| Marcus Frederick Bonser | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 August 1952 |
| Place of birth | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Allegiance |
 Australia |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Australian Navy |
| Years of service | 1971–present |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commands held |
Australian Defence College Commander Australian Theatre Northern Command HMAS Anzac HMAS Sydney |
| Battles/wars |
Vietnam War Gulf War Iraq War |
| Awards |
Officer of the Order of Australia Conspicuous Service Cross Commendation for Distinguished Service |
Rear Admiral Marcus Frederick (Mark) Bonser AO CSC RAN (born 7 August 1952) is a flag rank officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and since 2005, Head of the Military Justice Implementation Team for the Australian Defence Force.
Early life[]
Mark Bonser was born in Sydney on 7 August 1952.[1][2] He attended high school at Manly Boys High School and Macksville High School.[3]
[]
In 1971, Bonser joined the RAN, and commenced training at the Royal Australian Naval College.[3] He graduated from the RAN College in 1973, then undertook six weeks training with the Royal Navy, before joining the ship's company of the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne.[3] Bonser completed his bridge watchkeeping certification aboard the carrier.[3] Over the following years, he served aboard HMA Ships Advance, Duchess, Jervis Bay, and Diamantina.[3] From 1980 until 1982, Bonser served as the commanding officer of the patrol boat HMAS Aware.[1]
In 1982, after a short period aboard Tobruk, Bonser was sent to the United Kingdom for Principal Warfare Officer training.[3] After qualifying as an Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer in 1983, Bonser served on exchange to the Royal Navy until 1985 as an officer aboard the destroyers HMS Antrim, then HMS Glamorgan.[1][3] On his return to Australia, Bosner was first posted to the destroyer HMAS Perth, then to HMAS Torrens as the destroyer escort's executive officer.[3] While aboard Torrens, he was promoted to the rank of Commander.[3] In 1988, Bonser was assigned to Maritime Headquarters Sydney in the positions of Fleet Programming Officer and Commander Operations.[3]
In 1990, Bonser was attached to the ship's company of HMAS Brisbane as the Chief Staff Officer to the RAN Task Group Commander during the ship's deployment to the Gulf War.[3] He was awarded the Commendation for Distinguished Service for his actions during the deployment.[3] After returning from the Persian Gulf in 1991, Bonser attended the Joint Services Staff College.[1]
From April 1992 until 1993, Bonser was the commanding officer of the frigate HMAS Sydney.[3] During this period, Sydney was deployed to the Red Sea in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.[3] During 1994, Bonser was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross for this deployment, and in December, he was promoted to Captain.[1][3] After promotion, Bonser was posted to Maritime Headquarters again; initially as Chief Staff Officer Operations, then serving as the Chief Staff Officer C3I.[3] In January 1996, he transferred to the Australian Defence Force Headquarters as the Director Combat Force Development (Sea).[3]
From October 1997 to mid-1999, Bonser was the commanding officer of the frigate HMAS Anzac.[1][3] In July 1999, Bonser was promoted to Commodore and assigned as Commander Northern Command.[3] At the start of 2001, Bonser became the Director General Command and Support Systems in the Defence Materiel Organisation.[3] Bonser was promoted to Rear Admiral in July 2001, and assigned as Director General of Coastwatch.[3] In June 2002, he was appointed Commander Australian Theatre.[3] In 2003, Bonser was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his leadership during the invasion of Iraq.[1][3]
From May 2004 to January 2006, Bonser was the Commander Australian Defence College.[3] During this period, he was appointed on 7 October 2005 as head of the Military Justice Response Coordination Team, then later that year as head of the Military Justice Implementation Team, a position he currently holds.[3]
Honours and awards[]
 |
Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) | 27 November 2003[4] |
 |
Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) | 1994 |
 |
Commendation for Distinguished Service | 1991 |
 |
Australian Active Service Medal 1945–1975 | |
 |
Vietnam Logistic and Support Medal | |
 |
Australian Active Service Medal | |
 |
Australian Service Medal | |
 |
Defence Force Service Medal with Federation Star (5 clasps) | (40–44 years service) |
 |
Australian Defence Medal | |
 |
Kuwait Liberation Medal | (Saudi Arabia) |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Marcus Frederick Bonser". Royal Australian Navy. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20091003014853/http://www.navy.gov.au/Marcus_Frederick_Bonser. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ↑ "Bonser, Marcus Frederick". Vietnam War Nominal Roll. Department of Veterans Affairs. http://www.vietnamroll.gov.au/VeteranDetails.aspx?VeteranId=1282251. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 "Rear Admiral Mark Bonser AO, CSC, RAN". Department of Defence. http://www.defence.gov.au/mjs/reform/implementation/hmjit.htm. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ↑ It's an Honour - Officer of the Order of Australia - 27 November 2003
The original article can be found at Mark Bonser and the edit history here.