Stuart Smith (general)

Stuart Lyle Smith

Major General Stuart Smith in 2013
Born (1963-11-01) 1 November 1963
Sydney, New south Wales
Allegiance Australia
Service/branch Australian Army
Years of service 1981 – present
Rank Major General
Commands held Deputy Chief of Joint Operations (2015–)
1st Division (2012–15)
Joint Task Force 633 (2012)
3rd Brigade (2009–11)
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2002–03)
Battles/wars United Nations Mission in East Timor
War in Afghanistan
Awards Officer of the Order of Australia
Distinguished Service Cross

Major General Stuart Lyle Smith AO, DSC (born 1 November 1963) is a senior officer in the Australian Army. He commanded the 1st Division from October 2012 until November 2015, when he was appointed Deputy Chief of Joint Operations.

Early life

Smith was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 1 November 1963 and educated at St Paul's College in Adelaide.[1] His father, Bernard Lyle Smith, was a soldier in the Australian Army. In March 1969, Bernard, then an infantry sergeant in the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, was killed by a mine detonation during his second tour of Vietnam.[2][3]

Military career

Smith graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1984. He was appointed Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in December 2001 and led the battalion on peacekeeping duties in Timor Leste in 2003. He commanded the 3rd Brigade in Townsville during the period 2009 to 2011 and coordinated the Australian Defence Force Disaster Response to Tropical Cyclone Yasi in North Queensland in February 2011. Smith assumed command of the 1st Division in October 2012, following his return from the Middle East as commander Joint Task Force 633. He led the division for three years, before handing over to Major General Paul McLachlan in November 2015.[1][4] Smith was subsequently appointed Deputy Chief of Joint Operations.[5]

Honours and Awards

Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) 2015 Australia Day Honours, For distinguished service as Commander 3rd Brigade and Commander 1st Division.
Member of the Order of Australia (AM) 26 January 2005[6]
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours[7]
Australian Active Service Medal
Afghanistan Medal
Australian Service Medal
Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal With Indian Ocean clasp
Defence Force Service Medal with 3 clasps 30–34 year's service
Australian Defence Medal
UN Medal for Observation Group in Lebanon With 2 Numeral
UN Medal for East Timor
NATO Medal for ISAF with ISAF bar

References

  1. 1 2 "Maj. Gen. Stuart Lyle Smith". ConnectWeb. Who's Who in Australia Online. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  2. Brown, Conway. "His Father's Son – Brigadier Stuart Smith AM – Commander 3rd Brigade". IPAS – Official War Artist. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  3. "Smith, Bernard Lyle". Vietnam War Nominal Roll. Department of Veterans' Affairs. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  4. "Commander 1st Division – Major General Paul McLachlan". Leaders. Australian Army. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  5. "Fiji farewells Australian troops". Defence media release. Department of Defence. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  6. It's an Honour – Member of the Order of Australia
  7. It's an Honour – Distinguished Service Cross
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stuart Smith (general).
Military offices
Preceded by
Major General Shane Caughey
Deputy Chief of Joint Operations
2015 – present
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Major General Rick Burr
Commander 1st Division
2012–2015
Succeeded by
Major General Paul McLachlan
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.