Country Australia Abbreviation Lieutenant General NATO rank OF-8 | Service branch Australian Army Rank Three-star Non-NATO rank O-9 | |
Lieutenant general (abbreviated LTGEN and pronounced 'Lef-tenant General') is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank.
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The rank of lieutenant general is held by the Chief of Army. The rank is also held when an army officer is the Vice Chief of the Defence Force, the Chief of Joint Operations, or the Chief of Capability Development.
Lieutenant general is a higher rank than major general, but lower than general. Lieutenant general is the equivalent of vice admiral in the Royal Australian Navy and air marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force.
The insignia for a lieutenant general is the Crown of St Edward above a crossed sword and baton.
Current Australian lieutenant generals
As of May 2015 there is currently only one lieutenant general in the Australian Defence Force:
Australian Army lieutenant generals
Although not an Australian, Field Marshal William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, was a popular general with the Australians. He commanded the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, and when he was promoted to the rank of field marshal in the British Army in 1925, he was awarded the honorary rank of field marshal in the Australian Army.
The first Australian lieutenant general was Sir Harry Chauvel in 1917.
From 1 January 1909 to 18 Feb 1997, the most senior Australian Army position was named Chief of the General Staff. The first Australian to occupy this position was Colonel William Throsby Bridges. The first Australian lieutenant general to occupy this position was Brudenell White, from 1 June 1920. From August 1940, this position, and its successor (Chief of Army), have been held by Australian lieutenant generals.
In March 1958, the role of Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee was created, but with no command authority. This was initially occupied by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wells (March 1958 – March 1959), and was rotated through the three services, hence (briefly) providing a three-star position available to army officers. In 1965 this became a four-star position. It was replaced in February 1976 by a new position, Chief of Defence Force Staff (CDFS), with command authority over the ADF, and in October 1984 the position was renamed Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) to more clearly reflect the role and its authority.
In June 1986, the three-star position Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) was created. As with CDF, this position rotates between the forces. Lieutenant General (later General) John Baker was the first army officer to occupy the position (October 1992 – April 1995).
A third three-star position, Chief of Capability Development Group (CCDG), which also rotates between the forces, was created in 2003.
In September 2007, a fourth three-star position, Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS), was created.
In September 2013, a fifth three-star position, Commander Operation Sovereign Borders (COSB), was created.
There are two other three-star positions in the Australian Defence Force, Chief of Navy (CN) and Chief of Air Force (CAF). There are also a number of other three-star-equivalent positions in the Australian Defence Organisation, but these are all held by civilians.
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The following people have held the rank of lieutenant general in the Australian Army: