Vice Admiral David Lance Johnston, (born 1962) is a senior officer in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

. He served as Deputy Commander Joint Task Force 633 on

Operation Slipper The Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015-2021). Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations and the size of the forces deployed have varied and ADF invol ...

in 2010, Commander

Border Protection Command The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state actor ...

from 2011 to 2013 and, following promotion to vice admiral, was posted as Chief of Joint Operations from 2014 until 2018. Johnston was appointed

Vice Chief of the Defence Force The Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) is the military deputy to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) of Australia, and acts as the CDF in his absence under standing acting arrangements. Vice Admiral David Johnston, the incumbent VCDF, has ...

in July 2018.

Naval career

Johnston graduated from the

Royal Australian Naval College The Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), commonly known as HMAS Creswell, is the naval academy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It consists of the RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range an ...

in 1982 and subsequently served as Commanding Officer of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s, and HMAS . The latter command included deployment on

Operation Quickstep Operation Quickstep was the name given to the deployment of military resources by the Australian Defence Force during the leadup to the 2006 Fijian coup d'état on 4–5 December 2006, during which the Fijian military took control of the Fijian ...

to Fiji in 2006. His staff appointments include Command and Control specialist staff positions in Australian Defence Headquarters, Operations Manager at Sailors' Career Management and later as Director Joint Plans in Strategic Operations Division, where he developed the military response options for consideration by the government. In July 2007 on promotion to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

he joined Fleet Headquarters as Commodore Flotillas where he was responsible for planning of maritime operations and the operational training and preparedness of navy's ships, submarines and diving teams. In 2008 he performed the Deputy Coalition Force Maritime Component Commander role and Australian National Commander for Exercise RIMPAC 08. In November 2008 Commodore Johnston assumed the role of J3 (Director General Operations) at Headquarters Joint Operations Command. This role encompassed the operational level execution of all Australian Defence Force operations both overseas and within Australia. In October 2010, he deployed to

in the Middle East Area of Operations as the Deputy Commander Joint Task Force 633. He supported the Commander JTF in providing national command oversight of all Australian Defence Force elements conducting maritime, land and air operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in March 2011 to perform the role of Deputy Commander of the Combined AS/US Task Force for Exercise Talisman Sabre and assumed the role of Deputy Chief Joint Operations Command on 6 June 2011. He commanded the Defence operations that supported

CHOGM 2011 The 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, commonly known as CHOGM 2011, was the 22nd Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. Held in Perth, Western Australia, between 28 and 30 October 2011 and hosted by the Pr ...

and the visit to Australia by the President of the United States of America, also in 2011. Johnston was appointed Commander Border Protection Command in December 2011, and the next month made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for "exceptional service" in senior staff appointments and awarded a

Commendation for Distinguished Service The Commendation for Distinguished Service is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force, it is awarded for the distinguished performance of duties in warlike operations. The Commendation for Distinguished Service w ...

in recognition of his leadership on Operation Slipper. Citation: ''For exceptional service to the Royal Australian Navy in senior Naval and Joint operational staff appointments.'' Citation: ''For distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations as Deputy Commander Joint Task Force 633 on Operations SLIPPER and KRUGER from October 2010 to March 2011.'' Johnston was promoted vice admiral and appointed Chief of Joint Operations on 20 May 2014. After four years in the post, Prime Minister

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

announced on 16 April 2018 that Johnston would succeed Vice Admiral

Ray Griggs Vice Admiral Raymond James Griggs, (born July 1961) is an Australian senior public servant and a former senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He served as Chief of Navy from June 2011 to June 2014, before being appointed Vice Chief of ...

in July. He was replaced as Chief of Joint Operations by Air Marshal

Mel Hupfeld Air Marshal Melvin Ernest Glanville Hupfeld, (born 7 March 1962) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Air Commander Australia from 2012 to 2014 and was the acting and final Chief Capability Development Gro ...

on 24 May. Johnston was advanced to

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the June 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his "eminent service to the Australian Defence Force through strategic stewardship and capability integration." Later that month, Johnston's tenure as Vice Chief of the Defence Force was extended for a further two years. Johnston holds a Master of Science in Operations Research from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Postgraduate School Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...

in Monterey, California and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies from the

Australian Defence College The Australian Defence College (ADC) comprises three joint education and training organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: * the War College, * the Australian Defence Force Training Ce ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, David 1962 births Australian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Chiefs of Joint Operations (Australia) Companions of the Order of Australia Graduates of the Royal Australian Naval College Living people Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Commendation for Distinguished Service Royal Australian Navy admirals