Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Kenneth Allan Doolan, (born 15 January 1939) is an Australian naval officer, author, and is the former national president of the

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...

(RSL). He is a retired rear admiral in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, his most senior commands being Maritime Commander Australia and operational commander of all Australian combatant forces deployed to the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

Early life

Doolan was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 15 January 1939 and received his primary education in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Queensland.

Naval career

Doolan joined the Royal Australian Navy as a 13-year-old

cadet midshipman Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University ...

in January 1953, attending the

Royal Australian Naval College The Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), commonly known as HMAS Creswell, is the naval academy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It consists of the RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range an ...

. He graduated in 1956, undertook sea training in the frigate in 1957 and in December 1958 graduated from the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, ...

, Dartmouth, Devon. Significant postings held during his 41-year naval career included: * aide-de-camp to

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

Viscount De L’Isle, 1964–1965 * Military Secretary to Governor General Lord Casey, 1965 * Direction Officer destroyer during the

Indonesian Confrontation Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

, 1966 * Navigating Officer,

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a pri ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, 1970–1971 *

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Ai ...

Command and Staff College, 1980, including award of a

Master Mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location o ...

’s Certificate * commissioning

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

, amphibious heavy lift ship , 1981 * Commanding Officer, guided missile destroyer , 1984–1985 *

Naval Attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inclu ...

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

, 1987–1989 * Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, 1989–1990 * Maritime Commander Australia, 1990–1991, including being appointed Operational Commander of all Australian combatant forces deployed to the

* Assistant Chief of the Defence Force (Development), 1991–1993 (retired)

Second career

After leaving the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...

, Doolan has been: * Commissioner, Inquiry into the East Coast Armaments Complex, 1994–1996 * Member,

Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, 1996–1999 * National Secretary of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

Association and Company Secretary of that Association’s Foundation, 2002–2005 * Member, National Defence Committee of the Returned and Services League, 2002 – 2009 * Established a book publishing company with his wife – Grinkle Press, 2006 * President, Australian Institute of Navigation, 2007–2009 * National President,

, 2009–2016 Doolan first came to public notice as national president of the RSL in late September 2009 when he made statements in support of Breeanna Till, the pregnant widow of an Australian serviceman Sergeant Brett Till who was killed in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

Operation Slipper The Australian contribution to the 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 forces deployed have varied and ADF invol ...

in early 2009.

Inquiries in 2017

In 2017 Doolan became caught up in inquiries into the financial affairs of the RSL, both during the period when an RSL member, Don Rowe, was the president of the NSW branch and also during Doolan's own period as national president. One allegation, under investigation in September 2017, was that Doolan had taken steps to cover up the case of alleged financial dealings which had benefitted Rowe. Separately, in September 2017 the RSL national board launched an investigation into whether Doolan himself had, in June 2016, accepted a car worth nearly $40,000 as a retirement gift paid for out of RSL funds.

Family

Doolan is married to Elaine. They live in rural

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

near the national capital, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

Publications

* ''Maritime Power in the 20th Century – The Australian Experience'' Chapter 13, Allen & Unwin, 1998 * ''A commanding presence: the life of G.H. Barker bookseller, naturalist and ornithologist'',

Ginninderra Press Ginninderra Press is an Australian independent publisher. Founded in 1996 in Canberra by Stephen Matthews , it takes its name from an Aboriginal word meaning "throwing out little rays of light" and from its original location in the Australian ...

, 2002 * ''We Were Cadet Midshipmen – RANC Entrants 50 Years On'' (contributor & publisher), Grinkle Press, 2006 * ''HMAS Tobruk: warship for every crisis'', Grinkle Press, 2007 * ''Steel Cat: the story of HMAS Brisbane: Vietnam and Gulf War veteran'', Grinkle Press, 2009''Steel Cat: the story of HMAS Brisbane: Vietnam and Gulf War veteran''
National Library of Australia

References

External links

Biography
– RSL , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Doolan, Ken 1939 births Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Australian military personnel of the Gulf War Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Australian naval historians 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers Deputy Chiefs of Naval Staff (Australia) Graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Royal Australian Navy admirals Military personnel from New South Wales Naval attachés