Ash Power

Brian Ashley Power
Brian Ashley Power
	Power c. 2007
Born	20 January 1957 (age 67); Wangaratta, Victoria
Allegiance	Australia
Service / branch	Australian Army
Years of service	1975–2014
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Chief of Joint Operations; Training Command; 1st Division; 1st Brigade; 4th Field Regiment
Battles / wars	International Force East Timor; War in Afghanistan Operation Slipper; ; Iraq War Operation Catalyst; ;
Awards	Officer of the Order of Australia; Conspicuous Service Cross; Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States); Meritorious Service Medal (United States)

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.

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 Medal	with EAST TIMOR, ICAT clasps^[7]
	INTERFET medal
	Afghanistan Medal
	Australian Service Medal	with BOUGAINVILLE clasp^[7]
	Defence Force Service Medal with 4 clasps	(35–39 years of service)
	Australian Defence Medal
	ISAF	NATO 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

^ ^a ^b Conspicuous Service Cross – 26 January 1998
^ Australian Defence Force Biography as Commander, 1st Brigade, May 2004.
^ ^a ^b 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.
^ "Task Force home from Fiji". Archived from the original on 24 June 2005. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
^ 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."
^ "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.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Major General Power, a veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and Bougainville". Archived from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
^ Major General Ash Power, CSC and Mrs Narelle Power Archived 21 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine at Government House, Queensland, October 2005.
^ Signs of the times, Defence magazine, March 2006.
^ 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."
^ Official Portrait, [1], June 2011.

External links

Copyright photo of Major General Ash Power AM CSC, Commander 1st Division, 26 April 2007. Source:Kapyong Parade for 3rd Battalion
General John Abizaid (US Army), right, presents Major General Ash Power with The Legion of Merit award Photo by Phill Vavasour

Military offices
Preceded by Lieutenant General Mark Evans	Chief of Joint Operations 2011–2014	Succeeded by Vice Admiral David Johnston
Preceded by Major General Mark Kelly	Commander 1st Division 2005–2007	Succeeded by Major General Richard Wilson

[CSC-1] Conspicuous Service Cross – 26 January 1998

[2] Australian Defence Force Biography as Commander, 1st Brigade, May 2004.

[AM-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.

[bm-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, [1], June 2011.

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Brian Ashley Power
Power c. 2007
Born	(1957-01-20) 20 January 1957 (age 67) Wangaratta, Victoria
Allegiance	Australia
Service / branch	Australian Army
Years of service	1975–2014
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Chief of Joint Operations Training Command 1st Division 1st Brigade 4th Field Regiment
Battles / wars	International Force East Timor War in Afghanistan Operation Slipper Iraq War Operation Catalyst
Awards	Officer of the Order of Australia Conspicuous Service Cross Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States) Meritorious Service Medal (United States)