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 ...

Susan May Coyle, (born 21 May 1970) is a 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 ...

. She joined the army as a

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person ca ...

in 1987 and, following training at the

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) ...

, was commissioned into the

Royal Australian Corps of Signals The Royal Australian Corps of Signals (RASigs) is one of the 'arms' (combat support corps) of the Australian Army. It is responsible for installing, maintaining, and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems. The ...

in 1992. She has commanded the 104th Signal Squadron (2003–04), 17th Signal Regiment (2009–10), Task Group Afghanistan (2015) and the 6th Combat Support Brigade (2017–19), and has deployed on operations to

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 ...

, 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 ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. She was appointed Commander Joint Task Force 633, with responsibility for all Australian operations in the Middle East, from January to November 2020. She was the first woman to command the task force, which had oversight for 1,200 personnel under Operation Accordion. Coyle was Head Information Warfare from January 2021 to November 2022, Commander Forces Command from November 2022 to June 2024, and assumed the role of Chief of Joint Capabilities in July 2024.

Early life

Coyle was born on 21 May 1970 in

Kyogle Kyogle () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It falls within the Local government in Australia, local government area of Kyogle Council. At the 2016 Australian census, 2016 census, Kyogle had a popu ...

, a small town in the

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most northeasterly Regions of New South Wales, region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence Ri ...

region of New South Wales. Coyle has an elder sister, Alice, and three brothers. Alice joined the

Australian Army Reserve The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the military reserve force, reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citize ...

and served in the

in the 1980s, which inspired Susan to a career in the

. During her final years at Oxley High School in Tamworth, Coyle was sponsored under the

(ADFA) scholarship scheme and joined the Australian Army Reserve herself, serving with the 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers. She graduated from Oxley High in 1988 and, the following January, entered ADFA as an Australian Army

officer cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

Military career

Coyle graduated from ADFA with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in 1991 and, following additional training at 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 ...

, was commissioned into the Royal Australian Corps of Signals in 1992. Coyle's early career was marked by a variety of communications appointments, before she was selected as aide-de-camp to the Commander Australian Theatre from 1998 to 1999. She then received an exchange posting to the United States in 2000, serving as Brigade Satellite Engineer for the 11th Signal Brigade. Coyle was awarded the United States

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

for her performance in this role. She returned to Australia in 2001 and was posted to Headquarters

Land Command Land Command (or 'HQ Land') was a military command and formation and part of the structure of the British Army from 1995 to 2008. Its headquarters was at Erskine Barracks, at Fugglestone St Peter, some four kilometres northwest of Salisbury in W ...

as SO2 Communications. In 2002, she deployed on Operation Citadel, Australia's contribution to the United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor, as J6, the staff officer responsible for communications. Coyle was posted to Darwin in 2003 as Officer Commanding 104th Signal Squadron. She led the squadron during a deployment to the

on Operation Anode in 2004, receiving a Chief of Joint Operations Command Commendation. She attended the Australian Command and Staff College in 2005, graduating with a Master of Management in Defence Studies from the affiliated

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

. She served as Military Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Army in 2006 and, following staff postings with the Directorate of Officer Career Management – Army, was appointed to command the 17th Signal Regiment in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

from 2009 to 2010. In recognition of her "outstanding achievement" as a "commander and leader" of the regiment, Coyle was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the

2011 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, deployed to the Middle East as Deputy Commander – Afghanistan in Joint Task Force 633. As operations in the Middle East transitioned to a military intervention against the Islamic State, the Australian forces were reorganised and Coyle became Deputy Commander Joint Task Force 633. Towards the end of her twelve-month tour, she raised and was the inaugural commander of Task Group Afghanistan (Task Group 633.6). In recognition of her "distinguished leadership" and "exceptional drive, enthusiasm and commitment" in the Middle East, Coyle was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in the 2017 Australia Day Honours. She returned to Australia as Chief of Staff and Director Workforce and Behaviours within the First Principles Review, One Defence Implementation Office, prior to being seconded to the United States in 2016 to attend the

United States 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 ...

. She graduated in 2017, leaving the college as a Distinguished Graduate with a Master of Strategic Studies. She also holds a Master in Organisational Development and Strategic Human Resource Management from the University of New England. Coyle was appointed to command the 6th Combat Support Brigade at Victoria Barracks, Sydney in June 2017. She was also appointed Head of Corps for the Royal Australian Corps of Signals. The 6th Brigade oversees intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance units in the Australian Army to provide specialist combat support to land-based forces. Coyle relinquished command of the brigade in December 2019 and, promoted major general, she redeployed to the Middle East as Commander Joint Task Force 633 on Operation Accordion from January to November 2020. Coyle was the first woman to command the task force, which is responsible for all

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 ...

operations and more than 1,200 personnel in the Middle East region. She relinquished command of the task force to Rear Admiral Michael Rothwell in November 2020 and, in recognition of her "exceptional performance of duty" in the role, was appointed 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 ...

in the 2022 Australia Day Honours. Following her return to Australia, Coyle was appointed Head Information Warfare in the Joint Capabilities Group in January 2021. She was next posted as Commander Forces Command in November 2022. In July 2024, Coyle was 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 ...

and appointed as Chief of Joint Capabilities.

Personal life

Coyle is married to Mark, an officer in the Australian Army's

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 together they have three children. She enjoys musical theatre, reading, and travel.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Coyle, Susan 1970 births Military personnel from New South Wales Australian generals Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Graduates of the Australian Defence Force Academy Living people Members of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Cross (Australia) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates United States Army War College alumni University of Canberra alumni University of New England (Australia) alumni University of New South Wales alumni Women in the Australian military