Chris Barrie (admiral)

Admiral Christopher Alexander Barrie AC
Born	29 May 1945 (1945-05-29) (age 66) Sydney, New South Wales
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Royal Australian Navy
Years of service	1961–2002
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Chief of the Defence Force HMAS Watson HMAS Stuart HMAS Buccaneer
Battles/wars	Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Vietnam War
Awards	Companion of the Order of Australia

Admiral Christopher Alexander "Chris" Barrie AC (born 29 May 1945) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy, who served as Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 1998 to 3 July 2002.

Naval career

Born in Sydney, Barrie was educated at North Sydney Boys High School and joined the Royal Australian Naval College in 1961. During his early Naval training, he completed service on HMAS Anzac, Vampire and Melbourne, which included service in the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, and a 23 day tour of duty in Vietnam. Postings to the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth and HMS Excellent followed.

Barrie served at sea as part of the commissioning crew of HMAS Brisbane, which included a seven month tour of duty in Vietnam, during 1969.

He also served as Commanding Officer HMAS Buccaneer, Operations and Navigating Officer on HMS Eastbourne, HMAS Perth and HMAS Duchess, Executive Officer on HMAS Vampire and later as Commanding Officer HMAS Stuart.

In 1990-1991, Barrie held an appointment as Defence Adviser, New Delhi, India and following this post, he served as Director RAN Surface Warfare School and Commanding Officer HMAS Watson; Deputy Maritime Commander and Chief of Staff at Maritime Headquarters in Sydney; Deputy Chief of Naval Staff; and Vice Chief of the Defence Force in 1997-1998.

Barrie was promoted to Admiral, and assumed the post of Chief of the Defence Force, on 4 July 1998. He held this post until his retirement in 2002; he was succeeded by General Peter Cosgrove.

Through part-time study, Barrie obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983, with a special focus on International Relations and Politics, and was awarded a Master of Business Administration degree in 1996 by Deakin University.

As the Chief of the Defence Force, Admiral Barrie became involved in the "Children Overboard Affair" of 2001, a high-level political controversy which occurred during the Australian federal election campaign. Barrie was the last Australian Government official to publicly support Prime Minister John Howard's assertion that refugees had thrown their children overboard from their sinking vessel.^[1]

Awards

	Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)	(2001)[2]
	Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)	(1998)[3]
	Member of the Order of Australia (AM)	(1994)[4]
	Australian Active Service Medal 1945-1975[citation needed]
	General Service Medal[citation needed]
	Vietnam Medal[citation needed]
	Australian Service Medal 1945-1975[citation needed]
	Centenary Medal	(2001)[5]
	Defence Force Service Medal with Federation Star[citation needed]	(40–44 years service)
	National Medal	(1978)[6]
	Australian Defence Medal[citation needed]
	Vietnam Campaign Medal (Republic of Vietnam)[citation needed]

References

1. ^ Australian Broadcasting Corporation '7:30 Report' TV program transcript, 27-02-2002.
2. ^ It's an Honour - Companion of the Order of Australia - 26 January 2001
   Citation: For eminent service to the Australian Defence Force as Chief of the Defence Force.
3. ^ It's an Honour - Officer of the Order of Australia - 8 June 1998
   Citation: For distinguished service to the Australian Defence Force as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and Vice Chief of the Defence Force.
4. ^ It's an Honour - Member of the Order of Australia - 26 January 1994
   Citation: In recognition of service to the Royal Australian Navy, particularly as Deputy Maritime Commander and Chief of Staff, Maritime HQ.
5. ^ It's an Honour - Centenary Medal - 1 January 2001
   Citation: For service to Australian society as Chief of the Australian Defence Force.
6. ^ It's an Honour - National Medal - 06 September 1978

• Vietnam War Nominal Roll entry
• CDF Biography Wayback Machine archive of Admiral Barrie's Defence biography as Chief of the Defence Force. Archived 17 December 2001, accessed 23 August 2005.
• Senior Military Appointments Government press release detailing the military appointments for 2000.
• Official portrait of ADM Barrie in "whites" wearing the "old" Admiral (Australia) shoulder-boards lo-res hi-res

Military offices
Preceded by General John Baker	Chief of the Australian Defence Force 1998 – 2002	Succeeded by General Peter Cosgrove
Preceded by Vice Admiral Robert Walls	Vice Chief of the Defence Force 1997 – 1998	Succeeded by Air Marshal Douglas Riding
Preceded by Rear Admiral ?	Deputy Chief of Naval Staff 1996 – 1997	Succeeded by Rear Admiral ?

Persondata
Name	Barrie, Chris
Alternative names	Barrie, Christopher Alexander
Short description	Senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy, Chief of the Defence Force (1998–2002)
Date of birth	29 May 1945
Place of birth	Sydney, New South Wales
Date of death
Place of death