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Angus Campbell, Operation Sovereign Borders chief, to lead Australian army Angus Campbell, Operation Sovereign Borders chief, to lead Australian army
(about 3 hours later)
Tony Abbott has rewarded the Operation Sovereign Borders commander, Angus Campbell, by appointing him chief of army. Lieutenant General Angus Campbell and Air Vice-Marshal Gavin Davies will take on new roles in the coming months as the chiefs of army and air force respectively.
“He has done exceptional work in this very difficult job,” the prime minister said in announcing the appointment of Lieutenant General Campbell in Canberra on Thursday. Campbell, who heads the Coalition’s Operation Sovereign Borders taskforce on border protection, will take over as chief of army in May from Lieutenant General David Morrison.
Air Vice-Marshal Gavin Davies has been appointed chief of the air force. Davies, a distinguished pilot most recently stationed in the Middle East, will be sworn in as the chief of the air force in July. He will take the reins from Air Marshal Geoff Brown.
Abbott paid tribute to outgoing amy chief, David Morrison, whom he described as a ground-breaking and path-finding leader. “He is a soldier’s soldier,” Abbott said. Tony Abbott praised the incoming chiefs, while paying tribute to their predecessors. The prime minister described Morrison as a “groundbreaking, pathfinding chief of army”.
“But he’s also been a modern soldier’s soldier who has very much wanted the army to move into the modern world.” “He is a soldier’s soldier. But he’s also been a modern soldier’s soldier who has very much wanted the army to move into the modern world.”
Morrison became a household name after his tough rebuke of sexism and unacceptable behaviour within the army went viral in 2013.
“No one who saw his famous talk to the defence forces – ‘The standard you walk past is the standard you accept’ – will ever doubt his commitment to making our army a modern as well as effective fighting force,” Abbott said.
Morrison’s three-year term was extended by nearly at year at the request of the prime minister.
Abbott thanked Brown for his work in the Middle East. “Geoff Brown has been chief of the air force at a time when our air force has never been more capable,” he said.
“We have a strong air component in the Middle East right now which is operating very effectively and at high intensity. The interesting thing about our air deployment to the Middle East, it is the first time in our history we have deployed so far in an entirely self-contained way.”
The defence force chief, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, said he had great confidence in the command team. “They have been very strong supporters of reform. Army and air force are in a better shape now than they were a number of years ago and I want to see that continue.”
The defence minister, Kevin Andrews, said the appointments were a reflection of the importance that the government places on the defence forces.
“There is an important compact between the nation and the defence forces and the strength of that compact is reflected in the leadership of the services and in these two gentlemen,” he said.
Abbott would not be drawn on whether a replacement for Campbell would be appointed to lead Operation Sovereign Borders, saying only that an announcement would be made on that made next week.