| Russell Edward Shalders | |
|---|---|
 Russ Shalders | |
| Nickname | Russ |
| Born | 8 September 1951 |
| Allegiance |
 Australia |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Australian Navy |
| Years of service | 1967–2008 |
| Rank | Vice Admiral |
| Commands held |
Chief of Navy Vice Chief of the Defence Force HMAS Darwin HMAS Sydney HMAS Perth |
| Battles/wars |
Vietnam War Gulf War |
| Awards |
Officer of the Order of Australia Conspicuous Service Cross Meritorious Service Medal (Singapore) |
Vice Admiral Russell Edward Shalders AO CSC RAN (born 8 September 1951) is a retired admiral of the Royal Australian Navy. He served as Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Force from 2002 to 2005, and as Chief of Navy from 2005 to 2008.
Service history[]
Shalders joined the Royal Australian Naval College at Jervis Bay from Victoria in 1967. After sea training he undertook Operations and Weapons courses in the United Kingdom. On returning to Australia, he was posted as Executive Officer (2nd in command) of the patrol boat HMAS Ardent, then joined HMAS Vendetta, before he assumed command of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force patrol boat Samarai
He then served as Divisional Officer at the RAN College in 1976, and then in HMAS Perth prior to Principal Warfare Officer training in the UK in 1978. He returned as Operations and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Officer aboard HMAS Vendetta, then was an officer's posting officer in Canberra.
After promotion to lieutenant commander in 1981, he completed the Naval Staff Course for International Officers at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island and then undertook Advanced Warfare Officer training in the UK, specialising in anti-submarine warfare. He joined HMAS Hobart as ASW Officer and Operations Officer in 1982, but completed this posting as Executive Officer.
In the rank of commander, he then served at the RAN Staff College as a member of the Directing Staff from mid-1984. After two years at the embassy in Washington, D.C. in 1986–87, he assumed command of HMAS Sydney and was then appointed as Commander, Sea Training.
Russ Shalders, then Chief of Navy, is greeted by Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd at the 2008 National Anzac Day service, Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
On promotion to captain, he was posted at short notice to command HMAS Darwin (FFG04) during the Persian Gulf War, and was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross[1] in recognition of this period in command. In 1991, he become Director of Naval Warfare and subsequently Director General Naval Policy and Warfare. Shalders commanded HMAS Perth in 1993–94 and attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in London in 1995.
On promotion to commodore, he was appointed as Director General Joint Exercise Plans and then Director General Operations Policy and Doctrine and Director General Information Strategic Concepts. He returned to the Fleet to become Commodore Flotillas in January 1998, responsible for the operational efficiency of all fleet units.
On promotion to rear admiral in July 1999, he was seconded to the Australian Customs Service as the inaugural Director General Coastwatch. He was appointed as Head, Defence Personnel Executive in 2001.
Shalders was promoted to vice admiral and appointed as Vice Chief of the Defence Force in July 2002. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours list of 2003.[2]
On 23 May 2005, the Minister for Defence announced that Shalders would succeed VADM Chris Ritchie as Chief of Navy from July 2005 for a three-year term. He retired from this position, and the Navy, on 4 July 2008.
Personal[]
In his spare time, Vice Admiral Shalders enjoys golf, jogging and gardening.
Russ Shalders' brother, Commodore Richard Shalders CSC ADC[3] RAN, was Commander Australian Navy Submarine Group (CANSG)[4][5] until his retirement in July 2008.
Awards[]
|
Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) | 26 January 2003[2] |
|
Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) | 4 November 1991[1] |
|
Australian Active Service Medal 1945-1975 | with VIETNAM clasp |
|
Vietnam Logistic and Support Medal | |
|
Australian Service Medal 1945-1975 | with FESR and PNG clasps |
|
Australian Service Medal | with KUWAIT clasp |
|
Centenary Medal | 1 January 2001[6] |
|
Defence Force Service Medal with Federation Star | (40–44 years service) |
|
National Medal | 9 March 1991[7] |
|
Australian Defence Medal | |
|
Meritorious Service Medal Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) |
Singapore |
References and notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Conspicuous Service Cross - Russell Shalders". It's an Honour. Australian Government. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=967290&search_type=quick&showInd=true. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "AO - Russel Shalders". It's an Honour. Australian Government. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1042142&search_type=quick&showInd=true. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ↑ By virtue of his position as the senior military officer in Western Australia, Cdre Richard Shalders was also the Aide-de-camp to the the Australian states of WA. With his retirement he will no longer be entitled to use that post-nominal
- ↑ HMAS Rankin awarded Gloucester Cup L-R: RADM Coates, MajGen Jeffery (Rtd), Cmdr Stanford, Cdre Richard Shalders, 8 April 2008 (Hi res) (source) (copyright)
- ↑ "A Few Words About 'the Silent Service'" (PDF). Sea Talk (Winter 2006). Royal Australian Navy. Winter 2006. pp. 22–25. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20081004040941/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Sea_Talk_2006-autumn.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ↑ "Centenary Medal - Russel Shalders". It's an Honour. Australian Government. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1125683&search_type=quick&showInd=true. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ↑ "National Medal - Russell Shalders". It's an Honour. Australian Government. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=965270&search_type=quick&showInd=true. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
External links[]
| |||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
The original article can be found at Russ Shalders and the edit history here.