John Charles Blaxland (born 1963) is an Australian historian, academic, and former

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. He is a Professor in Intelligence Studies and

International Security International security, also called global security is a term which refers to the measures taken by states and international organizations, such as the United Nations, European Union, and others, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These meas ...

at the

Strategic and Defence Studies Centre The Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) is a university-based institute that is situated in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. It is Australia's oldest-established centre for the study of ...

at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. Blaxland holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in History from the Australian National University, and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in War Studies from the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

. Blaxland also studied at the Royal Thai Army Command and Staff College in 1997. He is a former Director of Joint Intelligence Operations (J2), at Headquarters Joint Operations Command. Blaxland proposed a new flag design for Australia in 2013. Blaxland's research interests include Australian military history and strategy, public policy, security, defence, international relations, South East Asia (Thailand, Myanmar/Burma, East Timor), North America (Canada), the Australian Flag, and military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Blaxland was selected in July 2019 to lead an

team responsible for writing the

official history An official history is a work of history which is sponsored, authorised or endorsed by its subject. The term is most commonly used for histories which are produced for a government. The term also applies to commissions from non-state bodies includin ...

of the Australian Signals Directorate. He stepped down from leading the ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre to work on the official history. ASD Director-General Rachel Noble cancelled the ANU's contract in August or September 2020. At this time Blaxland was reported to have completed half of the first of two planned volumes. Both ASD and the ANU stated that the contract was cancelled by mutual agreement. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' reported that Noble's decision was motivated by a desire to exercise greater control over the official history project.

Bibliography

Blaxland's publications include: * *Blaxland, J., & Crawley, R. (2016). The secret cold war: the official history of ASIO, 1975–1989. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. *Blaxland, J 2016, 'Intelligence and Special Operations in the Southwest Pacific, 1942–45', in P.J. Dean (ed.), Australia 1944–45: Victory in the Pacific (Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, Australia), pp. 145–168. *Blaxland, J 2015, 'Return to Turmoil: Timor-Leste 2006', in G. Wahlert (ed.), Anzac Cove to Afghanistan: The History of the 3rd Brigade (Big Sky Publishing, Sydney, Australia), pp. 289–298. *Blaxland, J 2015, 'Reflections on the Tactical, Operational and Strategic Lessons of the Intervention', in J Blaxland (ed.), East Timor Intervention: A Retrospective on Interfet, Melbourne University Publishing Limited, South Carlton, pp. 280–294. *

References

External links

Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaxland, John C. 1963 births Australian Army officers Australian military historians Australian military personnel of the International Force for East Timor Academic staff of the Australian National University Living people Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Royal Military College of Canada alumni University of New South Wales alumni