00:00There were four F-35 aircraft on display here in Canberra this morning, a tribute to the
00:09departing Defence Chief, General Angus Campbell, who has been in that top job since 2018.
00:16And as part of the ceremony today, we saw a parade, an official changeover parade, at
00:22Defence Headquarters, where the new Chief, the former Vice Chief of Defence, now Chief
00:28Admiral David Johnston, assumed command of Australia's Defence Force.
00:34It's a tradition that occurs each time there is a changeover of command, and over the past
00:40few days we've seen smaller changeover ceremonies for other members of the senior leadership,
00:46as the changing of the ranks occurs with various service chiefs and vice chiefs switching out
00:54and being replaced.
00:56But today was also a chance for General Angus Campbell, after several years in the top job,
01:02to reflect on what he described as a challenging and exhausting job as the Chief of Defence,
01:09to also reflect on the future for the ADF.
01:13There are a number of challenges, as we know.
01:16There's the recruitment challenge, there's the findings of the Brereton Inquiry into
01:22Afghanistan, the recent hearings on defence and veteran suicide, but let's hear a little
01:29about what General Campbell had to say about his vision for the Defence Force as he departs,
01:34and what he would like to see in the years to come.
01:37We live in very interesting times indeed.
01:42Embrace it as an opportunity.
01:45Do not doubt the contribution you make or the consequential role Australia can play
01:51in creating our shared future, at home, in the Indo-Pacific and globally.
01:59A big-thinking, engaged and generous Australia has always been a positive influence in our
02:06troubled world, and Australian statecraft has never been more necessary nor more welcome.
02:14Admiral Johnston has served under General Campbell since 2018, when he was promoted
02:21to Vice Chief of Defence.
02:23Admiral Johnston has had a long career in the Navy.
02:26He joined as a teenager in the late 1970s as a cadet, and has served in a number of
02:33command roles, including in the Middle East.
02:36He perhaps came to prominence in the public eye when he was the Chief of Joint Operations
02:41while the Australian Defence Force was involved in bombing operations against ISIS at the
02:48time, and he would regularly front media appearances to discuss those operations, even when things
02:55had gone wrong with wrong targets.
02:58So David Johnston has been very much a public figure also in estimates hearings here in
03:04Parliament House, but most recently as the Vice Chief of Defence, he's played a leading
03:09role in various initiatives.
03:12He is taking over at a challenging time, it has to be said, for the ADF as it battles
03:19both very ambitious recruitment targets, but also retention, with that being a real problem,
03:25the ADF struggling to retain its men and women.
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