Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Richard Maxwell "Rick" Burr, (born 2 June 1964) is a retired senior officer of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

, who served as Chief of Army from 2 July 2018 to 1 July 2022. He was previously Commander 1st Division from 2011 to 2012, Deputy Commanding General – Operations,

United States Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command which serves as the Army service component for United States Indo-Pacific Command. It may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. The command has forces in Alas ...

from January 2013 to November 2014, and Deputy Chief of Army from 2015 to 2018.

Early life

Burr was born in

Renmark, South Australia Renmark is a town in South Australia's rural Riverland area, and is located northeast of Adelaide, on the banks of the River Murray. The Sturt Highway between Adelaide and Sydney runs through the town; Renmark is the last major town encountered ...

, on 2 June 1964 to Maxwell Henry Burr and Lorelie Ann Morrell. Educated at Renmark High School, where he was a classmate of future cabinet minister Anne Ruston, Burr entered the

Royal Military College, Duntroon The Royal Military College, Duntroon, also known simply as Duntroon, is the Australian Army's Officer (armed forces), officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory, Duntroon in Canberra, Australian Capi ...

as an

officer cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

in 1982.

Military career

Burr graduated from Duntroon in 1985 with a

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

accredited

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

, and was commissioned into the

Royal Australian Infantry Corps The Royal Australian Infantry Corps (RA Inf) is the parent corps for all infantry regiments of the Australian Army. It was established on 14 December 1948, with its Royal Corps status being conferred by His Majesty King George VI. At her corona ...

. His first posting came as a

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

commander in the 8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Burr has spent the majority of his military career with Australian special forces units. In 2000, Burr (then a lieutenant colonel) served as

equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during her royal tour of Australia, during which he was appointed a

Member of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

. Burr commanded Australian troops in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 2002, and later during Operation Falconer in 2003 as the Commander of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), commonly known as the SAS and considered the most elite unit in the Australian Army. For his leadership in the Middle East, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the United States

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

. Burr redeployed to Afghanistan in 2008, where he commanded a contingent of special forces. He went on to serve as the Director General Preparedness and Plans and in 2007 he was seconded as a senior adviser to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he was the Director General Military Strategic Commitments—for which he was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 2011—before assuming command of the 1st Division (2011–12). On 21 August 2012, United States Army Secretary John M. McHugh announced that Burr would be seconded to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

to become Deputy Commander,

(USARPAC). He was thus the first foreign general to be given a service component command within the United States Army. Reporting to General

Vincent K. Brooks Vincent Keith Brooks (born 24 October 1958) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who last commanded United States Forces Korea, United Nations Command, and ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command. He previously served as the ...

, Burr supervised training within the command and served as USARPAC's liaison with countries in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

. Having served two years in the role, he handed over to Major General Greg Bilton in November 2014. In recognising his efforts with USARPAC, Brooks said of Burr that "Australia couldn't ask for a better leader, for a better soldier, a better warrior" and awarded him the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

. Burr assumed the post of Deputy Chief of Army in January 2015. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AO) in the 2018 Australia Day Honours for "For distinguished service in the implementation of significant reform and the realisation of strategic capabilities within the Australian Defence Force". Promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

, Burr succeeded Angus Campbell as Chief of Army on 2 July 2018. Burr was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Singaporean Minister for Defence

Ng Eng Hen Ng Eng Hen, Hinghwa Romanized: ''Ńg Ṳ̂ng-héng'' (born 10 December 1958) is a Singaporean former politician and oncologist who previously served as Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2025. A member of the governing People's Action Party ...

on 8 November 2021. Ng Eng Hen said "As a strong supporter of the SAF’s training in Australia, LTGEN Burr played a key role in the joint development of training areas and advanced training facilities in Australia, and the safe resumption of Ex Wallaby 2021 despite the pandemic." Burr holds a Master of Military Studies from the Marine Corps University at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, where he is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College and graduate of the United States Marine Corps

School of Advanced Warfighting The School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW) in the United States Marine Corps is an Advanced Intermediate Level School (A-ILS) that produces officers qualified to fill high-impact service and joint planning billets. The curriculum features nume ...

. He attended the six-week

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Advanced Management Program. Burr is the patron of the Defence Australian Rules Football Association and has a strong commitment to Indigenous Australian service members.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Burr, Rick 1964 births Military personnel from South Australia Australian generals Australian military personnel of the Iraq War Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Chiefs of Army (Australia) Deputy chiefs of Army (Australia) Living people Members of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Legion of Merit Officers of the Order of Australia People from Renmark, South Australia Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) Recipients of the Meritorious Unit Citation Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates University of New South Wales alumni 20th-century Australian military personnel Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera)