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With wars in Europe and the Middle East, and Chinese naval task groups operating closer to Australia, the familiar line that this is our most challenging strategic environment since World War II is starting to feel dated. We are certainly in a more dangerous period.
That is the backdrop to today’s leadership announcements: Vice Admiral Mark Hammond as the next Chief of the Defence Force, Rear Admiral Matt Buckley as Chief of Navy, and Lieutenant General Susan Coyle as Chief of Army will lead the ADF through this. Coyle’s appointment stands out. Not just because she is the first woman to lead a service, but because she is the first Chief of Joint Capabilities to step into the role, bringing experience in cyber, space and the enabling elements of how the ADF fights.
I first met Lieutenant General Coyle in the Middle East at Al Minhad in January 2020. The United States was pursuing “maximum pressure” on Iran over their nuclear program, a context that feels familiar again today. At the time, she was commanding Australia’s Middle East headquarters. Just days earlier, General Qasem Soleimani had been killed by the United States in Iraq. I had deployed to lead planning within the International Maritime Security Construct, established to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian attacks on commercial vessels.
As I walked out of the mess, then Major General Coyle called out and introduced herself. Hundreds of Australians pass through that base, but she knew who I was and wanted to talk about the maritime reassurance mission I was there to support. She was already deeply experienced in the Middle East, including as deputy commander joint task force 636 in Afghanistan, where she was awarded a distinguished service medal. What stood out was her mission focus but also the time she took to get to know her people.
When COVID hit and rotations were extended, that did not change. Despite running operations across a tense region where war remained on the cards she made time to stay connected. She even dialled into the Zoom trivia nights I ran for my team to keep morale up during a difficult period, the only person who managed to get my random trivia questions about my home town of Broken Hill correct. That balance between mission focus and genuine care for her people was clear then, and it is why her appointment matters.
Coyle’s appointment is not about gender. But it is significant that she is the first woman to lead one of Australia’s armed services. It reflects not only her leadership, but the contribution of those who came before her.
It traces back to the women of the Australian Women’s Army Service, and the other service equivalents who answered the call in wartime, only to be discharged when it ended. It includes the women of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps and their navy and air force equivalents who, after the re-establishment of women’s services in the early 1950s, were required to leave upon marriage, and later on becoming pregnant. It includes those who pushed to be deployed and argued for access to operational roles, expanding what was possible until all roles in the ADF were opened to women in 2013.
All of that effort, often unrecognised at the time, has contributed to this moment. The appointment of Australia’s first female service chief is not just about one individual, but the cumulative effect of those who were constrained by policy, limited by expectation or passed over despite their capability. It is, in many respects, overdue.
The navy was the first to deploy women to sea in operational roles in the early 1990s. Yet it has still not appointed a female warfare officer to two-star rank, let alone three-star or chief of service. By contrast, the army has produced a number of female three-star officers.
Lieutenant General Coyle’s experience as commander of information warfare and chief of joint capabilities also points to where the army is heading. As the first service chief to come from joint capabilities command, she brings a clear focus on integration, not just across the joint force, but with emerging technologies, particularly space and cyber. This is probably a deliberate choice, reinforcing and accelerating the transformation already under way under Lieutenant General Simon Stuart.
Today is a significant moment. Three officers have been appointed at a time when the world is becoming more dangerous, to lead the ADF and prepare Australia for what lies ahead. That task will not be easy, and they deserve our support.
Jennifer Parker is an adjunct professor with the University of Western Australia Defence and Security Institute and a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute. She served for more than 20 years as a warfare officer in the Royal Australian Navy.
Jennifer Parker is an adjunct professor with the University of Western Australia Defence and Security Institute and a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute. She served for more than 20 years as a warfare officer in the Royal Australian Navy.From our partners
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