Good afternoon, CDF, Secretary, Service Chiefs, and Group Heads.
Welcome, leaders young and old.
Auntie Violet, thank you for your welcome to these lands, I’m grateful for your presence and I pay my respects to the elders.
For the ladies and gentlemen – the team of Joint Capabilities Group assembled here today, your presence and your significance at this event is incredibly powerful. The image of you on that hillside is remarkable and you should be very proud and I am incredibly proud to be here today as your new Chief.
Distinguished guests, thank you for adding your wisdom and support to this occasion, it means so much to us. Most importantly, welcome to our families and friends, some of whom have travelled a great distance to be here, and whose unwavering support forms the bedrock of our service.
More specifically to my family – your presence here today recognises not only your immense contribution, but how your influence extends so far in advance of this moment. Your love and support has exemplified service, patience, grit and selflessness. I simply cannot do this without you or thank you enough.
Among my most fundamental duties today is to offer my thanks on behalf of Joint Capabilities Group to Lieutenant General Susan Coyle. Susan, your stewardship of Joint Capabilities Group has been nothing short of exemplary.
In just two years, you have overseen a period of tangible uplift, maturing this Group and building it to be part of the operational core of Defence. As you transition to leadership of the Army, you do so with our deepest respect. We also acknowledge the service and wonderful support of Mark and your family. We know Army is in exceptional hands and I look forward to serving with you as we deliver the focused force we need.
I assume this command with a keen sense of the responsibility and accountability that attends such a charge. I’m incredibly proud and humbled to be the new Chief of Joint Capabilities Group – to represent the men and women assembled here today and many more across the country.
We know our strategic landscape is volatile and increasingly complex. But our mandate is clear: we must keep Australians safe and secure, preserving sovereignty and ensuring potential adversaries perceive that the cost of conflict far outweighs the gain. We will continue to work across government and with our partners in the region, to ensure today is not the day for conflict.
As an organisation, we rightly and often speak of our integrated and focused force. Joint Capabilities Group sits at the very nexus of this integration. We help build the systems-the digital and physical connective tissue-that binds our operating domains into a single, combat effective, and robust whole.
In the Cyber and Space domains, we find ourselves in a state of constant activity. Our teams live the daily reality of threats to the system backbones we rely on. Through a reformed acquisition system, we are delivering resilient and secure satellite communications systems, keeping our teams connected and data flowing. Our contribution to the national conversation will help shape Australia’s space power-while ensuring we maintain the Space Domain Awareness that we need to protect our interests.
Furthermore, our approach to Artificial Intelligence will be a defining feature of Defence’s effectiveness in this new era. We must be clear-eyed about the risks, while remaining open to harnessing AI where it absolutely makes sense. We will continue to work across the portfolio to expand our secure, resilient, and defendable network backbone, to enable the integrated force to fight and win.
Yet, we recognize that technology is but one element of power. Our Defence Logistics and National Support networks are the lifeblood of our force. Through our impressive people and systems, we will further progress the ongoing, vital uplift in preparedness and resilience. Our network of sites and industry partners helps ensure that when the Government calls upon us, our teams are provisioned, match fit and ready to run towards the challenge.
Crucially, our success will not be measured in terms of hardware or delivery statistics alone. As I look across this group, I am inspired by the true foundation of our advantage – the people. All of you here today and many more, whose culture, purpose, values and talents are the source of our success.
As a Group, we are a place where the team can harness the positives of all to build a unique collective strength. A strength that leverages the history and pride of the ADF, the professionalism of our Public Service and the capacity of Defence industry. All of our strengths will be channelled through a keen focus on delivery and preparedness, and readiness for operations.
Importantly, my commitment to you is to lead an organisation defined by moral courage. We will not be seduced by the easy or popular path; we will tackle the most difficult challenges with a commitment to the right path for Defence, for our communities and for our values. We will integrate through teamwork, trust, and engagement, knowing that our compounding positive contributions drive both our success and our collective wellbeing.
Through the talented people working within Joint Capabilities Group, I look forward to maturing our domains, growing our specialist workforce and deepening our impressive operational credentials. We will take a leading role in the uplift of core knowledge and baseline skills across two vital domains. We will work with partners to deliver increasingly fit for purpose logistics and National Support that can endure and prevail in the challenges we may face. Deep domain expertise, trusted connections and pragmatism will continue to be hallmarks of our Group.
There is no more consequential task than the defence of Australia and the stability of our region.
Together, as a wily and tough nation, whose people are capable of so much, Joint Capabilities Group will do our part to ensure the ADF remains a formidable force for deterrence and action against coercion. In this endeavour, we must be ready today, postured for the future and committed to working together, always.
Thank you.
