Chief of Army Army Headquarters AUSTRALIA CANBERRA ACT 2600

Lieutenant General K.J. Gillespie, AO DSC CSM

BIOGRAPHY

Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie was born in Brisbane on 28 June 1952. He enlisted in the Australian Army as an apprentice in 1968. He graduated from the Officer Cadet School, Portsea in 1972 and was commissioned into the corps of the Royal Australian Engineers.

Lieutenant General Gillespie has held a range of regimental and staff appointments. These include: instructor appointments at the School of Military Engineering and 1st Recruit Training Battalion; regimental appointments in the rank of Captain and Major in the 2nd, 5th, and 2nd/3rd Field Engineer Regiments and the 1st Construction Regiment; Company Commander at the Army Apprentices School; and Senior Instructor at the School of Military Engineering.

During 1986 and 1987 he was the Australian Exchange Instructor at the Royal School of Military Engineering in the United Kingdom. In 1989 he 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. In 1990/91 he was the Standing Chairman of the Quadripartite Working Group - Engineers in the ABCA Armies Agreement. In 1999 and 2000 he was the Senior National Officer for Australia in the ABCA Program.

In 1985 he attended the Australian Command and Staff College, Queenscliff. In 1991 he attended the Australian Joint Services Staff College where he earned a Graduate Diploma in Strategic Studies. In 1998 he was a member of the Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom.

Senior appointments have included: the 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), and the inaugural Principal Staff Officer - Intelligence, Headquarters Australian Theatre. Lieutenant General 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, and he was the National Commander of Australia's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom.

For his service as the Commander Australian Contingent, Operation Slipper , Lieutenant General Gillespie was advanced to Officer of the Order of Australia in the Military Division, having previously been a Member of the Order for his service as Commander ASTJIC. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his command and leadership in East Timor in 2000/2001 and the Conspicuous Service Medal for his work in Namibia in 1989/90.

Lieutenant General Gillespie was appointed as Land Commander Australia in January 2004. He was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as Vice Chief of the Defence Force in July 2005.

Lieutenant General Gillespie assumed the appointment of Chief of Army on 4 July 2008.

He 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.

Printable version of Lieutenant General K.J. Gillespie, AO DSC CSM Biography (PDF)

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Chief of Army (CA) is responsible and accountable to the Chief of the Defence Force and jointly responsible and accountable to the Secretary to the Department of Defence. He is also responsible for:

• Corporate Policy Formulation
  Provision of advice to the Chief of the Defence Force on developments in military strategic affairs. Participation in the process of preparing strategic assessments and plans, development of force capabilities, preparedness and policy, force disposition and facilities matters. Providing support to the Chief of the Defence Force in the preparation, development, sustainment and command of the ADF through the provision of Army advice. Initiating and contributing to international Defence objectives through Service to Service relationships.
• Command of the Army
  Maintaining professional standards, ethos, discipline and morale as the professional head of the Army. Formulating Army and joint doctrine for the combat employment and support of the Army as required by the potential range of ADF operations. Managing the Army, including directing its staffing up to Colonel and advising the Chief of the Defence Force and the Secretary on proposals to the Minister for promotion to Brigadier and above. Provision of training that satisfies Army and joint needs. Exercising full command of Army elements and their preparation until assigned to joint commanders.
• Management
  Ensuring the economic use of available resources within endorsed policies and approved programs and the achievement of agreed objectives. Formulating estimates of resources required to meet objectives. Contributing to the corporate management of the Defence Portfolio. Providing access to data and information required to support Defence decisions. Ensuring the visibility of performance measures used to assess effectiveness and efficiency.

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