The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957 as a company, it was modelled on the British SAS with which it shares the motto, "Who Dares Wins". Expanded to a regiment in August 1964, it is based at Campbell Barracks, in Swanbourne, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, and is a direct command unit of the Special Operations Command.
The Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015–2021).
The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region.
The Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) is an Australian Defence Force command that was established on 5 May 2003 to unite all of the Australian Army's special forces units and by 2008 was fully operational. Australia's Special Operations Command is of equivalent status to Australia's Fleet, Forces and Air Commands. It is modelled on the equivalent commands in the United States and British military forces, and is led by a major general as Special Operations Commander Australia (SOCAUST).
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force. It is awarded for distinguished command and leadership in action. The DSC was introduced in 1991 and is the highest distinguished service decoration in the Australian Honours System. Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "DSC". Since its inception 115 awards have been made—which includes eight first bars and one second bar.
The special forces of the Australian Defence Force are units of Special Operations Command and associated units of the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force that conduct and or support special operations to advance and protect the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. The special forces of Australia have a lineage to a variety of units raised in the Second World War such as the Independent and Commando Companies, Z Special Unit, Navy Beach Commandos, and the Coastwatchers. Australian special forces have most recently been deployed to Iraq in Operation Okra as the Special Operations Task Group, as the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan, in Afghanistan in support of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and regularly for counter-terrorism pre-deploy to locations of major domestic events throughout Australia in readiness to support law enforcement such as the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit.
Major General Michael Simon Hindmarsh is an Australian military officer, who holds a senior position within the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, commanding its elite force known as the Presidential Guard. A retired senior officer of the Australian Army, he spent over 30 years with the Australian Defence Force, during which time he served as Special Operations Commander Australia from 2004 to 2008, and as Commander of Joint Task Force 633 in the Middle East Area of Operations from March 2008 to January 2009. He retired from the Australian Army in mid-2009, and joined the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces as a special advisor and later, a commander of the UAE Presidential Guard, which is a UAE Armed Forces formation that includes both conventional and special forces units.
Major General Timothy Joseph McOwan, is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He served as Special Operations Commander Australia from February 2008 until January 2011, and the Australian Defence Attaché and Head Australian Defence Staff in Washington, D.C. He retired from the army in 2014.
Major General Mark Andrew Kelly, is a former senior officer in the Australian Army. He served as Commander Joint Task Force 633 commanding all Australian Forces in the Middle East Area of Operations and Afghanistan from 12 January 2009 until 14 January 2010, and as Land Commander Australia from July 2005 to December 2008. He was appointed as the Repatriation Commissioner on 1 July 2010 and served in that role until 30 June 2019.
Major General Peter Warwick "Gus" Gilmore, is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, he was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps in 1983 and spent much of his career in special forces. He commanded the Special Air Service Regiment (2001–02), led the first contingent of the Australian Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan (2001–02), was responsible for the Coalition Advisory Support Team in Iraq (2005–06), and commanded International Security Assistance Force Special Operations Forces (2009–10). Following promotion to major general he held a succession of senior appointments, including Special Operations Commander Australia (2011–13), Deputy Chief of Army (2013–15), and Commander Forces Command (2015–16). His final appointment was as Head Military Strategic Commitments Division from 2016 to 2019.
Lieutenant General Richard Maxwell "Rick" Burr, is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army, who served as Chief of Army from 2 July 2018 to 1 July 2022. He was previously Commander 1st Division from 2011 to 2012, Deputy Commanding General – Operations, United States Army Pacific from January 2013 to November 2014, and Deputy Chief of Army from 2015 to 2018.
General Angus John Campbell, is a senior officer in the Australian Army, serving as the Chief of the Defence Force since 6 July 2018. He was previously posted as Commander Operation Sovereign Borders from September 2013 until he was appointed Chief of Army in May 2015.
General Raymond Anthony Thomas III is a retired general officer of the United States Army and former commander of the United States Special Operations Command.
