Angus Campbell (general)

Angus John Campbell
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Australian Army
Years of service	1981 – present
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Chief of Army (2015–) Operation Sovereign Borders (2013–15) Deputy Chief of Army (2012–13) Joint Task Force 633 (2011–12) 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2001–03)
Battles/wars	East Timor War in Afghanistan
Awards	Officer of the Order of Australia Distinguished Service Cross

Lieutenant General Angus John Campbell, AO, DSC is a senior officer in the Australian Army, currently serving as the Chief of Army (CA). He previously served as Commander Operation Sovereign Borders, from September 2013 until his appointment as CA in May 2015.^[1]

Military career

Campbell entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1981, receiving commission as an infantry lieutenant in 1984. Initially assigned to the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment as a platoon commander, he later passed selection for the Special Air Service Regiment, with which he served as troop and squadron commander. Campbell commanded the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in East Timor as part of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, for which was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2003.^[2][3]

Campbell served as Chief of Staff to General Peter Cosgrove and later Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston during their respective tenures as Chief of the Defence Force. In 2005, he left the full-time army and assumed a senior civilian appointment as First Assistant Secretary in the Office of National Security within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Campbell was later promoted to Deputy Secretary, and served as Deputy National Security Adviser for a period before returning to the army in 2010.^[2]

Campbell was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed as Commander Joint Task Force 633 in 2011, responsible for all Australian forces deployed in the Middle East, including Afghanistan. For his command in Afghanistan he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.^[4] He was appointed the Deputy Chief of Army in February 2012.^[2]

Campbell was promoted to lieutenant general on 19 September 2013 and appointed to oversee Operation Sovereign Borders, part of the Abbott Government's immigration policy aimed at stopping maritime arrivals of asylum seekers to Australia.^[2]

In March 2015, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced Campbell would be appointed Chief of Army from May of that year, taking over from the retiring Lieutenant General David Morrison.^[5] For his "distinguished service" as army chief and in other senior roles, Campbell was advanced to Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2017 Birthday Honours.^[6]

References

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