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Major General Craig Orme entered the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1978. He has extensive operational, overseas, and command experience including tours in Malaysia, Iran, Germany, United Kingdom, Kuwait and the USA. He is an Armoured Corps officer with a background in tanks and cavalry as well as significant experience in senior Army and Defence Personnel appointments.
On graduation from the Royal Military College in 1981 Major General Orme joined the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and served in 1st Armoured Regiment for three years. This period included detachments to the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment as a Rifle Platoon Commander in Malaysia, and also to the United Kingdom with 16/5 Queen's Royal Lancers as a Guided Weapons Troop Leader. He then served in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment for four years in various appointments including Adjutant and Regimental Operations Officer. Major General Orme then had the opportunity to round out his experience as a junior officer with a deployment as part of the United Nations Iran/Iraq Military Observer Group in Iran, and a subsequent appointment as Aide de Camp to the Chief of the General Staff.
On promotion to Major he was appointed Officer Commanding Long Tan Company at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. His subsequent attendance at the Australian Command and Staff College in 1992 was followed by an exchange posting with the British Army. During this posting he served as a Tank Squadron Commander in the 4th Royal Tank Regiment in Osnabruck, Germany; and then as a Tank Squadron Commander in the 1st Royal Tank Regiment in Tidworth, UK. While with the British Army he had the rare opportunity to take his British Exchange tank squadron on exchange to the US Army at Fort Stewart in Georgia, where his squadron converted from the UK Chieftan tank to the M1 Abrams tank. On return to Australia he was the Second in Command of the School of Armour. In mid-1995 Major General Orme was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and became the Senior Career Adviser at the Directorate of Officer Career Management.
Major General Orme commanded the 1st Armoured Regiment (Tank) in Darwin from 1997 to 1998, for which he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross. On completion of command he deployed as the Australian Liaison Officer to the Coalition Joint Task Force in Kuwait, after which he served as the Australian exchange instructor at the US Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 2001 Major General Orme was promoted to Colonel to the appointment of Director of Senior Officer Management in the Defence Personnel Executive. This appointment was interrupted when he was seconded to serve as the Australian Senior National Representative in the US Central Command Headquarters as part of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
Major General Orme attended the Australian Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies in 2003 and subsequently oversaw Army's contribution to the Senate Inquiry into the Military Justice System before being promoted to Brigadier and taking up the appointment of Director General Personnel-Army in 2004. He assumed command of 1st Brigade in December 2005. In January 2008 he was appointed to lead a White Paper Companion Review dealing with Workforce issues. He was promoted to Major General in October 2008 and appointed as Head of People Capability. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in January 2009 for his service as Director General Personnel Army and as Commander of 1st Brigade.
Major General Orme has been married to Theresa for 27 years and has two children; Alexandra aged 18 and Harry aged 16. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Military) from the University of New South Wales, a Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies from Deakin University, a Masters in Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales, and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies from Deakin University.
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