General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

John Stuart Baker (24 February 1936 – 9 July 2007) was a senior

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 ...

officer. Entering 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 ...

in 1954, his career culminated with his appointment as Chief of the Defence Force from 1995 to 1998, the most senior position in the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

. Baker also served as the inaugural Director of the

Defence Intelligence Organisation The Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) is an Australian government military intelligence agency responsible for strategic intelligence and technical intelligence assessments, advising defence and government decision-making on national sec ...

from 1990 to 1992, Vice Chief of the Defence Force from 1992 to 1995, and was author of the highly influential 1988 "Baker Report".

Career

Baker entered the

in 1954. On graduation in 1957, he was allotted to the

Royal Australian Engineers The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army. The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, behind the Corps of Staff Cadets, Staff Cadets, Royal Australian Armoured C ...

and later completing a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. ACM

Angus Houston Air chief marshal (Australia), Air Chief Marshal Sir Allan Grant "Angus" Houston, (born 9 June 1947) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force (Australia), Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2 ...

CDF eulogy for General John Baker AC, DSM
13 July 2007, www.defence.gov.au, accessed 31 March 2012. Baker's first regimental posting was a one-year appointment in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, and not long after he spent a year in Hawaii as an exchange officer. In 1970–1971 he was attached to the 1st Australian Civil Affairs Unit during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, where he was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

Mention in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. In 1970–1971 Baker "was project officer in the 1st Australian Civil Affairs Unit, where he was responsible for construction activities in Phuoc Tuy Province. In recognition of his work on this project, Major Baker was mentioned in dispatches. His citation reads that 'Despite the short planning time, an extended supply system, a mixed workforce and, subsequently, a curtailed completion time, Major Baker—by his technical ability and dedication—brought the project near to successful completion before his departure from Vietnam. Throughout his management of the complex and difficult task, Major Baker displayed devotion to duty, professional skill and leadership qualities of the highest order which reflected great credit upon himself, his Corps and the Australian Army'. Huston, "CDF eulogy", pg.2 He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1971, colonel in 1979, brigadier in 1982, major general in 1987, lieutenant general in 1992 and general in 1995.

The Baker Report

In 1987, the then Chief of the Defence Force, General Peter Gration, tasked the then Brigadier Baker to: One of the principal aims of this study was to determine the optimal command arrangements for ADF air power. The final report, commonly referred to as the Baker Report, was published in March 1988. Despite extensive reference being made to the command and control challenges posed by air power, Baker did not provide definitive guidance on how the ADF should structure its command arrangements to optimise the development and employment of air power. However, Chapter 7 of the report strongly advocated the creation of NORCOM, a recommendation that was soon adopted by the ADF.Baker, J.S. "A Study into the ADF Command Arrangements", 1988. Also referred to as ''"The Baker Report"''. "The Baker Report" remains the seminal work on command and control in the ADF.

Honours and awards

Baker was a

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering There are almost 900 living fellows of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. The post-nominal is FTSE. The following lists many notable living and deceased Fellows. Post-nominal statistics ;Numbers of active/living Fellows i ...

Portrait

During General Baker's tenure as Chief of Defence Force, the

arranged for his portrait to be painted by leading Australian 20th century artist, Sir William Dargie. The portrait (1997) hangs at the RAE's School of Military Engineering in Sydney, but was also used at General Baker's funeral in Canberra at the

in 2007.

General John Baker Complex – HQJOC

On 7 March 2009 the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

, officially opened the "General John Baker Complex",PM opens Joint Operations HQ
7 March 2009, Australian Department of Defence housing the Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) from which joint command of the

is exercised by the Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS). The complex is some 25 km from the national capital,

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, on the Kings Highway about half-way between the towns of

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Pale ...

and

Bungendore Bungendore is a town in the Queanbeyan Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is on the Kings Highway, Australia, Kings Highway near Lake George, New South Wales, Lake George, the Molonglo River Valle ...

. After Mr Rudd named the complex, Mrs Margaret Baker unveiled a bronze bust of General Baker. The bust was sculpted by Hal Holman.Hal Holman website
Main page

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, John 1936 births 2007 deaths Royal Australian Engineers officers Australian generals Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Chiefs of the Defence Force (Australia) Commanders of the Legion of Merit Companions of the Order of Australia Military personnel from Melbourne People educated at Parade College Recipients of the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) Recipients of the Philippine Legion of Honor Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates University of Melbourne alumni Vice chiefs of the Defence Force (Australia) Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Australian military engineers Engineers from Melbourne