PATRON

Major General (Retired)

Craig Furini AM CSC

Brigadier Craig Furini attended the Australian Defence Force Academy and the Royal Military College commissioning into the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery in 1990. Since then he has served in a variety of appointments at the tactical, operational and strategic levels across a range of disciplines. He will assumed his next appointment as Commander Joint Agency Task Force Operation Sovereign Borders on 14 December 2018.

As an artilleryman Brigadier Furini initially served as a Lieutenant with 8th/12th Medium Regiment, returning to the Regiment in 2000 as a Battery Commander and again in 2007 as the Commanding Officer. As Commanding Officer he deployed the first contingent of Australian Gunners to Helmand Province in Afghanistan. He also served as a Forward Observer in 4th Field Regiment and 26 Regiment (SP) (Royal Artillery) in Germany. Other artillery appointments have included student on the UK’s Gunnery Staff Course, and instructor at the School of Artillery. His final artillery appointment was Head of Regiment from 2016 to 2018.

As a staff officer he has experience at the Brigade, Division, Operational and Strategic levels. Following Staff College in 2002, he was posted to the UK’s Defence Intelligence Service (DIS) where he was involved in supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. On return to Australia in January 2006 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and posted to the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) as the Deputy Director Weapons Systems (Land). Whilst at DIO he was also tasked to re-establish and initially lead the Afghanistan analytical team in support of the redeployment of the ADF to Afghanistan in 2005. During his tenure at DIO he also was involved in establishing the Counter IED Task Force. For his work in DIO, and the UK, he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross.

Following promotion to Colonel in December 2010, he was posted as the Director of Global Operations/J35 Global at HQJOC where he was involved in overseeing ADF operations in the Middle East Area of Operations. He was subsequently seconded to the National Security Staff in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as the Senior Adviser Defence Policy and Operations. In 2013 he completed the Defence and Strategic Studies Course before becoming the Chief of Staff to the Chief of the Defence Force. He was subsequently promoted to Brigadier and deployed as the inaugural Director Strategy, Plans and Assessments on HQ Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve for which he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and was awarded the US Legion of Merit. On return to Australia he was appointed Director General Plans/J5 at HQJOC.

In addition to his most recent deployment, Brigadier Furini has served in multiple operational theatres. In 1993, as a Lieutenant, he deployed with the United Nations (UN) to Cambodia as the Commander of an ANZAC Signals Troop. He deployed as a Major in 2000 to East Timor as the Battery Commander supporting the 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment. In 2003, whilst on exchange in the UK, he deployed with a specialist UK, US and Australian intelligence unit to Iraq. In 2009 as a Lieutenant Colonel he deployed to Afghanistan as the Chief of Combined Joint Operational Plans (CJ35) on HQ Regional Command (South).