Vice Admiral Mark David Hammond, 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 o ...

(RAN), serving as the Chief of Navy since July 2022. He joined the RAN as an electronics technician in 1986 and, after being accepted for officer training, graduated from 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 Au ...

in 1990. Much of Hammond's career has been spent in the Submarine Service. He has served on operations in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, commanded the ''Collins''-class submarine , was

Deputy Chief of Navy The Deputy Chief of Navy (DCN) is the second most senior appointment in the Royal Australian Navy, responsible to the Chief of Navy (CN). The rank associated with the position is rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer ...

from 2018 to 2020, and served as

Commander Australian Fleet Fleet Command is responsible for the command, operations, readiness, training and force generation of all ships, submarines, aircraft squadrons, diving teams, and shore establishments of the Royal Australian Navy. Fleet Command is headquartered a ...

from November 2020 to June 2022. He succeeded Vice Admiral Michael Noonan as Chief of Navy on 6 July 2022.

Naval career

Hammond joined the

(RAN) in 1986 as a junior sailor electronics technician and attended recruit school at . He was later accepted for officer training and, commissioned a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

, entered the

in 1988. Graduating from the academy with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in 1990, he was promoted

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...

and completed seamanship and navigation training before volunteering for the RAN Submarine Service. He qualified on submarines in 1994 and was appointed navigating officer in in 1996. He then became flag lieutenant to the Chief of Navy and, in 1998, completed the Principal Warfare Officer's Course and Submarine Warfare Course. He was appointed to the commissioning crew of as operations officer in 1999, returned to the Submarine Warfare Course as an instructor in 2001, and was made

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

in .

In 2003, after completing the Dutch

Submarine Command Course The Submarine Command Course (SMCC), previously known as the Commanding Officers Qualifying Course (COQC), and informally known as The Perisher is a training course for naval officers preparing to take command of a submarine. Created by the Royal ...

and the Prospective Commanding Officer Course with 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 ...

, Hammond was posted to RAN Headquarters as Staff Officer Future Concepts. He attended the

Australian Command and Staff 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 Cent ...

the following year, graduating with a

Master of Management The Master of Management (MM, MBM, MIM, MMgt) is a master’s degree comprising one or two years graduate level coursework in business management. As the program is designed for students interested in entering leadership roles, the degree attrac ...

in Defence Studies from the affiliated

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...

. He also gained a Master of Maritime Studies from the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

in 2005, served on an operational exchange posting with the

Royal Navy Submarine Service The Royal Navy Submarine Service is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes known as the Silent Service, as submarines are generally required to operate undetected. The service operates six fleet submarines ( SSNs) ...

and, following his return to Australia, was appointed commanding officer of . In ''Farncomb'', Hammond undertook "two years of demanding operations in the

Indo Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and t ...

region". Following his period of command, Hammond was posted as Assistant Naval Attaché in Washington, D.C. He returned to Australia as Director Future Submarines – Operational Requirements, before being posted to Joint Operations Command as Joint Exercise Director (J75). He subsequently became Director Submarine Sub-Program (''Collins'' and Future Submarines) and, in November 2012, was appointed

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

to the Chief of the Defence Force, General

David Hurley General David John Hurley, (born 26 August 1953) is an Australian former senior officer in the Australian Army who has served as the 27th governor-general of Australia since 1 July 2019. He was previously the 38th governor of New South Wales, ...

. Hammond relinquished the post in December 2013 and, in 2014, was made Director General Maritime Operations. Hammond was posted to the United States in 2017 as the Chief of the Defence Force Liaison Officer to the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

, then General

Joseph Dunford Joseph Francis Dunford Jr. (born December 23, 1955) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, who served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2015, until September 30, 2019. He was the 36th command ...

. The following January, as part of the

2018 Australia Day Honours The 2018 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2018 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Au ...

, Hammond was appointed 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 Go ...

for his "exceptional service to the Australian Defence Force in senior command and staff roles". The citation for the award, in particular, praised his "demonstrated exceptional professionalism, leadership and dedication" and described Hammond as a "highly accomplished submarine commander". Hammond returned to Australia that March as

. After two and a half years in the role, he relinquished responsibility to Rear Admiral Christopher Smith in September 2020 and, on 17 November, succeeded Rear Admiral

Jonathan Mead Vice Admiral Jonathan Dallas Mead, (born 3 November 1964) is a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He joined the navy via the Royal Australian Naval College at HMAS Creswell in 1984, and spent his early career with the Clearance Di ...

. In June 2022, the

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

Richard Marles Richard Donald Marles (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician serving as the 19th deputy prime minister of Australia and the Minister for Defence. He has been the deputy leader of the Labor Party since 2019 and previously served as ...

, announced that Hammond would be appointed as the next Chief of Navy. Hammond succeeded Vice Admiral Michael Noonan in the role on 6 July 2022. He is the first graduate of the Australian Defence Force Academy to be appointed a service chief.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Mark Graduates of the Australian Defence Force Academy Living people Members of the Order of Australia Officers of the Legion of Merit Royal Australian Navy admirals Submarine commanders University of Canberra alumni University of New South Wales alumni University of Wollongong alumni Year of birth missing (living people)