Major General Roger John Noble, is a retired senior Australian Army officer and diplomat. He joined the army via the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1984 and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. He commanded the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Al Muthanna Task Group (2005) and the 3rd Brigade (2013–15), and deployed six times on operations to East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq. He was seconded to the United States Army in 2016 and served as Deputy Coalition Land Force Commander, Iraq, as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, and subsequently as Deputy Commanding General – North in the United States Army Pacific (2017–19). He retired from the Australian Army in 2021 and served as Australian Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism from February 2021 to February 2023, before joining Laing O'Rourke as General Manager – Defence.
Major General Jeffery John Sengelman, is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He joined the army via the Officer Cadet School, Portsea in 1980, was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and spent much of his military career in special forces. He commanded the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Commando) (2000–01) and the 6th Brigade (2010–11), deployed on operations to East Timor and Iraq, and served as Commander Forces Command in 2011, Deputy Chief of Army from 2011 to 2012, Head of Modernisation and Strategic Planning – Army from 2012 to 2014, and Special Operations Commander Australia from 2014 until his retirement in 2017.
Major General Justin Frederick Ellwood,, commonly known as Jake Ellwood, is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He joined the army via the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1989 and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. He commanded the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2006–08), Overwatch Battle Group (West) (2007), Battle Group Tiger (2008) and the Combat Training Centre, and deployed on operations to Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. He served as Deputy Chief of Army from May to December 2018, and commanded the 1st Division from December 2018 to November 2021.
Major General Susan May Coyle, is a senior officer in the Australian Army. She joined the army as a reservist in 1987 and, following training at the Australian Defence Force Academy, was commissioned into the Royal Australian Corps of Signals in 1992. She has commanded the 104th Signal Squadron (2003–04), 17th Signal Regiment (2009–10), Task Group Afghanistan (2015) and the 6th Combat Support Brigade (2017–19), and has deployed on operations to East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Afghanistan. She was appointed Commander Joint Task Force 633, with responsibility for all Australian operations in the Middle East, from January to November 2020. She was the first woman to command the task force, which had oversight for 1,200 personnel under Operation Accordion. Coyle was Head Information Warfare from January 2021 to November 2022, when she was appointed Commander Forces Command.
Lieutenant General Simon Andrew Stuart, is a senior officer of the Australian Army who has served as the Chief of Army since July 2022. He was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1990. He has commanded the 8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2008–10), Joint Task Force 631 (2010) and Combined Team Uruzgan (2012–13), and deployed to East Timor as part of Operations Warden, Tanager and Astute and to Afghanistan and the Sinai Peninsula. He was Force Commander, Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai from 2017 to 2019, and Head Land Capability from 2020 to 2022. He succeeded Lieutenant General Rick Burr as Chief of Army on 2 July 2022.
Major General Brian Robert Dawson, is an Australian museum administrator and a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He joined the army via the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1973 and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. He commanded the Base Administrative Support Centre (1995–96), Australian Defence Force Academy (2006–07) and Australian Defence College (2007), deployed on operations to Somalia and the Solomon Islands, and was Deputy Commander Joint Task Force 633 – Iraq from 2007 to 2008. He also served as Director General of Defence Public Affairs (2008–10) and, from 2010 to 2013, was Australia's first Military Representative to NATO and the European Union. Following his retirement from the army, Dawson joined the Australian War Memorial where he has served as Assistant Director, National Collection since December 2017.
Brigadier Ian Douglas Langford, is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the School of Advanced Warfighting. Langford was the Director General Future Land Capability for the Australian Army from 2018 until 2022; and previous to that was the acting head of Land Capability. He served as commanding officer of 2nd Commando, in which role he lead combat operations in Timor Leste, Afghanistan, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and the South-West Pacific; with command of Special Operations Command in Afghanistan. For his service, Langford was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on three occasions – the only person to date to receive that honour.
