BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

Brigadier Mick Moon, DSC

Brigadier Moon graduated from the Officer Cadet School , Portsea into the Infantry in July 1981. Between 1981-84 he served in a number of mechanised infantry Regimental appointments in the 5th /7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) in Sydney. During this period he also served a six-month exchange tour with the British Army in Germany.

He served in the Army's Training Command between 1984 and 1987 as an Aide to the General Officer Commanding, at the Recruit Training Battalion, and as Adjutant of Sydney University Regiment.

After a posting as a Company Second In Command and then Adjutant with the 1 st Battalion, RAR, he served for a year as a Military Observer with the United Nations Treaty Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) in the Middle East in 1990 – six months in Syria followed by six months in Lebanon.

Between 1991 and 1993 he served again in 1RAR as a Rifle Company Commander, and during this period he served a tour in Butterworth, Malaysia then deployed with the Battalion to Somalia. For this latter tour he was awarded the Commendation for Distinguished Service.

In 1994 he was appointed as a senior tactics instructor at the School of Infantry, and after attending Australian Command and Staff College in 1995, as the Staff Officer to the Assistant Chief of the Defence Force (Operations) at Headquarters Australian Defence Force. He then served with the United States Marine Corps for two years at the Marine Corps Combat Development Centre in Quantico, Virginia followed by a year at Land Headquarters.

On 10 December 1999 he was appointed as Commanding Officer of the 6th Battalion, RAR and commanded the battalion until December 2001. During this period he raised then commanded the 6th Battalion Group. This Group served on active service in East Timor between April and October 2000. For this operational tour he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

In January 2002 he was promoted to Colonel and appointed as the first Commander, Combat Training Centre and established that centre in Townsville. In 2004 he attended the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies and at the end of that year was promoted to Brigadier. His latest posting was as Director General Public Affairs which he held from February 2005. He is currently deployed as the Commander of Australian Forces in the Middle East, and is located in Baghdad.

Brigadier Moon is married and has two daughters. He is a graduate of the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, Army Command and Staff College, The University of New England and Deakin University. He holds Master of Arts degrees in both International Relations and Strategic Studies, and his other interests include reading, Australian Rules football, netball and golf (the theory at least).