Farewell Address on the Change of Command of the Chief of the Australian Army
Lieutenant General SA Stuart AO DSC, 41st Chief of Army
Blamey Square, 8 Jul 26
Final as Delivered
It has been the privilege of a lifetime to have been an Australian soldier.
I have one final duty and one overwhelming emotion today, and that is gratitude.
‘Lest we forget’ is our individual and our collective promise, and so it is fitting to commence expressing my gratitude by honouring the memory of our fallen – the nearly 82,000 soldiers whose names are cast without embellishment, save for a poppy, in the silent bronze panels that gird the soul of the Australian War Memorial.
It is of course personal. Each of them had a family, loved ones, and mates. Today is personal for me too, and I remember those soldiers and Navy Seals, from Australia and the United States of America, abroad and at home, at the hands of an enemy and in service of all natures – who fell on my watch.
I acknowledge the burden of grief and the sense of loss that weighs on the hearts of their families and their loved ones.
My thoughts and prayers remain with you – always.
I am grateful for the more than 4,000 soldiers who as we gather here today are deployed or stood to, abroad and at home, today and tonight. I thank their families for their service.
The late Brigadier George Lyon Mansford reminded us that:
“the oath to serve our country did not include a contract for normal luxury, and comforts enjoyed within our society. On the contrary it implied hardships, loyalty and devotion to duty, regardless of your rank.”
In these few sentences, George captures the essence of service and indeed, the essence of soldiering.
Through his quintessential combination of candour and compassion, and his deep love of country, his fellow Australians and brothers and sisters in arms, he helped us to see ourselves, our duty and the inescapably visceral nature of our profession.
Theodore Reed, or TR, Fehrenbach was elegantly blunt in his account of soldiering, remarking:
“you may fly over land forever, you may bomb it, atomize it, and wipe it clean of life – but if you desire to defend it, protect it, and keep it for civilization, you must do this on the ground … by putting your soldiers in the mud.”
Put simply, the ultimate expression of national will and resolve is to place our soldiers on the ground and in harm’s way.
I am grateful for the wisdom of these two men, borne equally of personal experience and scholarship.
I am most grateful for the service of all those soldiers who wear our uniform today.
I am grateful for the way in which you have embraced our purpose:
For building and maintaining trust: trust in our teams, with our joint teammates, with our fellow Australians – whom we exist to serve – trust with our government, and trust with our allies and partners.
I am grateful for the way you have built our readiness to ‘fight tonight‘ and comprehensively re-wiring our army to ensure our relevance and our survival among tomorrow’s challenges.
I am grateful for your thrift and stewardship of the precious resources with which our nation entrusts us.
And I am grateful to you for adding your voice to telling our story.
The story of the Australian Army, the story of 125 years of service as a national institution, as a profession and as a fighting force. In short, I am grateful for your devotion and endeavour every day to creating a future Army that is worthy of our past.
I am grateful for the privilege of being an Australian soldier.
I am grateful for the privilege of having led my fellow Australians and soldiers.
And I am grateful indeed for the privilege of having led and commanded our Army.
And I am most grateful for the privilege of having done so, in good company – in your company.
You are among the ablest of soldiers.
In adversity and among our failures and our triumphs, you have been magnificent, you have been indefatigable, you have been of good heart and of sound character.
I am grateful to have served among your number and to have enjoyed your trust and your fellowship.
These are the treasures of service, those that cannot be bought or bestowed or indeed taken from us – they can only be earned and they are ours for a lifetime.
As I draw my final remarks to a close, please forgive my indulgence.
I extend my gratitude to all of you here today:
To the Excellences gathered – you honour us.
To Ms Megan Quinn – our Secretary, Godspeed.
To Admiral Johnston our Chief of Defence Force (CDF) and to Belinda – thank you for your leadership, stewardship and friendship, we wish you fair winds and following seas.
To Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, our next CDF and to Jodi – our friends – every blessing.
To my fellow Chiefs and senior leaders – my sincere thanks for your friendship and support.
To the indefatigable team that is Army Headquarters – my eternal admiration.
To the team in the Office of the Chief of Army (OCA) – a personal debt of gratitude.
To those on parade today, our next generation of junior leaders – and to the hardest working band in the country, the band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon – you are our future and I am so very proud of you.
To former Chiefs of our Army here with us – I am grateful for the inheritance
To our 42nd Chief – General Susan and Mark, and our 13th Regimental Sergeant Major – Army (RSM-A), Warrant Officer (WO) Brad Doyle and to Liza – we are so very proud of you – we are so very confident in you – go well!
To our dear friends:
– To Aunty Lorraine and Dave.
– To General Rose and Warrant Officer Dave, our kiwi sister and brother.
– To General Rick and Bron Burr.
– To my battle buddy, the 12th RSM-A WO Kim Felmingham and Jeff.
– To all of our old friends and new – dear friends all of you.
We treasure the times we have had together and we treasure today’s precious moments with you.
To my sisters Dee and Anna, and my brother Tim – always there, we love you.
To our children Evy and Charlie – we are proud of the good people you have become and I thank you for your service – both voluntary and involuntary – all your lives. Love.
And finally to my darling Katy:
You are my north star.
Your counsel, love, patience, steel, devotion, constance and deep humility have been my example every day we have had together all these years.
I am so very much looking forward to our next adventure.
… till China & Africa meet and the salmon sing in the street …
To you all. Duty first! — Godspeed & good soldiering!
41 out.
