From Rosebery to the Middle East: Major General Natasha Fox’s rise to Deputy Chief of Army

From humble beginnings in the Tasmanian mining town of Rosebery, Major General Natasha Fox rose swiftly through the military ranks to become the Deputy Chief of Army. HER STORY

Australian Defence Head of People Capability Major General Natasha Fox is set to become Australia’s first female Deputy Chief of Army.

From humble beginnings on Tasmania’s West Coast, Major General Natasha Fox AM has worked her way up the ranks to become the most senior woman in the Australian Army.

The 53-year-old, who describes herself as “26 on the inside”, was raised at Rosebery and went to Don College for years 11 and 12.

Today, she is the Deputy Chief of Army, responsible for co-ordinating the preparedness of Australia’s land warfare force, looking after its people and managing the “business of army”.

“I’m responsible for the overarching systems to make sure our people are prepared to deploy,” Major General Fox told the Sunday Tasmanian.

Major General Natasha Fox is Australia’s first female Deputy Chief of Army.

“So the teams that work for me look at our readiness and preparedness for the forces that we have per government directions to deploy to different contingencies.”

Major General Fox joined the Army when she was just 17, after an Australian Defence Force (ADF) recruiting team visited Don College to spruik opportunities associated with its new academy.

She undertook work experience at the academy and returned “enthused about joining the military”.

After four years of training, Major General Fox graduated from the Royal Military College in 1991 as an officer and spent her early years in logistics roles in Townsville and Brisbane. She then did a stint as an instructor in the Defence Academy before deploying to the Middle East, where she served in Lebanon, Syria and Israel.

“I had that period of changing roles every couple of years, an adventure in terms of the opportunity to live in different communities,” she said.

Major General Fox went on to relocate to the United States with her husband, Commodore Andrew Willis, where she worked remotely for the ADF’s Special Operations Command.

She has been the Commanding Officer of the Defence Academy and has worked in senior roles within the Defence Department. Major General Fox also returned to the Middle East to serve as the chief of staff for Joint Task Force 633.

(l-r) United States Marine Corps Headquarters, Director of Strategy and Plans Division, Brigadier General Sean Salene and Deputy Chief of Army, Major General Natasha Fox, AM, CSC, sign the Memorandum of Australian and United States Marine Corps staff talks at Victoria Barracks, Sydney. Picture: Corporal Dustin Anderson/Defence

“In that role, I’ve been to Qatar, up to Bahrain, and in and out of Afghanistan. Kandahar … Kabul. A long way … for a young girl that grew up on the West Coast of Tasmania,” she said.

In February last year, Major General Fox’s track record of excellence saw her appointed as Deputy Chief of Army.

So what does an average day look like in such a high-powered role?

“The start of the day consists of understanding news, world events,” Major General Fox said. “We then do some synchronisation across the headquarters to make sure that we are working on the most important activities that are required not just for the day but moving into the future.”

“We’re always modernising what we’re doing. Because if you consider geo-strategic circumstances, that’s what … a government has a military for – to respond for national interest reasons.

Deputy Chief of Army, Major General Natasha Fox, AM, CSM, presents Corporal Michael Stoop with the Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Award during the Australian Army's 122nd birthday activities at Russell Offices in Canberra on Wednesday, 01 March 2023. Picture: Department of Defence

“So we’re always planning and understanding what are our strategic circumstances and working through how we might respond. And how do we then train to respond?”

Over the course of her 35 years in the Army, Major General Fox said she had seen the female participation rate gradually grow and the diversity of Australia’s military forces increase.

“Even over 20 years ago, in the Australian Defence Force, women represented only 12.5 per cent of the overall participation rate,” she said. “But right now, we’re sitting in the order of just over 20 per cent representation.

“When I did join, there were roles that were precluded [from women]. And so over time, now all roles are available to women to join the Australian Army – and that’s fantastic.

“Our Army and our Australian Defence Force are all about increasing diversity, not just of gender but also of culturally and linguistically diverse personnel, our LGBTQI+ personnel.

“And people often ask me, ‘Why do we want a diverse organisation?’ And that’s the journey that I’ve witnessed. I’ve watched people realise that innovation, how you tackle really difficult problems, it isn’t based on the way you look, it’s actually about how you think and if you’re all the same, you think the same, essentially.

Deputy Chief of Army, Major General Natasha Fox (centre left), AM, CSC, meets with 13th Brigade soldiers at Irwin Barracks in Perth, Western Australia.

“So diversity is critical for us to tackle the most challenging problems right across what we actually do as an ADF.”

For Major General Fox, the concept of service is defined by “putting others before yourself”. She said Anzac Day was an opportunity to recognise the legions of Australians who had embodied this idea over the nation’s history.

“Anzac Day is one of our really sacred days … because we reflect on the 103,000 names that are on the cloisters on the rolls of honour in the Australian War Memorial, who gave us a legacy of what Australia is today,” she said.

“Service is actually about the greater good. It’s about putting others before yourself, it’s putting your nation, your community, before yourself.

“It’s more than a job. And it’s really about supporting others, lifting others, and providing hope.”