Defence Leaders: Senior Leaders
Lieutenant General Ash Power, AO, CSC
Chief Joint Operations
Lieutenant General Brian Ashley (Ash) Power, AO, CSC was born on the 20th of January 1957 in Wangaratta, Victoria. After completing his secondary education at Wangaratta High School, he entered the Royal Military College in 1975, graduating in 1978 into the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery. His initial appointment was as a Section Commander in 4th Field Regiment. He further served in 4th Field Regiment as a Gun Position Officer, Assistant Adjutant, Adjutant, Operations Officer (Battery Commander Headquarters Battery) and Commanding Officer. Lieutenant General Power has commanded the 1st Brigade, 1st Division and Training Command - Army. During 2009, he was the Head Military Strategic Commitments. This was followed as an appointment as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Partnering Headquarters International Security Assistance Force, Kabul, Afghanistan. He was promoted to Lieutenant General on 18 May 2011 and assumed his current appointment as the Chief of Joint Operations.
Lieutenant General Power has served on exchange at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Camberley, United Kingdom and has had other training appointments at the School of Artillery, and the Royal Military College Duntroon. He also served as the Defence Attaché in Thailand.
During 1998, Lieutenant General Power deployed to Bougainville on Operation BELISI as Chief of Staff and in 1999, after a short period as Chief of Staff Deployable Joint Force Headquarters, was deployed as the Colonel Operations for INTERFET in East Timor. From June 2004 to July 2005 he was appointed as Director, Combined Planning Group, US Central Command, Tampa.
Lieutenant General Power is a graduate of the Royal Thai Army Command and General Staff College, and The Australian Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies. In 1998 he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross and he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2006.
He and his wife Narelle have two daughters and two grandchildren. His leisure interests include reading, current affairs and sport, particularly playing golf and supporting the Sydney Swans.