Vorlage:Use dmy dates Vorlage:Use Australian English Vorlage:Infobox military person
Major General Simone Louise Wilkie AM is an Australian Army officer who was the Australian Deputy National Commander in the War in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012. She was Assistant Chief of Staff to General David Petraeus during the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, and was the first female Commanding Officer of the Royal Military College Duntroon and Commandant at the Army Recruit Training Centre at Kapooka. In March 2013 the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, announced that she will be promoted to major general and take over as Commandant of the Australian Defence College in August 2013.
Early life and education
Simone Louise Burt,[1] was educated at Ballarat Grammar School. She joined the Australian Army in 1983,[2] and attended the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) Officer Candidate School in Georges Heights, New South Wales.[3] There were 32 women in her class.[4] Opportunities for women in the Army were more restricted then, and on graduation she was commissioned and assigned to the Royal Australian Corps of Signals. She later recalled:Vorlage:Quote
Wilkie has a Bachelor of Social Science in Human Resource Management, a Graduate Diploma in Telecommunications Systems Management, a Graduate Diploma of Strategic Studies, and a Masters of Defence Studies.[5][6]
Career
In her early career she served as a platoon commander with the Army's Recruit Training Battalion, as an instructor at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and as a training officer with the 7th Brigade Signal Squadron. In 1993, she served in Cambodia as Adjutant of the 1st Signal Regiment, the Australian communication unit with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).[5][6] In 2008 she became a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours "for exceptional performance of duty in command appointments within Training Command - Army".[7]
Wilkie commanded 136 Signal Squadron.[5] She then became the first female commanding officer of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and then the first female Commandant at the Army Recruit Training Centre at Kapooka.[6] In 2007 she went to Iraq as Assistant Chief of staff of General David Petraeus's Multi-National Force during the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, working under the Chief of Staff, Major General John M. Paxton, Jr.[4][8] Petreus's headquarters, which was made up of about 1,800 personnel, was split between the Embassy site in Baghdad and Camp Victory. Wilkie was in charge of many of the activities at the former, noting that:[4] Vorlage:Quote
In 2011 she became Deputy National Commander, Afghanistan. As such, she was responsible for the 1,500 Australian personnel serving with Australian and international forces in the combat zone.[8] Her job also involved liaising with the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, General John R. Allen.[4] She was awarded the Commendation for Distinguished Service "for distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations as Assistant Commander - Afghanistan, Joint Task Force 633 on Operation Slipper from September 2011 to August 2012."[9]
After returning from Afghanistan, she became Director General of Training at Headquarters Forces Command at Victoria Barracks, Sydney. As such, she responsible for most of the Army’s training.[6] In March 2013 the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, announced that she will be promoted to major general and will take over as Commandant of the Australian Defence College in Canberra.[10][11] There have only been five women of two-star rank in the Australian Defence Force. She will be the second highest ranking serving female officer after Rear Admiral Robyn Walker.[10]
Personal life
She married Andrew Wilkie, a fellow Army officer in 1991.[1] He resigned his position at the Office of National Assessments, an Australian intelligence agency, over concerns that intelligence was being exaggerated for political purposes in making the case for Australia's contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq under the Howard government.[12] They divorced in 2003.[8] She is currently married to another fellow Australian Army officer, and lists her leisure activities as home renovation, and playing field hockey and golf.[6]
Asked if she had any advice for young women, Wilkie said: "If you want to serve your country, your gender is not an issue."[10]
Wilkie is the niece of John Burt, the current mayor of Ballarat, Victoria.[2]
Notes
- ↑ a b Leanne Sullivan (Hrsg.): Who's Who in Australia 2013. XLIX Auflage. Crown Content, Melbourne 2013, ISBN 1 74095 190 5(?!).
- ↑ a b Jordan Oliver: Former Ballarat woman to head ADF College In: Ballarat Courier. Abgerufen im 10 July 2013
- ↑ Neville Lindsay: Chapter 3 - Development and Maturity. Historia, abgerufen am 10. Juli 2013.
- ↑ a b c d Nick Monfries: First Down. Blog at WordPress.com, 4. Juni 2013, abgerufen am 10. Juli 2013.
- ↑ a b c Simone Wilkie: Full Bio. Chief Executive Women, abgerufen am 10. Juli 2013.
- ↑ a b c d e Brigadier Simone Louise Wilkie. Macquarie University, abgerufen am 10. Juli 2013.
- ↑ Member of the Order of Australia. Australian Government, abgerufen am 10. Juli 2013.
- ↑ a b c Jane Hansen: Meet Brigadier Simone Wilkie, the first woman to command Australian troops In: The Sunday Telegraph, 23 October 2011. Abgerufen im 10 July 2013
- ↑ Commendation for Distinguished Service. Australian Government, abgerufen am 10. Juli 2013.
- ↑ a b c Max Blenkin: No gender limits, says top woman soldier In: The Australian. Abgerufen im 10 July 2013
- ↑ Commander ADC: Major General Simone Louise Wilkie. In: Australian Defence College. Department of Defence, abgerufen am 27. Juli 2013.
- ↑ Andrew Wilkie discusses WMD doubts In: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 3 February 2004. Abgerufen im 10 July 2013