Distinguished Speaker Series: General David Hurley, AC, DSC, Chief of Defence Force
Defence is faced with a challenge - to balance force structure and preparedness in a climate that reinforces the need for austerity coupled with a shift in global and strategic weight to our region.
In his first major public address after the Chicago NATO Summit, the Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley, AC, DSC will address these issues to determine how the ADF must respond to be set for success in the future.
General David Hurley was promoted to General and assumed his current appointment as the Chief of the Defence Force on 4 July 2011. He graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and served in the Royal Australian Regiment early in his career. He conducted an exchange with the 1st Battalion Irish Guards (British Army) and upon his return to Australia served with the 5th/7th Battalion. In 1989 General Hurley served a posting as the Mechanised Infantry Adviser, Australian Army Project Team Malaysia. As a Lieutenant Colonel he assumed command of 1 RAR which he led during Operation SOLACE (Somalia) in 1993. Following his command appointment General Hurley attended the United States Army War College, returning to a posting as Military Secretary to the Chief of Army. He was promoted to Brigadier in January 1999 and assumed command of the 1st Brigade in Darwin, overseeing the Brigade's transition to a higher degree of operational readiness and its support to Australian-led operations in East Timor
From 2001 - 2003 General Hurley served as the Director General Land Development, Head Capability Systems and Land Commander Australia. At the end of 2003 he was promoted to Lieutenant General in the role of Chief of Capability Development Group and in October 2007 was appointed Chief Joint Operations Command. General Hurley was appointed to the position of the Vice Chief of Defence Force in July 2008. In 2010 General Hurley became a Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to the Australian Defence Force. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his service in Somalia during Operation SOLACE. General Hurley holds the academic qualifications of Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies. General Hurley last addressed the Lowy Institute in August 2006 when he was the Chief of Capability Development Group – that presentation can be found here: http://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/australian-defence-capability-planning-facts-chief
