of Australia Australia
Service/branch Australian Army
Years of service 1975-
Rank Major General
Commands held Land Command Australia
Deployable Joint Force Headquarters
1st Division
3rd Brigade
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
Battles/wars Commonwealth Truce Monitoring Force, Rhodesia
International Force for East Timor

Iraq War
Awards Officer of the Order of Australia

Major General Mark Andrew Kelly AO is a senior officer in the Australian Army, currently serving in the position of Land Commander Australia (LCAUST).

Contents

[edit] Early Life

Mark Andrew Kelly was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and educated at James Ruse Agricultural High School.[1]

[edit] Service History

Kelly entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in January of 1975, where he graduated in December, 1978 receiving the Sword of Honour as dux of his year.[2] In the same year, Kelly received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New South Wales.

Allocated to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps, Kelly's first operational posting came in 1980, where he served with the Commonwealth Monitoring Force in Rhodesia during independence elections.

Between December of 1995 and December of 1997, Kelly was Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. He then moved on to Deployable Joint Force Headquarters as the Chief of Staff, a posting that involved deploying the headquarters to East Timor for Operation Stabilise, where he served as the Chief of Staff for INTERFET. Kelly was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honour's List of 2000 for his exceptional service in these positions.[3]

Kelly was promoted to Brigadier, and appointed to command the 3rd Brigade from December 2000 until December 2002. He was then posted to Headquarters United States Central Command in Tampa, Florida, serving as the first Director of the Combined Planning Group, planning operations in Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Iraq. He was awarded Officer of the United States Legion of Merit for his service in this position.

Kelly was promoted to Major General and assumed command of the 1st Division and Deployable Joint Force Headquarters on 5 July 2004. He then assumed his present appointment as Land Commander Australia on 15 July 2005.

In the Australia Day Honour's List of 2008, Kelly was upgraded to an Officer of the Order of Australia.[4]

[edit] Academic qualifications

  • 1978 Bachelor of Arts (UNSW)
  • 1978 Graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon
  • 1990 Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies (Deakin)
  • 1990 Graduate of the Australian Army Command and Staff College at Queenscliff
  • 1995 Master of Arts in Defence Studies (UNSW)
  • 2000 Fellow of the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies at the Australian Defence College in Canberra

[edit] Personal

Kelly is married to Gabrielle and they have a son, Christopher. He enjoys reading and listening to music and his sporting interests include Rugby, Golf, Touch Football and Running.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Official ADF Biography
  2. ^ Change of Command - Army Newspaper article
  3. ^ It's an Honour - Member of the Order of Australia - 26 January 2000
    Citation: For exceptional service to the Australian Army in demanding command and staff appointments, particularly as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, and as the Chief of Staff at Deployable Joint Force Headquarters.
  4. ^ It's an Honour - Officer of the Order of Australia - 26 January 2008
    Citation: For distinguished service to the Australian Army in the fields of training, personnel and operations, in particular as the Commander of the 1st Division and as the Land Commander Australia.

[edit] External Links


Military offices
Preceded by
Major General Ken Gillespie AO, DSC, CSM		 Land Commander Australia
2005 - Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent