Biographical statement

John was a full-time Australian Army Officer for 32 years, serving in the Afghanistan War (2006, 2009), and East Timor (1999) and Solomon Islands (2000) conflicts. His overseas exchanges included UK-Belize (1990), Malaysia (1998), USA (2004), and three postings in Indonesia (2001, 2008 and 2011-15).

As a career Special Forces officer he gained first hand experience with early-phase operations in conflict, and significant defence cooperation and defence diplomacy experience with Southeast Asian countries, especially Indonesia.

He is a graduate of the Indonesian Army (Seskoad) and Joint (Sesko TNI) Staff Colleges, and Indonesia’s National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas). He speaks Bahasa Indonesia at the advanced level, and basic Tetum.

Academically, John holds a Bachelor of Professional Studies (UNE, 2000) and an MA in Asian Studies (UNSW, 2008).

At ANU’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) John is a visiting fellow, and a deputy convenor for the undergraduate subject STST1003 ‘Coping with Crisis: The practice of International Security’.

Areas of expertise

Defence Studies

Indonesian Languages

Asian Cultural Studies

Asian History

Government And Politics Of Asia And The Pacific

International Relations