Ash Power

Lieutenant General Brian Ashley "Ash" Power AO, CSC (born 20 January 1957) is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. Power served as Chief of Joint Operations from 2011 until his retirement in May 2014.

Brian Ashley Power
Power c. 2007
Born (1957-01-20) 20 January 1957
Wangaratta, Victoria
AllegianceAustralia
Service/branchAustralian Army
Years of service1975–2014
RankLieutenant General
Commands heldChief of Joint Operations
Training Command
1st Division
1st Brigade
4th Field Regiment
Battles/warsInternational Force for East Timor
War in Afghanistan

Iraq War

AwardsOfficer of the Order of Australia
Conspicuous Service Cross
Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)
Meritorious Service Medal (United States)

Military career

Power entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in January 1975. He graduated nearly four years later in December 1978 and was allocated to the Royal Australian Artillery. He was posted to the 4th Field Regiment for regimental duty and performed the functions of Section Commander, Gun Position Officer, and Assistant Adjutant. He later returned to command the Regiment, for which he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 1998.[1]

He has been an instructor at the School of Artillery, the Royal Military College, Duntroon and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Camberley, United Kingdom, and has also attended Command and Staff College, Bangkok, Thailand.

In November 1998 Power deployed to Bougainville Island on Operation Belisi as the Chief of Staff, and in September 1999 was deployed as the Colonel Operations for International Force East Timor (INTERFET). He was posted as the Defence Attaché Thailand in January 2000, and on his return in January 2002, studied at the Australian Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, Canberra.

Power was promoted to brigadier on 22 November 2002, and assumed command of the 1st Brigade on 6 December 2002.[2]

In 2005 Power was promoted to major general, and assumed command of the 1st Division on 2 July 2005.

In June 2006 he became a Member of the Order of Australia,[3] and in November 2006 was posted as Commander Joint Task Force 636.[4]

Power served as Australian Commander of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2007 (TS07)[5] before assuming command of Training Command, Army on 6 July 2007.

In May 2011, Power was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS) and Commander of Headquarters, Joint Operations Command (HQJOC). He was upgraded to an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2012 Australia Day Honours List.[6]

Ash Power is a veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and Bougainville.[7]

Personal

In 1978, Power married Narelle.[8] They have two daughters.

Honours and awards

Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)26 January 2012[3]
Member of the Order of Australia (AM)(12 June 2006)
Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC)26 January 1998[1]
Australian Active Service Medalwith EAST TIMOR, ICAT clasps[7]
INTERFET medal
Afghanistan Medal
Australian Service Medalwith BOUGAINVILLE clasp[7]
Defence Force Service Medal with 4 clasps(35–39 years of service)
Australian Defence Medal
ISAFNATO ISAF medal – 'International Security Assistance Force' medal
Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)c. March 2006[9][10]
Meritorious Service Medal (United States)[11]

References
  1. Conspicuous Service Cross – 26 January 1998
  2. Australian Defence Force Biography as Commander, 1st Brigade, May 2004.
  3. Officer of the Order of Australia – 26 January 2012 Archived 27 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Citation: For distinguished service as Commander of the 1st Division, Commander Training Command – Army and Head Military Strategic Commitments.
  4. "Task Force home from Fiji". Archived from the original on 24 June 2005. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
  5. Exercise Talisman Saber Question & Answers – "The Commander of the Task Force Legais (a fictional land mass represented in part by Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA)), the live portion of the exercise, is Australian Major General Ash Power, Commander 1 Division."
  6. "Officer (AO) in the Military Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). Australia Day 2012 Honours Lists. Website of the Governor-General of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  7. "Major General Power, a veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and Bougainville". Archived from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
  8. Major General Ash Power, CSC and Mrs Narelle Power Archived 21 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine at Government House, Queensland, October 2005.
  9. Signs of the times, Defence magazine, March 2006.
  10. Officer of the Legion of Merit citation extract: "For exceptionally meritorious service as the Director, Combined Planning Group (CPG)" in the period from June 2004 to June 2005. "His expertise in strategic analysis and deliberate planning shaped the CPG's structure and mission, assured a firm foundation for the development of quality planning and assessment efforts, and promoted continued growth of CPG capabilities. He coordinated CPG efforts with USCENTCOM (US Central Command) leadership to provide valuable international perspectives to ongoing planning and analysis, better capitalise on the intellectual capacity of select international officers by integrating them into key theatre headquarters staff processes and products, and to develop and incorporate analytical constructs for use at the strategic-theatre level. Brigadier Power's exemplary performance, dynamic leadership and exceptional devotion to duty reflect great credit upon himself, the Australian Army, and his country."
  11. Official Portrait, , June 2011.
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