For the first time in more than twenty years a naval officer has taken command of the Australian Defence Force. RAAF jets flew in formation over Canberra to mark the formal changeover ceremony as Admiral David Johnston assumed the top job replacing retiring General Angus Campbell.
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00:00There were four F-35 aircraft on display here in Canberra this morning, a tribute to the
00:09departing Defence Chief, General Angus Campbell, who has been in that top job since 2018.
00:16And as part of the ceremony today, we saw a parade, an official changeover parade, at
00:22Defence Headquarters, where the new Chief, the former Vice Chief of Defence, now Chief
00:28Admiral David Johnston, assumed command of Australia's Defence Force.
00:34It's a tradition that occurs each time there is a changeover of command, and over the past
00:40few days we've seen smaller changeover ceremonies for other members of the senior leadership,
00:46as the changing of the ranks occurs with various service chiefs and vice chiefs switching out
00:54and being replaced.
00:56But today was also a chance for General Angus Campbell, after several years in the top job,
01:02to reflect on what he described as a challenging and exhausting job as the Chief of Defence,
01:09to also reflect on the future for the ADF.
01:13There are a number of challenges, as we know.
01:16There's the recruitment challenge, there's the findings of the Brereton Inquiry into
01:22Afghanistan, the recent hearings on defence and veteran suicide, but let's hear a little
01:29about what General Campbell had to say about his vision for the Defence Force as he departs,
01:34and what he would like to see in the years to come.
01:37We live in very interesting times indeed.
01:42Embrace it as an opportunity.
01:45Do not doubt the contribution you make or the consequential role Australia can play
01:51in creating our shared future, at home, in the Indo-Pacific and globally.
01:59A big-thinking, engaged and generous Australia has always been a positive influence in our
02:06troubled world, and Australian statecraft has never been more necessary nor more welcome.
02:14Admiral Johnston has served under General Campbell since 2018, when he was promoted
02:21to Vice Chief of Defence.
02:23Admiral Johnston has had a long career in the Navy.
02:26He joined as a teenager in the late 1970s as a cadet, and has served in a number of
02:33command roles, including in the Middle East.
02:36He perhaps came to prominence in the public eye when he was the Chief of Joint Operations
02:41while the Australian Defence Force was involved in bombing operations against ISIS at the
02:48time, and he would regularly front media appearances to discuss those operations, even when things
02:55had gone wrong with wrong targets.
02:58So David Johnston has been very much a public figure also in estimates hearings here in
03:04Parliament House, but most recently as the Vice Chief of Defence, he's played a leading
03:09role in various initiatives.
03:12He is taking over at a challenging time, it has to be said, for the ADF as it battles
03:19both very ambitious recruitment targets, but also retention, with that being a real problem,
03:25the ADF struggling to retain its men and women.