Susan Coyle

Major General Susan May Coyle, (born 21 May 1970) is a senior officer in the Australian Army. She joined the army as a reservist in 1987 and, following training at the Australian Defence Force Academy, was commissioned into the Royal Australian Corps of Signals in 1992. She has commanded the 104th Signal Squadron (2003–04), 17th Signal Regiment (2009–10), Task Group Afghanistan (2015) and the 6th Combat Support Brigade (2017–19), and has deployed on operations to East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Afghanistan. She was appointed Commander Joint Task Force 633, with responsibility for all Australian operations in the Middle East, from January to November 2020. She was the first woman to command the task force, which had oversight for 1,200 personnel under Operation Accordion. Coyle was Head Information Warfare from January 2021 to November 2022, when she was appointed Commander Forces Command.

Early life

Coyle was born on 21 May 1970 in Kyogle, a small town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Coyle has an elder sister, Alice, and three brothers. Alice joined the Australian Army Reserve and served in the Royal Australian Corps of Signals in the 1980s, which inspired Susan to a career in the Australian Army. During her final years at Oxley High School in Tamworth, Coyle was sponsored under the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) scholarship scheme and joined the Australian Army Reserve herself, serving with the 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers. She graduated from Oxley High in 1988 and, the following January, entered ADFA as an Australian Army officer cadet.

Military career

Coyle graduated from ADFA with a Bachelor of Science in 1991 and, following additional training at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, was commissioned into the Royal Australian Corps of Signals in 1992. Coyle's early career was marked by a variety of communications appointments, before she was selected as aide-de-camp to the Commander Australian Theatre from 1998 to 1999. She then received an exchange posting to the United States in 2000, serving as Brigade Satellite Engineer for the 11th Signal Brigade. Coyle was awarded the United States Army Commendation Medal for her performance in this role. She returned to Australia in 2001 and was posted to Headquarters Land Command as SO2 Communications. In 2002, she deployed on Operation Citadel, Australia's contribution to the United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor, as J6, the staff officer responsible for communications.

Coyle was posted to Darwin in 2003 as Officer Commanding 104th Signal Squadron. She led the squadron during a deployment to the Solomon Islands on Operation Anode in 2004, receiving a Chief of Joint Operations Command Commendation. She attended the Australian Command and Staff College in 2005, graduating with a Master of Management in Defence Studies from the affiliated University of Canberra. She served as Military Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Army in 2006 and, following staff postings with the Directorate of Officer Career Management – Army, was appointed to command the 17th Signal Regiment in Sydney from 2009 to 2010. In recognition of her "outstanding achievement" as a "commander and leader" of the regiment, Coyle was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours