Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Francis John Hickling, (born 13 October 1941) is a retired senior

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

officer, whose career culminated with his appointment as Chief of Army from 1998 to 2000.

Military career

Hickling graduated from the

Officer Cadet School, Portsea The Officer Cadet School, Portsea (sometimes referred to as OCS Portsea) was an officer training establishment of the Australian Army. Established at Portsea in Victoria, Australia, in 1951 to provide training to officer cadets prior to commissio ...

, in 1961.Alumni website
Officer Cadet School, Portsea, www.ocsportsea.com
Hickling was the first OCS Portsea graduate to reach lieutenant general and the first graduate to be appointed Chief of Army. He undertook regimental postings with the

Royal Australian Engineers The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, be ...

,Final Report
, November 2008, Review of the Australian Defence Force Cadets (ADFC) Scheme, pg.ii and saw service in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

from 1970 to 1971.Sasha Uzunov (2009
Unsung Aussie General Saved Lives In Timor
East Timor Law & Justice Bulletin, 29 October 2009.HICKLING, Francis John
Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans, Department of Veterans Affairs. After serving as the Director of Plans, Army, Hickling was appointed Commander, Northern Command and received the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) for service in that role in 1993.Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC)
26 January 1993, It's an Honour This was followed by a posting as General Officer Commanding Training Command from 1992 to 1994. Made commandant of the

Australian Defence Force Academy The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Aus ...

in 1995, Hickling was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

(AO) for distinguished service to the Army and Australian Defence Force in the field of military training in 1996.Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
26 January 1996, It's an Honour On promotion to Major General, Hickling then served as Commandant, Australian Defence Force Academy followed by

Land Commander Australia Forces Command (FORCOMD) is the largest command within the Australian Army responsible for the combat brigades, the enabling and training formations reporting to the Chief of the Army with approximately 85% of the Army’s personnel. The Command ...

from 1996 until 1998. In February 1998, he led

Operation Bel Isi Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea (PNG), has been inhabited by humans for at least 29,000 years, according to artefacts found in Kilu Cave on Buka Island. The region is named after Bougainville Island, the largest island of ...

, a peace monitoring mission to Bougainville following a break in civil unrest in the country. Hickling was promoted

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and appointed Chief of the Army in 1998. As Chief of the Army he deployed Australian troops to

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

. In retirement he chaired the Review of the Australian Defence Force Cadets (ADFC) Scheme which reported in 2008. Hickling also served as Senior Mentor,

Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies 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 ...

, and Advisor to

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

. Hickling remains the Representative Colonel Commandant,

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickling, Frank 1941 births Australian generals Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Graduates of the Officer Cadet School, Portsea Living people People from New South Wales Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Conspicuous Service Cross (Australia) Australian military engineers Military personnel from New South Wales Chiefs of Army (Australia)