Ash Power

Brian Ashley Power

Power in 2007
Born 20 January 1957 (1957-01-20) (age 55)
Wangaratta, Victoria
Allegiance  Australia
Service/branch Australian Army
Years of service 1975 –
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands held Chief of Joint Operations
Training Command
1st Division
1st Brigade
4th Field Regiment
Battles/wars

International Force for East Timor
War in Afghanistan

Iraq War
Awards Member of the Order of Australia
Conspicuous Service Cross
Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)
Meritorious Service Medal (United States)

Lieutenant General Brian Ashley "Ash" Power AM, CSC (20 January 1957 – ) is a senior officer in the Australian Army, currently serving as Chief of Joint Operations.

Contents

Service history

Ash Power entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in January 1975. He graduated nearly four years later in December 1978 and was allocated to the Royal Australian Artillery. He was posted to the 4th Field Regiment for regimental duty and performed the functions of Section Commander, Gun Position Officer, and Assistant Adjutant. He later returned to command the Regiment, for which he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 1998.[1]

He has been an instructor at the School of Artillery, the Royal Military College, Duntroon and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Camberley, United Kingdom, and has also attended Command and Staff College, Bangkok, Thailand.

In November 1998 Power deployed to Bougainville on Operation Belisi as the Chief of Staff, and in September 1999 was deployed as the Colonel Operations for International Force for East Timor (INTERFET). He was posted as the Defence Attaché Thailand in January 2000, and on his return in January 2002, studied at the Australian Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, Canberra.

Power was promoted to Brigadier on 22 November 2002, and assumed command of the 1st Brigade on 6 December 2002.[2]

In 2005 Power was promoted to Major General, and assumed command of the 1st Division on 2 July 2005.

In June 2006 he became a Member of the Order of Australia,[3] and in November 2006 was posted as Commander Joint Task Force 636.[4]

Power served as Australian Commander of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2007 (TS07)[5] before assuming command of Training Command, Army on 6 July 2007.

In May 2011 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS) and Commander of Headquarters, Joint Operations Command (HQJOC).

Ash Power is a veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and Bougainville.[6]

Personal

In 1978 Ash Power married Narelle.[7] They have two daughters.

Honours and awards

Member of the Order of Australia (AM) 12 June 2006[3]
Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) 26 January 1998[1]
Australian Active Service Medal with EAST TIMOR, ICAT clasps[6]
INTERFET medal
Afghanistan Medal
Australian Service Medal with BOUGAINVILLE clasp[6]
Defence Force Service Medal with 4 clasps (35–39 years of service)
Australian Defence Medal
ISAF NATO ISAF medal - 'International Security Assistance Force' medal
Officer of the Legion of Merit (U.S.) c. March 2006[8][9]
Meritorious Service Medal (U.S.) [10]

References

  1. ^ a b Conspicuous Service Cross - 26 January 1998
  2. ^ Australian Defence Force Biography as Commander, 1st Brigade, May 2004.
  3. ^ a b Member of the Order of Australia - 12 June 2006 Citation: For exceptional service to the Australian Defence Force as Defence Attaché Thailand, Commander 1st Brigade, and as Director United States Central Command Combined Planning Group, Tampa.
  4. ^ Task Force home from Fiji
  5. ^ Exercise Talisman Saber Question & Answers - "The Commander of the Task Force Legais (a fictional land mass represented in part by Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA)), the live portion of the exercise, is Australian Major General Ash Power, Commander 1 Division."
  6. ^ a b c Major General Power, a veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and Bougainville
  7. ^ Major General Ash Power, CSC and Mrs Narelle Power at Government House, Queensland, October 2005.
  8. ^ Signs of the times, Defence magazine, March 2006.
  9. ^ Officer of the Legion of Merit citation extract: "For exceptionally meritorious service as the Director, Combined Planning Group (CPG)" in the period from June 2004 to June 2005. "His expertise in strategic analysis and deliberate planning shaped the CPG's structure and mission, assured a firm foundation for the development of quality planning and assessment efforts, and promoted continued growth of CPG capabilities. He coordinated CPG efforts with USCENTCOM (US Central Command) leadership to provide valuable international perspectives to ongoing planning and analysis, better capitalise on the intellectual capacity of select international officers by integrating them in to key theatre headquarters staff processes and products, and to develop and incorporate analytical constructs for use at the strategic-theatre level. Brigadier Power's exemplary performance, dynamic leadership and exceptional devotion to duty reflect great credit upon himself, the Australian Army, and his country."
  10. ^ Official Portrait, [1], June 2011.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Lieutenant General Mark Evans		 Chief of Joint Operations
May 2011 – Present		 Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by
Major General Mark Kelly		 Commander 1st Division
May 2005 – 2007		 Succeeded by
Major General Richard Wilson