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Last 40-year adventure ends as Gen Cosgrove retires

Hats off: Gen Cosgrove in his last hours in uniform, at the Australian War Memorial. Photo by AB Kade Rogers

Farewell: Gen Cosgrove with his wife Lynne. Photo by Steve Dent

By Cpl Damian Shovell

IN SILENCE at the Australian War Memorial’s tomb of the Unknown Soldier, outgoing CDF Gen Peter Cosgrove ended more than 40 years of service to the nation by honouring those Australians who have paid the supreme sacrifice during their service to Australia.

He stood beneath the domed ceiling in the Hall of Memory on July 1, and in one of his last acts as CDF, laid a wreath at the foot of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Earlier that morning on the steps of Russell Offices, several hundred ADF members had gathered in Canberra’s cold winter rain to witness Gen Cosgrove pass the CDF ensign to ACM Angus Houston – a symbolic gesture of the passage of command – and to listen to his final public address.

“Forgive me today if from time to time I have to collect myself before I speak,” he said.

“Because 40 years and five months of a remarkable adventure draws to a close at midnight on Sunday, but in terms of wearing a uniform and my attendance here at Russell, [it ends] effectively now.”

As the drizzle steadily soaked the assembly, Gen Cosgrove rained his own thanks on to those who had supported him during his term as CDF, and remarked on the amazing sense of teamwork within the ADF.

He thanked his team from the office of the CDF, and the senior leadership team of the ADF.

“The team is second to none ... a matchless team that’s world class. The ADF and the Australian people are extraordinarily lucky,” he said.

He also said ACM Houston “is a tremendous choice as CDF,” and that he would take the ADF forward.

But he saved special praise for his family and gave credence to the old saying that behind every great leader stands a great woman when he thanked his wife, Lynne. “My wife has been a hugely important part in any achievement I have made and I believe in her own way she has made a tremendous contribution to Australia.”

Later, as the bugler sounded the last post in the Hall of Memory, Gen Cosgrove saluted the Unknown Soldier and stood for a minute’s silence beneath the stained-glass windows that depict the personal, social and fighting qualities of ADF personnel.

As the bugler played the reveille he finished his salute and walked past the Pool of Remembrance where a crowd had gathered.

As he passed the visitors that stood behind the roped-off entrance to the Pool of Remembrance, Gen Cosgrove gave them a laconic smile and joked that the next display would be at four o’clock.

When his car slipped away from the steps of the Australian War Memorial and away from the security and eyes of the public, so did Gen Cosgrove the CDF.

But if you were to have later glanced toward the car park, you may have seen a relaxed and smiling ex-CDF sharing a joke with the soldiers of the Federation Guard.