Queen’s birthday honours: leadership and courage in defence of our nation

Three of the nation’s most senior military figures have been appointed to the Order of Australia in recognition of their years of leadership and service.

Three of the nation’s most senior military figures have been ­appointed to the Order of Australia in recognition of their years of leadership and service.

Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, Major General Simon Andrew and Air Marshal Warren George were recognised along with 223 other servicemen and women from around the country, including soldiers involved in counter-terrorism efforts in Iraq.

Rear Admiral Mead was honoured as an exceptional leader in the Royal Australian Navy, where he has served as Fleet Commander since January 2018.

“His drive, determination and inspirational leadership directly resulted in improvements in navy capability development and processes, ship availability, training outcomes and technical integrity within the Australian fleet,” his ­citation reads.

Major General Stuart’s award recognises his role as the force commander of Operation Mazurka, assisting the international observers in the Sinai region of Egypt. His citation reports that his personal leadership “significantly enhanced the bilateral relationship between Egypt and Israel and achieved lasting benefits to peace and stability in the region”.

“His service represents the highest ideals of the Australian Defence Force and reflects great credit upon himself and the Australian Army,” it reads.

Air Marshal McDonald has been honoured for his distinguished service as Deputy Chief of the Air Force and Chief of Joint Capabilities.

“Air Marshal McDonald made a superb contribution to the Australian Defence Force in highly ­demanding and extremely chall­enging appointments,” his citation reads. “Throughout years of ­devoted service and commitment to the Australian Defence Force and its people, he displayed inspirational leadership as Deputy Chief of the Air Force.”

Several of the personnel honoured in this year’s awards cannot be named for security reasons. Among them are Captain ‘M’, Corporal ‘C’ and Warrant Officer Class Two ‘M’, who were all part of special forces advisory teams fighting Islamic State in Iraq during Operation Okra.

The warrant officer’s performance enhanced the “operational effectiveness” of the Iraqi counter-terrorism service, his citation reads. “His contribution to the partner force’s operational planning significantly enhanced their ability to defeat (Islamic State) and were well beyond the expectations of his rank.”

The captain’s leadership had also delivered “an immediate and direct operational advantage to the Iraqi forces”.

In a reflection of the growing importance of cybersecurity, ­several servicemen and women — including Group Captain Karon Millett, Corporal Tobias O’Neill and Major Paul Lambert — were honoured for their work on cyber and technological capabilities.