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 ...

John Graham Caligari, (born 21 August 1960) 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 ...

. He served as

Chief Capability Development Group The Chief of Capability Development Group (CCDG) was head of the Capability Development Group (CDG) in the Australian Department of Defence (Australia), Department of Defence, part of the Australian Defence Organisation. This position was creat ...

from October 2014 until his retirement in August 2015.

Early life

Caligari was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland, on 21 August 1960 to Barry John Caligari, an Army officer, and his wife Christine Graham (née Wilkie). He was educated at

Marist College Canberra Marist College Canberra is an Independent school, independent Roman Catholicism in Australia, Roman Catholic Primary school, primary and Secondary school, secondary day school for Single-sex education, boys, founded in 1968 by the Marist Brothe ...

and the

International School of Kuala Lumpur The International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL; ) is an American Non-profit organisation, non-profit school in the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area, Malaysia. The curriculum is international-based, and offers students the chance to earn a High Scho ...

, and 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 ...

in 1979 where he undertook training to become an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the Australian Army.Banham, Cynthia
Model of a modern digger
15 March 2008, Sydney Morning Herald
, 6 August 2009, www.eurekacouncil.com.au

Military career

Upon graduating from Duntroon in 1982, Caligari was assigned to 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 ...

and was posted to the

1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) is a regular motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion of the 34th Brigade (Australia) on Balikpapan in 1945 and since ...

(1 RAR), an infantry unit that his father, Barry Caligari, was commanding at the time. In 1989, Caligari was in the Middle East as a United Nations observer on the Lebanese/Israeli border with

UNTSO The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Established amidst the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, its primary task was initially to provide the military com ...

, and subsequently at UNTSO Headquarters in Jerusalem ( Operation Paladin). He took his wife, Narelle, a nurse, and his twin sons, then aged nine months, with him to Israel. From late 1990, he was a rifle company commander in the 1st Battalion. In 1993 he was an operations officer of the 1st Battalion Group deployed to Somalia as part of

Operation Solace Operation Solace was the Australian Defence Force's main contribution to the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) which was a United States led, United Nations sanctioned, multinational force which operated in the Republic of Somalia from 9 December 1992 ...

, for which he was awarded a Chief of the Defence Force Commendation. In June 2000, he deployed as Commander of the 1st Battalion Ready Group on for the evacuation of Australians from the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

(

Operation Plumbob Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests that were conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following ''Project 57'', and preceding '' Project 58/58A''. Background The operation consisted of 29 explosions, ...

). He was deployed to East Timor after it achieved independence in 1999. "The highlight of his career" was commanding the 1st Battalion Group on operations along the

Timor Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

-Indonesian border with the

United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET, ), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades-long East Timorese crisis in the area occupied by Indonesian military. UNTAET provided an int ...

(UNTAET), as part of Operation Tanager. For his command and leadership on this operation he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

. Caligari oversaw numerous reforms while Chief of Staff, Headquarters Training Command – Army (TC-A) in 2005–06, under Major General Richard Wilson. In 2007–08 Caligari commanded the Townsville-based 3rd Brigade, as a

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

. In January 2009 he was appointed Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force 633 – Afghanistan, as part of

Operation Slipper The Australian contribution to the War in Afghanistan (2001-present), war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015–2021). Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations and the size of the force ...

, a position he filled for six months. He was promoted to major general in mid-2009, and appointed Head Modernisation and Strategic Plans – Army (HMSP-A). In 2012 Caligari was appointed Head Capability Systems (HCS), heading up one of Capability Development Group's two divisions. For his "distinguished service" in both of these roles, Caligari 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 ...

in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours. 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 ...

in October 2014, Caligari was appointed

(CCDG) in succession to Vice Admiral Peter Jones. In this role he was responsible for the Department of Defence's Capability Development Group; the branch tasked to develop and gain government approval for future defence capabilities. After ten months in this role, Caligari retired in August 2015 as part of a Defence restructure that necessitated cuts to senior management. His position of CCDG was identified as redundant at 'three-star' rank level, and has been scaled down.

Personal life

His father, Barry,National Medal
CALIGARI, Barry John, 14 July 1977, www.itsanhonour.gov.auNational Medal – 1st Clasp
CALIGARI, Barry John, 3 September 1985, www.itsanhonour.gov.au retired as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion in 1983. Caligari and his father hold the distinction of being the only father-son duo in the Australian Army to have commanded the same battalion. Caligari's father was his son's commanding officer for two months when he graduated from Duntroon in 1982. Caligari married Narelle, a nurse, on 3 January 1987 and they have three children; twin sons and a daughter.

Educational and professional qualifications

* 1982 – Bachelor of Arts,

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 ...

, Royal Military College, Duntroon * 1998 – Master of Defence Studies, University of New South Wales,

Australian Defence Force Academy The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military academy that provides military and Tertiary education in Australia, academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ...

* 1999 – Chief of Army's Visiting Fellow at the

Strategic and Defence Studies Centre The Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) is a university-based institute that is situated in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. It is Australia's oldest-established centre for the study of ...

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

* 2004 – Master of Arts (Strategic Studies),

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

* Graduate,

US Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, Fort Leavenworth * Graduate, CDSS (

Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies The Australian Defence College (ADC) comprises three joint education and training organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: * the War College, * the Australian Defence Force Training Cent ...

Australian Defence College The Australian Defence College (ADC) comprises three joint education and training organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: * the War College, * the Australian Defence Force Training Cent ...

, Canberra) * Graduate, Joint/Combined Land Component Commanders Course,

US Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

, Carlisle * Graduate,

Australian Institute of Company Directors The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) is a non-profit membership organization for directors. The AICD is a founding member of the Global Network of Director Institutes (GNDI). History The origins of the AICD can be traced ba ...

, having served as Chairman of the Army Credit Union and a member of the Board of Frontline Defence Services * 2006 – Completed the Harvard Australia Leadership Program

Honours and awards

;Commendations *Chief of Defence Force Commendation – December 1993 – Operations Officer, 1 RAR on Operation SOLACE, Somalia 1993

References

External links

Presentation
by MAJGEN John Caligari DSC AM, to th
Defence Reserves Association (DRA) Conference
22 August 2009, www.dra.org.au
Highlighting Strategic Plans To Modernise The Australian Army’s Fleet And Its Capabilities
Armoured Vehicles Australia Conference, 5–6 November 2009, Hyatt Hotel, Canberra, ACT
''Army – The Soldiers' Newspaper'', Edition 1229, 18 Feb 2010
Pg 18: How well do you know your generals?
Photo of Brigadier John Caligari
by Andrew Taylor, 14 March 2008, Sydney Morning Herald. {{DEFAULTSORT:Caligari, John 1960 births Australian generals Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Deakin University alumni Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates University of New South Wales alumni Military personnel from Brisbane People educated at Marist College Canberra