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 ...

Kenneth James Gillespie (born 28 June 1952) is a retired senior officer in 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 ...

. Gillespie served as Vice Chief of the Defence Force from 2005 until 2008, then Chief of Army from 2008 until his retirement in June 2011.

Military career

Gillespie was educated at Inala State High School 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 ...

and enlisted in the Australian Army in 1968 as an apprentice bricklayer. He graduated from the

Officer Cadet School, Portsea The Officer Cadet School, Portsea (sometimes referred to as OCS Portsea) was an officer training establishment of the Australian Army. Established at Portsea in Victoria, Australia, in 1951 to provide training to officer cadets prior to commissio ...

, in 1972, gaining a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

in the corps of 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 ...

. Gillespie held a range of regimental and staff appointments including Instructor at the School of Military Engineering and at the 1st Recruit Training Battalion. He then held regimental appointments as a junior officer in 2nd Field Engineer Regiment, 5th Field Engineer Regiment, 2nd/3rd Field Engineer Regiment and 1st Construction Regiment, after which he became a Senior Instructor at the School of Military Engineering. Gellespie attended the Australian

Army Command and Staff College, Queenscliff 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 ...

in 1985 and became Australian Exchange Instructor at the

Royal School of Military Engineering The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) Group provides a wide range of training for the British Army and Defence. This includes; Combat Engineers, Carpenters, Chartered Engineers, Musicians, Band Masters, Sniffer Dogs, Veterinary Techni ...

in the United Kingdom in 1986. In 1989 he raised and then deployed as the second in command and operations officer, the 2nd Australian Contingent to the

United Nations Transition Assistance Group The United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) was a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force deployed from April 1989 to March 1990 in Namibia, known at the time as South West Africa, to monitor the peace process and elections there. Na ...

(UNTAG) in

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

.It's an Honour entry – Conspicuous Service Medal, 8 June 1992
/ref> In 1990, Gillespie became Standing Chairman of the Quadripartite Working Group for the Engineers in the

ABCA Armies ABCANZ Armies (formally, the American, British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand Armies' Program) is a program aimed at optimizing interoperability and standardization of training and equipment between the armies of Australia, Canada, New Ze ...

Agreement and in 1991 he attended the UK

Joint Services Command and Staff College Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) is a British Armed Forces academic establishment that provides training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and offic ...

where he earned a Graduate Diploma in Strategic Studies. In 1992 he held a senior staff appointment at the Directorate of Engineers — Army. He was appointed a Member of the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest leve ...

in the United Kingdom in 1998 and was selected to be Senior National Officer for Australia in the ABCA Program in 1999. Gillespie's senior officer appointments included becoming inaugural

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, 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 give ...

of the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, Staff Officer Operations to the Chief of the Defence Force, inaugural commander of the Australian Theatre Joint Intelligence Centre, for which he was made 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 ...

,It's an Honour entry – Member of the Order of Australia, 8 June 1998
br>Citation: ''For exceptional service to the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force, particularly in the development of the Australian Theatre Joint Intelligence Centre (ASTJIC).'' and inaugural Principal Staff Officer — Intelligence,

Headquarters Australian Theatre Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) is the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) operational-level headquarters responsible for the command and control of ADF operations worldwide. It was formed from "Headquarters Australian Theatre" (HQAST ...

. He was promoted to

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 1999. In this rank he was the Chief of Staff Training Command — Army, he commanded the United Nations Sector West multinational brigade in

East Timor 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 ...

, and he was the National Commander of Australia's contribution to

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 ...

. Gillespie was promoted to major general and made

Land Commander Australia Forces Command (FORCOMD) is a command within the Australian Army responsible for the combat brigades, the enabling and training formations reporting to the Chief of the Army with approximately 85% of the Army's personnel. The Command was formed ...

in January 2004, and 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 ...

as Vice Chief of the Defence Force in 2005. Gillespie assumed his appointment as Chief of Army on 4 July 2008. On 29 April 2010, Gillespie was presented with Singapore's

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

by the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore,

Teo Chee Hean Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tioⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián, first=poj; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean former politician and two-star rear-admiral who served as Senior Minister of Singapore and Coordinating Minister for ...

, and Chief of the Singapore Army, Brigadier General

Chan Chun Sing Chan Chun Sing ( zh, s=陈振声, p=Chén Zhènshēng, j=Can4 Zan3 Sing1, first=j; born 9 October 1969) is a Singaporean politician and former major-general who is serving as Minister for Defence in 2025 and Minister-in-charge of Public Serv ...

. The award came as a result of Gillespie's "leadership and commitment to furthering relationships between the armies" of Australia and Singapore. In August 2010, controversy arose when Gillespie outlawed the wearing of berets on the grounds that they led to an increased risk of skin cancer. The exemption of the special forces from the ban added to the controversy. Gillespie handed over command of the Army to Lieutenant General

David Morrison Lieutenant General David Lindsay Morrison (born 24 May 1956) is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He served as Chief of Army from June 2011 until his retirement in May 2015. He was named Australian of the Year for 2016. Early ...

during a ceremony on 24 June 2011, and officially retired from the Australian Defence Force two days later.

Personal life

Gillespie is married to Carmel and they have a student daughter. He has two grown children from a previous marriage. He is well travelled, enjoys most sports (particularly golf), and is a keen reader.

Honours and awards

In February 2018, the then NSW Governor, His Excellency General the Honourable

David Hurley David John Hurley (born 26 August 1953) is an Australian former senior officer in the Australian Army who served as the 27th governor-general of Australia from 2019 to 2024. He was previously the 38th governor of New South Wales from 2014 to ...

AC DSC(rtd) promulgated in the NSW Government Gazette, the election of Ken Gillespie as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales. For his service as the Commander Australian Contingent, Operation Slipper, Gillespie was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in the Military Division in the

2003 Australia Day Honours The 2003 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2003 by the Governor General of Australia, Peter Hollingworth. The Aust ...

.It's an Honour entry – Officer of the Order of Australia, 26 January 2003
br>Citation: ''For distinguished service to the Australian Defence Force as the Commander Australian Contingent, Operation SLIPPER in the Middle East between October 2001 and March 2002.'' On 26 January 2011, Gillespie was promoted to

Companion 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 ...

(AC). Gillespie 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 ...

in 2002 for "distinguished command and leadership"It's an Honour entry – Distinguished Service Cross (Australian), 10 June 2002
br>Citation: ''For distinguished command and leadership as the Commander Sector West while deployed on active service with the United Nations Transitional Administration East Timor during Operation TANAGER.'' while Commander Sector West deployed on active service with the United Nations Transitional Administration East Timor during Operation Tanager.

References

External links

ADF Leaders page entry

Official photo
(2007)
copyright
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Ken 1952 births Australian generals Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Living people Royal Australian Engineers officers 20th-century Australian military personnel Chiefs of Army (Australia) Companions of the Order of Australia Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Graduates of the Officer Cadet School, Portsea Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) Vice chiefs of the Defence Force (Australia) Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Medal Military personnel from Brisbane Australian military engineers Engineers from Brisbane