Richard Gary Wilson

Infobox Military Person


name= Richard Gary Wilson
lived= 16 January 1955 -
placeofbirth= Brisbane, Australia
placeofdeath=
caption=
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|Australia Australia
serviceyears= 1975 -
rank= Major General
branch= Australian Army
commands= 1st Division
7th Brigade
2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
2nd/4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
unit=
battles= East Timor
awards= Member of the Order of Australia
Commendation for Distinguished Service
laterwork=
Major General Richard Gary Wilson AM (b. 16 January, 1955) is a senior officer in the Australian Army, currently Commander of the 1st Division.

Early life

Richard Gary Wilson was born in Brisbane, Australia, on the 16 January 1955. [ [http://www.defence.gov.au/Army/VBBOSM/docs/MAJOR_GENERAL_RICHARD_WILSON_BIO.doc Department of Defence Biography] ]

Military career

A 1977 Infantry graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Wilson has extensive command experience in the Royal Australian Regiment.

He served as:
* (1978-1980) Platoon Commander in the 6th Battalion
* (1986) Adjutant, 2nd/4th Battalion
* (1987-88) Company Commander, 2nd/4th Battalion
* (1994) Commanding Officer, 2nd/4th Battalion
* (1995-96) Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion
* (2002-03) Commander, 7th Brigade
* (2004) Director General Military Strategy
* (2005) Promoted to Major General and assumed the position of Commander, Training Command - Army.
* (2007) Commander 1st Division

He has held a wide range of staff appointments:
* (1981-82) Aide de Camp to the Chief of Defence Force Staff, Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot
* (1982) Operations Officer in the Army's Directorate of Operations
* (1989) Plans Officer (Land) on the Joint Exercise Planning Staff

Following Staff College, Wilson spent two years on exchange with the United States Army as an Operations Officer on the G3 staff of the 7th Infantry Division (Light), an element of the Rapid Deployment Force, based at Fort Ord in California.

In 1993, Wilson was seconded to the Office of National Assessments as a Defence Liaison Officer and Military Analyst. This was followed by an appointment as the Army representative on the Writing Team for the 1994 Defence White Paper 'Defending Australia'.

From August 1997 until January 2000, Wilson served as the first Chief Staff Officer Plans, or J5, at Headquarters Australian Theatre (HQAST), the Australian Defence Force's newly formed operational level headquarters. Of particular note during this period were the planning for the peace monitoring operations on Bougainville and the peace enforcement operations conducted in East Timor by an Australian-led international coalition force. For his services as the J5 at HQAST, Wilson was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2000 Australia Day Honours List. [ [http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1129757&search_type=simple&showInd=true It's an Honour] - Member of the Order of Australia - 26 January 2000
Citation: "For exceptional service to the Australian Army and to the Australian Defence Force as the Commanding Officer of the 2nd/4th and 2nd Battalions, the Royal Australian Regiment, and as the Chief Staff Officer Plans at Headquarters Australian Theatre."]

Wilson served with the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor as Commander of the Peacekeeping Forces in Sector West from July 2001 until March 2002. [ [http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1042400&search_type=simple&showInd=true It's an Honour] - Commendation for Distinguished Service - 26 January 2003
Citation: "For distinguished performance of duty as the Commander Sector West, United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor during Operation TANAGER."] His overseas experience also includes two three month tours of duty in Malaysia with Rifle Company Butterworth (1978 & 1988) and an exchange posting with the United States Army's 7th Infantry Division (Light) (1991-92) which included training deployments to Honduras, Panama and Colombia.

Wilson was responsible for "The Wilson Report" which examined C2 arrangements in the ADF and recommended the formation of a co-located Joint Headquarters. Located in NSW between Queanbeyan and Bungendore to the east of Canberra, this establishment is known as HQJOC(B).

On 6 July 2007, Wilson was appointed Commander, 1st Division.

Qualifications

* 1977 Graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon
* 1977 Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours from the University of New South Wales
* 1983 Master of Letters from the University of New England
* 1986 Doctor of Philosophy from the University of New South Wales. His doctoral thesis examined aspects of Australia's coastal surveillance regime.
* 1990 Graduate of the Australian Army Command and Staff College, Fort Queenscliff
* 1997 Graduate of the Joint Services Staff College
* 2001 Graduate of the United States Army War College
* 2001 Master of Strategic Studies from the US Army War College

Personal

Richard Wilson and his wife Beverley have three children. He is keenly interested in sports, particularly rugby, enjoys reading military history and has a strong interest in environmental matters, strategic geography and international relations.

References and notes

External links

* [http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews/editions/1115/images/25-Bashir%20Cutler%20correct_th.jpgPhoto of MAJGEN Wilson] . (Copyright). Caption: "Maj-Gen Richard Wilson and Prof Marie Bashir, NSW Governor, cut the ribbon at the opening of the Sir Roden Cutler Display at the National Artillery Museum." Photo by AB Yuri Ramsey