Major General Michael David "Mick" Slater, (born 8 July 1958) 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 Commander Forces Command from November 2011 until his retirement in January 2015.

Early life

Slater 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 8 July 1958 to Harold Leslie Slater and Shirly Florence (née Butler). Educated at

St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace (colloquially known as Gregory Terrace, Terrace or GT) is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Found ...

, Slater studied surveying at the

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

before joining the Australian Army in 1978, where 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 ...

Army career

Slater has commanded at all levels from platoon to brigade level. He served as a platoon commander in both the

8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (8/9 RAR) is a motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally formed in 1973 by linking together both the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment. Over the ...

and

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 ...

, and later as intelligence officer, company commander and operations officer in 2nd/4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. He was subsequently posted to the School of Infantry. In 1999–2000 he commanded

2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 2nd Battalion (Amphibious), The Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR (Amphib)) is an amphibious reconnaissance battalion of the Australian Army part of the 1st Division Amphibious Task Group based at Lavarack Barracks in Townsville. 2 RAR was ...

(2 RAR). His operational commands have included 2 RAR, and the 3rd Brigade on operations 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 ...

, during

International Force for East Timor The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...

(INTERFET). Slater was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his distinguished command and leadership while commander of 2 RAR on Operation Warden, in East Timor.It's an Honour
– Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Also he served as an operations staff officer in the United States 3rd Army Headquarters in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

on Operation Pollard. He has undertaken formal education in mobilisation planning in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

, and is a graduate of the

Army Command and Staff 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 ...

Fort Queenscliff Fort Queenscliff, in Victoria, Australia, dates from 1860 when an open battery was constructed on Shortland's Bluff to defend the entrance to Port Phillip. The Fort, which underwent major redevelopment in the late 1870s and 1880s, became the he ...

, the

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 ...

, and the

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

. Slater holds master's degrees in Strategic Studies and Business Administration. In January 2011, Slater was appointed to lead the Flood Recovery Taskforce overseeing recovery from the

2010–2011 Queensland floods A series of floods hit Queensland, Australia, beginning in December 2010. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was estimated at A ...

. This taskforce subsequently transitioned into the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, where Slater remained until 31 August 2011, formally handing over to former 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 ...

, Major General Richard Wilson. For his efforts in heading the taskforce, along with his stints as Head of the Defence Personnel Executive and Commander 1st Division, Slater 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 2012 Australia Day Honours List. From 2011 to 2015 Slater served as Commander Forces Command.

Personal

Slater wed Danielle Lisa Morris on 5 February 2000. He has two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage. He appeared on the Chaser's War on Everything because of his honest remarks to a newsreader.

Honours and awards

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Michael 1958 births Australian generals Australian military personnel of the International Force for East Timor Graduates of the Officer Cadet School, Portsea Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Queensland University of Technology alumni Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Cross (Australia) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) United States Army War College alumni Military personnel from Brisbane University of Southern Queensland alumni People educated at St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace