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Winning the Peace
Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations
GROUP CAPTAIN (Dr) Deanne ‘Dee’ Gibbon, CSC OAM

The Gender, Peace and Security (GPS) Directorate was officially established in2020. The GPS Badge was launched by the Chief of the Defence Force as part ofthe 20 year anniversary celebrations of the signing of the United National Security
Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The GPS Joint Service
Badge surround includes the Latin phrase “Utraque Unum” which translates to‘together we are one’. This phrase reinforces the core philosophy of GPS in Defence- that achieving peace and security through gender equality can only be realised
when people of all genders work as one. At the centre of the badge is the white
dove representing peace, hope and freedom. It is also the universal symbol forhuman rights. The dove is on an olive branch, reinforcing the concept of peace andreconciliation as an aspiration for all human endeavour. The dove is flying beneaththe Southern Cross, which reflects the Australian National Flag. It signals the uniqueAustralian context and our geographical location within the southern hemisphere.

Winning the Peace
Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell AO, DSC and Director of Gender, Peace & Security, Joint Capabilities Group,
Commander Jennifer Macklin CSC, RAN, with Indigenous artwork ‘Walumarra Business’, as part of Defence’s 20th anniversary of
the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 at Russell Offices in Canberra.

As part of the 20 year
anniversary celebrations of
the signing of United Nations
Security Council Resolution
1325 on Women, Peace andSecurity, the GPS Directorate
commissioned an Indigenous
artwork to encapsulate thethemes of the Gender, Peaceand Security global agenda
in the Australian context. The
Chief of the Defence Force,

Certificate of authentication

Walumarra Business
My name is Chern’ee Sutton and I
am a contemporary Indigenous artist
from the Kalkadoon people from theMount Isa area in Queensland.
This is my interpretation of“Walumarra Business” whichmeans “Women’s Business” in the
Kalkadoon language.

General Angus Campbell,
officially unveiled the work,
titled “Walumarra Business”(meaning ‘Women’s Business’)by Ms. Chern’ee Sutton, a
proud Aboriginal artist andKalkadoon woman from theemu foot province around theMount Isa area in North West
Queensland. The work reflects
the core philosophy of GPS in
Defence - that achieving peaceand security through genderequality can only be achieved
when people of all genders work
together for the bettermentof the whole tribe/community.
Walumarra Business now hangs
proudly in the Office of the Chiefof Joint Capabilities in Russell
Offices, Canberra.

For thousands of years while themen were out hunting large gamethe women too were out hunting
and gathering bush foods andmedicines. They would use their
digging sticks to dig for bush yams,
honey ants and witchetty grubs.
They would collect plums and barkfrom the wild plum bush using theplums as food and the bark to treatskin ailments. They would collectberries and wood from the conker
berry bush using the berries as foodor drying them out to eat at a latertime and they would burn the woodfor a mosquito repellent. They would
collect wild lemongrass and boil it tomake a lemon tea for sore throatsand they would grind the pea bushseeds to use as a flour. They would
collect nuts from the sandalwood
tree and roast them slowly to eat
like peanuts and they would collect
blossoms from the hakea tree andimmerse them in water for a sweet
tasting drink.
In my painting, the women siton their bottoms with their feetunderneath them with their digging
sticks on one side of them and theircoolamons on the other side. They
firstly collect the bush tucker andthen prepare the food for medicinesand food around the campfires
which is represented by the redcircles. When the women get up off
the ground the U shape left in thesand is where they were sitting.
By Chern’ee Sutton
Size – 91cm wide X 121cm highMedium – 3D glow acrylic andtextured acrylic on canvas.

Artist BIO
Chern’ee Sutton is a proud Kalkadoon woman and artist
from Mount Isa, QLD, Australia who is passionate about
her culture and history and wants to share that withthe rest of the world through her art. Her unique stylecombines two worlds of traditional Aboriginal heritage
with a modern contemporary twist which has caught
the eyes of collectors around the world including Royalty
and on the 2018 Commonwealth Games mascot Borobi.
Chern’ee has her artwork hanging in The Royal Collection
in Buckingham Palace, Queensland Parliament House,
Queensland State Library and has exhibited her artworks
in London, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne
and Sydney.
Chern’ee’s artworks have been commissioned by The
Queensland Government, Tennis Australia, The National
Rugby League, Caritas Australia, Dreamworld Theme
Park, The 2018 Commonwealth Games, Rainforestation,
The Australian Defence Force, Northrop Grumman,
The Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs and The
Australian Public Service Commission to name a few.
Due to Chern’ee’s passion for reconciliation and equality
she has received numerous accolades including National
NAIDOC Youth of The Year, Australia Day Awards for 2013
and 2014, Queensland Pride of Australia Award, Local
NAIDOC Awards including Artist of the Year and has been
an Australia Day Ambassador for the past six years.

www.cherneesutton.com.au© Commonwealth of Australia 2023
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced
by any process without prior written permission from the Department of Defence.
The photographs in this book come from several sources including official Defence image galleries. Some of thephotographs taken on deployments of individual Gender Advisors were provided for use in the book by the Gender
Advisors themselves to illustrate their work. These images are used with the consent of the Gender Advisors.
Defence would like to acknowledge the contribution of the individual photographers who created the images.

Contents
Chief of the Defence Force Foreword....................................................................... 1

Colonel Amanda Fielding ...................................................................................... 75

Author’s Foreword................................................................................................... 3

Wing Commander Kelley Stewart.......................................................................... 79

Gender, Peace and Security Within the Australian Context...................................... 5

Commander Sarah Mills ....................................................................................... 83

Captain Jennifer Macklin, CSC, RAN..................................................................... 13

Lieutenant Colonel Robyn Fellowes....................................................................... 87

Lieutenant Colonel Deborah Warren-Smith............................................................ 19

Warrant Officer Dean Maher.................................................................................. 91

Wing Commander (Dr) Angeline Lewis .................................................................. 23

Captain Stacey Porter, CSC, RAN......................................................................... 95

Captain Anne Andrews, RAN................................................................................. 25

Squadron Leader Ellie Aurisch............................................................................... 99

Squadron Leader Karyn Ey ................................................................................... 29

Lieutenant Commander David Chapman............................................................. 103

Major Attila Ovari................................................................................................... 35

Squadron Leader Claire Pearson ........................................................................ 107

Wing Commander Llani Kennealy.......................................................................... 39

Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Lenaghan.................................................................. 111

Commander Jacqueline Swinton........................................................................... 43

Squadron Leader Catherine Plenty...................................................................... 115

Lieutenant Colonel Luke Hughes........................................................................... 47

Commander Jennifer Wittwer, CSM, RAN ........................................................... 119

Wing Commander Jade Deveney.......................................................................... 51

Flight Lieutenant Chloe Lowndes......................................................................... 123

Ms Eleanor Flowers............................................................................................... 55

Captain Jenny Lee .............................................................................................. 127

Lieutenant Commander Alison Zilko....................................................................... 59

Major Nathan Bradney......................................................................................... 131

Colonel Brad Orchard............................................................................................ 63

Epilogue.............................................................................................................. 133

Flight Lieutenant Sarah Brown............................................................................... 67

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms........................................................................ 138

Lieutenant Colonel Darleen Young, AM .................................................................. 71

Royal Australian Air Force officer Squadron Leader Karyn Ey conducts an ice-breaker activity withpersonnel from the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces during an Australian Defence Force led Gender in
Military Operations course as a part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2022 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

X

Winning the Peace

Chief of the Defence Force Foreword

Winning the Peace – Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors
on Military Operations
While recognising that there is more work to be done, wehave much to celebrate. Starting in 2012, the AustralianGovernment affirmed its commitment to UNSCR 1325
through the Australian National Action Plan on Gender,
Peace and Security 2012–2018 – a plan that has been
independently reviewed and successfully implemented.
Within Defence, our Gender Advisor capability has
become an asset for the Australian Defence Force and theAustralian Government.
I am heartened by the stories our Gender Advisors
have been able to share in this book. They are stories
of progress in ways big and small, all of them heading
towards a more equitable future.

On 31 October 2000, the United Nations Security Council
adopted UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
This landmark resolution recognised that violence andconflict disproportionately affect women and girls and,
importantly, recognised they were the key to preventing its
occurrence. UNSCR 1325 called on us all to incorporate
gender perspectives into our conflict prevention andresolution efforts and to take special measures to protect
women and girls from gender-based violence.
As the Chief of the Defence Force, I know women’s
empowerment and gender equality are critical enablersof the Australian Defence Force’s success. The Australian
Defence Force cannot best defend and protect Australia
and its national interests without the contribution, skills
and perspectives of women.

Whether it be Lieutenant Commander Alison Zilko’s storyof helping communities of women in Papua New Guinea
come together to support each other in the wake of anatural disaster. Having a safe place to talk and share theirworries – about domestic violence, finding healthcare,getting their kids to school – speeding their recovery andstrengthening the bonds of their communities.
Or of Squadron Leader Claire Pearson organising a soccer
clinic for girls in Juba, South Sudan, in an effort to showthat women can participate, come together as a team andwin. This initiative also gave the girls a chance to meet
women in uniform from the UN Police, including female
officers in the Nepalese Police Force deployed there.
Or Warrant Officer Dean Maher, during Operation PNG
Assist 2018, who ensured that CH47s travelling to thedevastated highlands were carrying dignity kits for women
who had lost everything. He fought to have their needs

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

recognised as being just as important as the other highpriority deliveries being loaded on and flown out that day.
Or the experiences of Commander Anne Andrews, whoworked to ensure that the ubiquitous contributions of
women in Afghan security institutions were recognised
and supported.
The true success of the Women, Peace and Security
mandate has little to do with documents and policy andeverything to do with the lives of women it has helped
reach and improve. This book is a modest snapshot ofthese vital efforts and the profiles clearly demonstrate how
Australia has grown this fundamental capability from theseeds planted by UNSCR 1325.
The passion and dedication of our Gender Advisors has
driven this agenda. Their commitment has contributed
to the greater success of the Australian Defence Force’s
military operations and they are to be commended. I
would like to thank everyone who has been involved in
shaping this capability for their collective expertise, hard
work and dedication.
Service and sacrifice for one’s country, and contributing
to stability and prosperity of the region we share has no
gender boundaries. Achieving peace and security can only
be reached if we work together.

Angus J Campbell, AO, DSC
GeneralChief of the Defence Force1

Group Captain Dee Gibbon (third from left), Senior Gender Advisor,
Resolute Support and Velika Carew Moore, Gender Advisor for
the Ministry of the Interior, listen during the Ministry of the InteriorInternational Women’s Day celebrations in Kabul, Afghanistan.

2

Winning the Peace

Author’s Foreword
This book was conceptualised in 2019 by Captain
Jenn Macklin, CSC, RAN, as a means of capturingsome of the ground-breaking work conductedby Australian Gender Advisors and Gender Focal
Points over recent years. The profiles were primarily
populated through first-hand accounts, using asemi-structured interview format.
A number of Gender Advisor profiles were gently
edited in 2021 to accommodate recent changes toposting location, rank and/or professional status
and involvement in more recent operations or
secondments.
Although it was not possible to interview every
person involved in delivering Defence’s Gender,
Peace and Security mandate, the hope is thatthe selection of profiles in this book captures thebreadth and scope of Australia’s growing communityof experienced Gender Advisors and Gender Focal
Points across a wide range of military and otheroperational contexts.

This book was first drafted over the summer of 2020,
just as we first started hearing reports of this strange
new virus that has fundamentally changed the world that
we live in. This was a devastating time for Australia, withenormous swathes of our tinder-dry country devasted
by some of the most extreme and brutal bushfires ourcountry has even known. It was heartbreaking seeing
people lose their homes and livelihoods and hearing
stories of entire species of native flora and fauna being
eliminated by this disaster.
Although it was a difficult time, reconnecting with Gender
Advisor colleagues through the interview process andhearing their stories of hope and helping, in support ofAustralia’s strategic mandate and commitments, wascertainly an uplifting and rewarding activity.
The initial plan was to launch this book in 2020, at alarge-scale international conference on Gender, Peaceand Security. Unfortunately, the ‘strange new virus’ andassociated lockdowns completely stymied our initial andsubsequent plans to launch the book at an in-person
meaningful celebratory activity.
Beyond COVID-19, 2021 delivered some additional
challenges that deeply affected many members of theveteran community, myself included. Some of us arestill grappling with what has happened in Afghanistan.
We know that many Afghan colleagues and friends are
suffering. The very women who worked closely with us
to deliver opportunities for Afghan’s current and future
generations are being actively persecuted, killed orforced out of the professional roles that they worked so
hard to achieve. Some of us are questioning ourProfiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

own part in Afghanistan’s recapture by the Taliban andwhether our presence ultimately made the situation
worse for women and girls, rather than better.
We are also questioning whether our own sacrifices,such as the twelve months away from our children (andthe lingering impact of our absences on them), ongoing
physical and mental health issues, broken families andrelationships and in some cases, lost lives, were all fornothing. This is an extraordinarily difficult time for someveterans, many of whom have remained close to Afghancolleagues and friends beyond the period of deployment.
Is it appropriate to even speak out about our own
challenges in privileged Australia, when our Afghansisters and brothers are living with the daily fear of losing
their lives?
The Afghanistan situation did cause us to reconsider
some of the Afghan focused profiles in the book, noting
the disparity between the Gender Advisors’ stories ofhope for a brighter future versus the current reality. We
considered removing the profiles specifically discussing
Afghanistan altogether or editing them to reduce theseemingly misplaced sense of hope.
After much reflection and discussion, we decided tokeep the profiles exactly as they were written in 2020,
as a ‘snapshot in time’. We ultimately felt that it was
important to acknowledge the work undertaken by theAfghanistan Gender Advisors and the extent to which
our work was conducted ‘shauna by shauna’ (shoulder
to shoulder) in partnership with men and women leadersfrom the Afghan community.

3Group Captain (Dr) Deanne ‘Dee’
Gibbon CSC OAM

It remains to be seen how much impact
the international community’s efforts
to physically rebuild Afghanistan andimprove women and girls’ access toschooling, university and the workforce
will shape the future lives of Afghan
citizens. There is some cause for
hope, noting the very large populationof younger Afghans who have only
ever known a life of opportunity andempowerment. It seems unlikely thatyoung Afghans, especially those inurban areas, will forget what might bepossible in a society where all citizens
are able to contribute to the country’s
economy prosperity.

Dr Deanne (Dee) Gibbon CSC OAM is the Director of
Organisational Culture and Capability and an Adjunct
Associate Professor at the University of Queensland (UQ).
She holds a PhD from the University of New South Wales,
which addresses women’s under-representation in nontraditional occupations. Deanne’s most recent role, before
joining UQ, was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Senior Gender Advisor in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Deanne previously served as the Head of the Australian
Defence Force’s (ADF) Sexual Misconduct Prevention andResponse Office (SEMPRO) and the Project Director for the
ADF’s Review into the Treatment of Women. Deanne wasa founding member of the Australian Chief of the Defence
Force’s Gender Equity Advisory Board and Air Force’s
inaugural Director of Workforce Diversity and Inclusion.
Deanne designed and developed the ADF’s first Gender
Advisor Course and drafted the Joint Doctrine Note which
supports the implementation of Gender in Military Operations.

In closing, the Gender, Peace andSecurity Directorate would like todedicate this book to the people ofAfghanistan and particularly the womenand girls most impacted by the recent
regime changes. In our hearts andminds, we still and always will standwith them, ‘sharna by sharna’ (shoulder,to shoulder).

Her efforts to progress cultural reform outcomes in Defence
resulted in her winning the 2013 Diversity Category ofAustralia’s ‘100 Women of Influence’ awards and being
awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross (2014) and Orderof Australia Medal in 2018. In 2017, she was awarded theNancy Bird Walton trophy for the most significant contribution
to aviation by an Australasian woman.
Deanne is married to Rodahn. They parent two talented
and highly capable teenage daughters and a menagerie ofextremely untalented rescue dogs.

Deanne Gibbon

4

Winning the PeaceGender, Peace andSecurity Within theAustralian Context
What is a Gender Advisor?
The traditional role of a military Gender Advisor, as
originally conceptualised by North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO), is to advise Commanders on how
to integrate a gender perspective into all phases of amilitary operation or mission. This requires appreciating
the degree to which crisis, disaster and conflict situations
have different, often gendered impacts on members ofa community or population and ensuring those differing
impacts are actively considered and addressed.
While a gender perspective encompasses all membersof a community, the specific needs of women, girls andboys are often overlooked in situations where the key
actors and decision makers are predominantly men. It
is the Gender Advisor’s role to ensure that the specificneeds and security requirements of all members within
an affected community are afforded equal consideration,
especially during the planning stages of an operation.
This usually involves developing an understanding of any
gender-based differences within a society, as reflected insocietal norms, power structures, resource distribution
and social roles and how these might interact with thedesired operational outcome.

Corporal Jasmine Elliot, Royal Australian Air Force C130J Hercules aircraft Loadmaster, inspects cargo for loading at the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

5

As demonstrated by the breadth of profiles in thisbook, the ‘on the ground’ responsibilities of anAustralian Defence Force Gender Advisor can vary
greatly according to the mission, type of operation,
leadership structure and a range of other factors.
During the initial planning phases of an operation, theGender Advisor may assist other staff with informationand intelligence gathering, undertaking analysis
and research and drawing on additional networks
and other resources to develop a clearer picture of
the operational context and the people within that
context. This information is then considered and used
for operational planning purposes.
During the later phases of an operation, a Gender
Advisor may continue to fulfil an advisory function
within a strategic or operational Headquarters while
also engaging in operational/tactical level tasks. Thismay be particularly necessary in situations where
military men are unable to engage with local womenfor cultural, religious or other reasons. The ability tointeract with women and children during crisis orconflict situations and understand their specific needs
and concerns, is often the most rewarding (andimportant) aspect of the Gender Advisor role.
Some longer operations, for example the Resolute
Support Mission in Afghanistan, may involve a specific
Gender Advisor mandate or defined requirements(as outlined in the Operational Plan), while some
Gender Advisor roles may be more fluid or nebulous.
The enormous diversity across Gender Advisor roles iswell represented by the profiles in this book.
Some recent developments in the international Gender
Advising space include placing a greater emphasis on
intersectionality. This acknowledges factors such as
ethnicity, religion, age, health, disability, literacy levels
and economic conditions within a given community

6

COL Amanda Fielding on deployment with colleagues.
1

will expose men, women, boys, gender non-binary
people and girls to different vulnerabilities, threats
and opportunities.
The recruitment and exploitation of children as soldiersand operatives (usually boys), Conflict-Related Sexual
Violence (CRSV) perpetrated against adults and childrenof all genders, mass genocide of particular groups andthe systematic annihilation of people with disability all
have intersections with gender, power dynamics andother social dynamics. The Gender Advisor role will
therefore encompass a much broader remit than only
focusing on gender.

Winning the Peace

A number of profiles also refer to Gender Focal Points,
which may differ quite considerably to Gender Advisor
roles. Gender Advisor roles are full-time specialist roles
undertaken by individuals with technical training asa Gender Advisor. Gender Focal Points also apply agender perspective, but usually whilst undertaking theirroutine role within an operation or mission.
One example might be a logistics officer in an
operational Headquarters ensuring humanitarian stores
drops include items specifically needed by women,
for cultural, health or caring reasons. Another example
might be a Gender Focal Point in a psychologicaloperations role ensuing messages reach all membersof a community, including those who may not be literate
due to restrictions on attendance at school and/or
unable to leave their homes.
Gender Focal Points also receive specialist training, but
often not to the same extent as a Gender Advisor.

What is Australia’s ‘Gender,
Peace and Security’mandate?
The UNSC’s Women, Peace and Security agenda is aninternational mandate which formally commenced withthe release of United Nations Security Council Resolution
1325 in 2000. This ‘landmark’ Resolution was the first to
specifically call for action regarding the gendered natureof conflict, noting the changing nature of warfare, thepurposeful targeting of civilians during conflict and thedisproportionate impact of conflict on women, children
and other vulnerable groups.
UNSCR 1325 formally requires parties to a conflict tosupport women’s participation in conflict prevention,
peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction,
prevent violations of women’s rights and protect womenand girls from sexual violence at all stages of conflict andpost-conflict rebuilding processes.
UNSCR 1325 was the culmination of many years of
advocacy, predominantly by women’s groups and a
global change imperative which had been building formany years. The Rwandan Civil War and 1994 genocide,which saw over half a million women and children raped,
sexually mutilated or killed, within a period of months,

was arguably the tipping point for instigating urgent
international action.
This urgent need and growing international outcry was
crystallised through the 1995 Beijing Declaration andPlatform for Action, which was considered the mostprogressive and remarkable global commitment to andblueprint for advancing the rights of women and girls.
UNSCR 1325 was, in part, a response to theunprecedented political will expressed through the
Beijing Declaration, noting the changing natureof conflict and global landscape required newmechanisms for protecting and empowering womenand girls. Specifically, UNSCR 1325 and subsequent
resolutions recognised the need for Member States
and those engaged in peacekeeping/peacebuilding torecognise:• P articipation: Increase women’s active andmeaningful participation in institutions andmechanisms related to prevention andmanagement in conflict and post-conflict
operations.
• P revention: Prevent and resolve issues affecting
women and girls’ safety and afford them greater
protections during periods of conflict and unrest,
including during UN field-based operations andpeace processes.
• P erspective: Adopting a ‘gender perspective’in peace and security efforts (including peace
operations, disarmament, demobilisation
and reintegration activities), to ensure plans,
programs, activities and processes are designed
in consideration of all members of an impacted
community/country, not only its predominantly
male leaders.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

ADF Troops set to respond to COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
1• P rotection: Proactively seek to protect womenand girls from conflict related sexual and genderbased violence.
In response to the changing nature of conflict andoutcomes from subsequent conflicts, the UNSC has
adopted additional resolutions over the past few
decades. These collectively form the international‘Women, Peace and Security Agenda’. These resolutions
are: 1325 (2000); 1820 (2009); 1888 (2009); 1889

7

(2010); 1960 (2011); 2106 (2013); 2122 (2013); 2242
(2015), 2467 (2019) and 2493 (2019).
In 2019, the Australian Defence Force purposefullychanged its language from ‘Women, Peace and Security’to Gender, Peace and Security, in acknowledgement thatgender encompasses a much broader perspective than‘women’. Many other countries have adopted, or are
considering, a similar approach.

Australia’s National
Action Plan
Australia is one of 98 countries (as at late 2021) whichhave made a formal commitment to apply the United
Nations Security Council Resolutions pertaining togender. Each country’s commitment is enshrined withina National Action Plan (NAP); Australia’s first NAP was
released in 2012, with an updated NAP released in
April 2021.
The Australian Defence Force’s Gender, Peace andSecurity Mandate (which is the reason behind many of
the actions described in the profiles) exists within muchlarger national and international frameworks addressing
gender and women’s rights more broadly.
Australia’s NAP complements and reinforces otherstrategic imperatives, perhaps most notably, Australia’scommitment to the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), towhich Australia has been a signatory since 1981.
More recent national efforts include taking action
towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals(SDG), noting that SDGs 5, 10 and 16 all have a nexus
with gender equality.

8

The Australian Government also
reinforced its commitment to genderequality through the 2016 Gender
Equality and Women’s Empowerment
Strategy which focuses on women’s
empowerment through aid programs.
Even more recently, the 2017
Australian Foreign Policy White Paper,
noted that:‘Gender inequality undermines
global prosperity, stability andsecurity.
It contributes to and often
exacerbates a range ofchallenges, including poverty,
weak governance and conflict andviolent extremism.
Australia’s foreign policy pursues
the empowerment of women as a
top priority, including through the
advocacy of our Ambassador for
Women and Girls.’
The NAP required the Australian
Defence Force and other government
agencies to demonstrate action
towards UNSCR 1325 and related
resolutions. This entails: applying agender perspective to our politicaland diplomatic interactions; alignmentof strategic priorities; Joint andService-specific planning andconduct of operations; training andevaluation and reporting frameworks
and processes.

Australian National Action Plan on

Women,
Peace and
Security2021-2031
Australia’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2021-2031.

Winning the Peace

Training Gender Advisors and Gender Focal Points
and ensuring they are involved in operational planning
processes and deployed as part of an operational
Headquarters (reporting directly to the Commander) aresome of the very practical ways that Defence has taken
action to support NAP outcomes.
Increasing women’s overall representation in the Defence
Forces, also enables the ADF to ensure there aresufficient numbers of women involved in humanitarian
response, peacekeeping, conflict prevention and theother missions we undertake, regionally, nationally andglobally. Australia was the first country to mainstream
military doctrine addressing UNSCR 1325 to develop a
Gender Advisor Course specifically for an audience ofDefence personnel and embed UNSCR 1325-related
training into professional development and education
pathways for all personnel.

we have faced in growing a new, and at times, highly
misunderstood capability. Despite these challenges
and noting recent global events, our work continues
undeterred.

The sense of pride in our innovative and groundbreaking work is evident from the profiles presented inthis book. Also evident however are the many challenges

Royal Malaysian Navy officers join Royal Australian Navy officers onboard HMAS Sirius in Kuantan, Malaysia.

Military Gender Advisor to Commander of UN mission in South Sudan, Major Bettina Stelzer stands alongside female members of
the South Sudanese Military/Sudanese People’s Liberation Army during the workshop on Preventing Gender Based Violence in Bor,
South Sudan.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

9

Left to right: Chief Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, AM, CSC; Head Joint Services Support
Division, Rear Admiral, Brett Wolski, AM, RAN; Warrant Officer of the Airforce, Fiona Grasby, OAM; Chief ofthe Defence Force, General Angus Campbell AO, DSC; Warrant Officer of the Navy, Deb Butterworth, OAM,
CSM and Bar; Associate Secretary, Katherine Jones; Director of Gender, Peace & Security, Joint Capabilities
Group Commander, Jennifer Macklin CSC, RAN; Deputy Chief of Army, Major General Anthony Rawlins,
DSC, AM; Commander Joint Health, Surgeon General Australian Defence Force, Rear Admiral, Sarah
Sharkey; Chief of Joint Capabilities, Air Marshal, Warren McDonald, AO, CSC; Director General Pacificand Timor-Leste Air Commodore Stephen Edgeley, AM and Head of People Capability, Major General,
Natasha Fox, AM, CSC; as Defence celebrated the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) and its achievements in implementing the Gender, Peace and Security(GPS) global agenda at an event at Russell offices in Canberra on the 28th October 2020.

10

Winning the PeaceProfiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

11

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors
on Military Operations

Captain Jennifer Macklin, CSC, RAN
Delivering an Enduring Gender, Peace and Security
Capability for Defence
Since commencing in her current role as Director,
Gender, Peace and Security (DGPS)1 in 2019, Royal
Australian Navy Captain Jennifer ‘Jenn’ Macklin
CSC has delivered outstanding outcomes for
Defence’s Gender, Peace and Security capability.
From the outset, Jenn’s focus has been on building
a strategically focused, coordinated and resourced
GPS capability that will endure beyond her tenure in
the Director’s role2.

roadmap for the future of GPS in Defence. The document
establishes clear technical and operational commandand control accountabilities for GPS within Defence,encompassing: training and professional development;
strategic Defence policy and international engagements;
research and development; and strategic partnerships
and inter-agency cooperation.
Creating an agreed framework for GPS was not without
difficulties, due to the complexity of the environment andthe wide range of stakeholders at all levels of Defence:

Jenn’s innovative approach, understanding of Defence’s
strategic environment and ability to get ‘buy in’ at
the most senior levels of Defence has enabled rapid
progress towards her vision for GPS. Within her firsttwelve months in the Director role, Jenn had formallyestablished the new Gender, Peace and Security
Directorate (and associated staffing and resourcing
structures) within the Joint Capabilities Group
organisational structure. This involved conceptualisingand implementing a robust governance andaccountability framework for GPS and resolving someof the command and control complexities which havepreviously impacted Defence’s approach to GPS.

‘There are so many different constituencies and a lotof passionate people working in the GPS space … thekey was to channel this passion in a positive way. The
Defence GPS Mandate articulates our intent, defines
Defence’s unique contribution to Australia’s National
Action Plan (NAP) and outlines our priorities and how
we measure success. The strategy and governanceframework will ensure our program of work is effective
over time and postures Defence to meet the intellectual
challenges of creating the future: What does GPS look
like in 10 years-time? What emerging trends do weneed to respond to? What will the geo-political climate
be? How will we know we’ve made a real difference?
What does success look like?’

The new Framework, endorsed by the Secretary andthe Chief of the Defence Force in 2020, is essentially a

One of Jenn’s earliest reforms was transitioning Defence’s
nomenclature from ‘Women, Peace and Security’

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

13

(WPS) to the more inclusive term ‘Gender, Peaceand Security’:‘….We talk about Gender in Military Operations …
and think about gender as a social construct andhow it might manifest in an operational context, rather
than limiting our analysis to women and girls. GPSis how Defence operationalises the NAP. When we
deploy into an area of conflict or a disaster scenario,
we are analysing the entire human terrain – not only
the situation for women and girls. We need to form
a complete picture of the operating environment
to enable the best possible decision making andprioritising of effort.’
In 2020, Jenn’s team also established a ‘whole-ofDefence’ Gender Focal Point Network as a forum forplanning and coordination for GPS-related activities
across Defence and with relevant government
agencies. While still quite new, the network is alreadyproving an invaluable vehicle for cross-Service
and inter-agency engagement and cooperation on
GPS activities and initiatives. The network concept
was modelled on the highly successful ‘Diversity
and Inclusion Practitioner Network’ which Jenn
implemented in a previous role as the inaugural Directorof Diversity and Inclusion for Navy3.
‘My aim is always to generate greater connectivity
across departments and organisations andenhance opportunities for shared learning andongoing collaboration. I know through experiencethat sustainable change happens, one person and
one conversation at a time, through challenging
respectfully, educating others and building capacity
both individually and institutionally. We want toencourage people to feel empowered and become
more active within their own sphere of influence … you
don’t have to be a gender advisor to apply a gender

Captain Macklin, CSC, RAN, – Gender Advisor to Combined Joint Taskforce – Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq).

14

Winning the Peaceperspective … it’s about education and enabling thatconversation naturally in everyone’s workplace.’
This collection of achievements by the GPS teamare quite remarkable, particularly in light of Australia’s
2019-2020 catastrophic bushfire season and the impact
of COVID19, which diverted critical and scarce resourcesaway from the newly formed GPS Directorate. Jennbelieves this rapid traction was made possible by thepassionate staff working in the GPS Directorate andthe Services, coupled with excellent levels of strategic
support for the GPS Mandate:‘Defence currently has really strong buy-in fromthe senior leadership group. They understand that
this is an enterprise level transformation program.
This three-star executive championing of the GPS
capability, coupled with the Chief of the Defence
Force’s strong ongoing commitment to GPS, hasbeen critical to achieving an integrated, resourced andsustainable Defence GPS capability that will stand thetest of time’.
Another reason for Jenn’s success in the Director role isarguably the substantial professional expertise that shebrings to the Director position, forged through a rangeof challenging Defence and non-Defence leadership
positions. The most recent of these was a deployment
to Iraq as the senior Gender Advisor (GENAD) on
Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), which definitely
tested Jenn’s ability to influence and shape strategic
buy-in. A major achievement in this role was gaining
visibility and the leadership support necessary to embed
gender considerations across the core functions of theheadquarters:‘The GENAD capability within the Inherent Resolve
Headquarters was still fairly new when I assumed

Captain Macklin, CSC, RAN – Gender Advisor to Combined Joint Taskforce – Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq), with colleagues from the multinational
CJ9 team.“One Mission, Many Nations.
1

the GENAD role and the capability wasn’t wellunderstood. One of my priorities was ensuring thatgender considerations were factored into the routine
planning and strategic communication functions of
the headquarters. Establishing credibility and getting
traction with senior leaders was key to achieving thisoutcome. During my time in the role, the GENAD teamtransitioned from being ‘outsiders’ to ‘insiders’ … wewent from having zero visibility, to literally having a seat
and a nameplate at the Commander’s table … thisProfiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

was a really big shift and opened doors for us rightacross the mission.’
Jenn was also the first ADF GENAD to deploy to themaritime Exercise Kakadu in 2014 and again on themultinational Exercise Key Resolve in South Korea in2017. These collective experiences enhanced Jenn’s
appreciation of working within complex multinationalsituations and finding ways to gain leadership buy-in anddeliver creative outcomes in high-pressure, resource-

15

Captain Macklin, CSC, RAN – Gender Advisor to Combined Joint Taskforce – Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq), supporting the 2019 International Women’s Day event for Iraqi women in the security sector.

16

Winning the Peaceis determining how our capability contributes toachieving those national outcomes … which will
be a far more complex agenda than focusing on
training and deploying Gender Advisors. The NAP
will require sophisticated planning around monitoringand evaluation and consideration of how we engage
internationally. The new GPS governance andaccountability framework was purposefully designedwith a future focus and to enable us to leverage
Defence’s initial efforts into a sustainable model for
ongoing success.’

constrained contexts. These skills have proven invaluable
to leading Defence’s GPS capability into the next phaseof activity.
‘Demonstrating the capability benefits of a gender
perspective, whether it is on operations or through ourinternational engagement program is key to success.
You need to know your audience and work with themto identify the linkages.’
In terms of future directions, one of the major activities
for the GPS Directorate is to enable Defence to meet the
government’s objectives, as outlined in Australia’s next
National Action Plan for Gender, Peace and Security(2021 – 2031). Jenn notes that the second NAP will
facilitate a transformational shift in Australia, in terms of
its scope and ambition:

Thanks to Jenn’s vision and leadership, Defence
is extremely well-placed to contribute strongly tothose outcomes.
‘I can’t imagine not being connected with the GPS
global agenda and diversity and inclusion more
broadly. No matter what role I have, I will always apply
a gender and ‘inclusion lens’ because that’s just how
I see the world. I am genuinely excited to see how themen and women of Defence can build this capability
over the next ten years of implementation.

‘The first NAP was a really good starting point forAustralia … it was a call to action and Defence had
responsibility for the majority of the actions. We
couldn’t do it alone … it required a high degree ofinteragency collaboration to achieve the agenda ...
and the results over the last six years have beenreally pleasing.’
The team is already working towards six clearly
defined lines of effort for Defence, as outlined in thisbook’s introductory overview: Policy and Doctrine;
Education and Training; Personnel; Mission Readiness
Effects; International Engagement; and Governanceand Reporting. Each of these areas requires asustained effort, leadership support and dedicatedresources across the three Services and relevant
Defence agencies.
‘The second NAP is outcome focused, with ambitious
national goals for Australia. The challenge for Defence

I am very proud to have been part of the GPS journeyin Defence and feel privileged to have worked withamazing and dedicated professionals who have been
pioneers in this capability.’

Endnotes
1

Captain Macklin – Gender Advisor to the Combined Joint Taskforce –Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq), preparing to attend an engagementwith local women’s groups.

 The position was previously titled Director National Action Plan for
Gender, Peace and Security.

2

Jenn refers to this as ‘Legacy leadership’

32015 - 2018

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

17

The photo was taken during Ex MARARA – hosted by the Armed Forces of French Polynesia (FAPF) with participants from Chile, NZ, USA, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Cook Islands and Tonga. L-R; 3rd from left, SGT Rii WALES (Vanuatu), LTCOL Deb Warren-Smith(Australian Army), LTCOL Mamaa Misi (Tongan Army); Policeman Eeri Aritiera (Kiribati Police Force) and CAPT Jon Strickland (Cook Islands Police Force). The other men were from the FAPF. We were on route to visit Raitaea Island and the coalition task
force deployed in response to cyclone Scarlett as part of an HA&DR exercise.”

18

Winning the Peace

Lieutenant Colonel
Deborah Warren-Smith
A Peacekeeping Perspective
This new role leveraged the knowledge, skills andexperience gained through her two-year GENAD Army
Operations role, which is the senior coordination point
for operationalising the GPS global agenda across Army.
Deb was also able to apply her extensive knowledgeof UN Operations, developed through several UN
deployments2 and she continues to manage the Elsie
Initiative Fund having retired from the Australian Army in
September 2021.

Deb Warren-Smith, a former Lieutenant Colonel
in the Australian Intelligence Corps, used a career
break to take up the role of the Manager of the
newly established Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed
Women in Peace Operations, a United Nations TrustFund, with the United Nations Entity for Gender
Equality and the Empowerment of Women - UN
Women, in New York1.

Deb was posted to the GENAD Army Operations
position in January 2017 on return from a 12-monthdeployment as Commander of the Australian Contingent(COMASC) to Operation Paladin, Australia’s contribution
to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation(UNTSO) in 2015-2016. As a newly-minted GENAD
working in an emerging area of Army capability within
Army headquarters, Deb was required to construct therole from its inception from the outset. She undertook
her own research into the GPS global agenda andhow the inclusion of GPS concepts and practices canimprove military operations and planning.
She also engaged widely with other members of theinternational and ADF GENAD community and attended
the NATO GENAD course in Sweden, which she foundextremely useful to enhance her own knowledge
and gain international and cultural perspectives on
the role of a GENAD. Deb drew on her extensive

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

operational3 and UN experiences and personnel
management background and previous work to progress
diversity outcomes:‘My number one priority was to research and delivera Chief of Army Directive on operationalising a gender
perspective in Army. I undertook a considerable
amount of research to understand the depth
and breadth of the gender framework and crosscutting themes and how Army could approach
GPS from a military and operational perspective.
While I produced a Directive which underwent
considerable consultation, senior leadership hada different perspective. The view was that Army,through its core behaviours and training in, andexercise of, customary international law, alreadyincluded a gender perspective and the cross-cutting
thematic areas such as protection of civilians, sexual
exploitation and abuse and conflict related sexual
violence were already a standard aspect of operational
planning and execution.’
Like many of her colleagues, Deb faced resistance toimplementing the GPS global agenda in some parts ofArmy, including from those in more senior roles. She
cites a very senior Army leader referring to GPS as a‘cottage industry’ to a large audience of Army leaders as
an example of some of the pervasive negative attitudes
towards the work of GENADs at the time.

19‘You know GPS is necessary from a military planningperspective and an intelligence/J2 perspective interms of a deep understanding of the whole of thehuman terrain, but we have to keep explaining why
we’re doing this from a kinetic and war-fighting
perspective … you have to be so creative in theways of trying to get through to some of our warfighting counterparts. Having to explain, over andover, why we need to consider half the population
when planning and executing operations can bequite exasperating.’
Despite this resistance and other frustrations, Deb has
achieved numerous outcomes in the GENAD role. Oneof her achievements was developing, in conjunction with
Ms Jenny Lee from the Australian Civil Military Centre
and her Air Force counterpart4, a two-day Gender Focal
Point (GFP) workshop, first delivered to the Deployable
Joint Force Headquarters (DJFHQ) prior to Exercise
Hamel in 2018. She and Jenny then tailored anddelivered the workshop to the New Zealand Defence
Force Command and Staff College.
Deb also deployed on a range of exercises andplanning activities during this time, including Exercise
Southern Katipo (New Zealand Defence Force) andExercise Suman Protector for the Five Power Defence
Arrangements (FPDA). She cites one particular
engagement during this exercise as one of the mostrewarding in terms of positive outcomes:‘I deployed as the GENAD on Exercise Suman
Protector in 2017 - an FPDA5 exercise conducted
once every five years … a two-week command post
exercise … with each of the five countries deploying
legal, policy and political advisors. As the sole GENAD,
I sought the opportunity to brief all commanders,planners and humanitarian actors participating in the20

LTCOL Deb Warren-Smith (centre) with members of the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces visiting the Commonwealth War Graves Jerusalem War Cemeteryin Jerusalem for 2016 Anzac Day; while serving on Operation PALADIN with United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) in 2016.
1

exercise regarding not only what a GENAD does, butwhat they can bring to the table and how to best use
them in planning activities. I specifically addressed
the importance of including a gender perspective inall operational planning. I was rewarded by seeingcommanders having those ‘Aha!’ moments andwanting to discuss GPS further … and also seeing
humanitarian actors becoming involved in a multidimensional, multi-disciplinary military planning
exercise … in some cases for the first time.’

Winning the Peace

Another of Deb’s GENAD experiences was deploying on
Exercise Marara with the French Armed Forces Polynesia
Français (FAPF), an annual ‘cyclone’ command post
exercise and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster
Relief (HADR) activity hosted by the Armed Forces in
French Polynesia. The aim of ADF participation in 2017
was to develop an enhanced understanding of regional
HADR capabilities and to demonstrate commitment
to the region in a combined setting. Deb worked toensure a gender perspective was incorporated into
the planning and conduct of the exercise, while also

providing a practical, visible demonstration of Australia’scommitment to GPS:‘The opportunity to discuss some of the local
traditions, customs and culture in detail with the local
Mayor of Raitaea Island was particularly insightful. It
went a long way to inform the advice I provided to
the Commander on the differing impacts of a disasterand significant weather event on the men and womenin the communities with whom the military would
be working.’
Deb also provided her significant GPS expertise to the2017 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) development
for the Multinational Force (MNF) Planning and Advisory
Team. Deb and another ADF GENAD, Group Captain
Dee Gibbon, played leading roles in the developmentof two MNF SOP Annexes addressing UNSCR 1325
and related resolutions and the Protection of Civilians(POC). Deb also contributed to the 2018 workshop
where the POC SOP was substantially developed.
Military participants in the MNF workshops included ADF
GENADs, subject matter experts from the United States,
New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Thailand militaries
and a range of different UN and non-governmentorganisation specialists. The SOP workshops
provided an opportunity to develop a mutually agreed
understanding on the application of GPS in regional
exercises and operations.
‘From a practitioner’s perspective, the opportunity
to explore and discuss the application of GPS with arange of civil, military and police professionals, fromdifferent cultural backgrounds across the region, wasinvaluable to ensure a common understanding andrealistic approach for a multi-national force.’

It was Deb’s international GPS experience, strong UN
peacekeeping background and leadership experiencethat resulted in her being selected to manage the Elsie
Initiative Fund – a start-up UN multi-partner Trust Fund.
Deb is responsible for the overall management of theFund, including the Fund’s financial and programmatic
risks, and ensuring donor’s funds—including from
Australia, are allocated so that the Fund can achieve
its primary impact, to accelerate the pace of change
towards the increased meaningful participation of
uniformed women in UN peace operations.
Deb believes that while the ADF still has a long way
to go to fully mainstream a gender perspective in all
operational aspects, it is increasingly making progress inthis area:‘We continue to need senior leadership buy-in andthoughtful junior leadership application. We need
GENADs and GFPs in key strategic and operational
positions. We also need commanders at all levels tounderstand what the GPS framework is seeking toachieve. It’s not just about having a Gender Annex6
in our Doctrine or Operational Orders. When thecomplexities of the human terrain we operate in (andthis means the whole terrain, not just the ‘enemy’)are combined with the operation’s longer-term
political goals (for example: stabilisation; economic
growth; and maintenance of, and respect for,human rights and the rule of law) the inclusion of agender perspective is essential. These elements are
increasingly demanded by a comprehensive ‘wholeof government approach’ and so looking through agender lens during analysis, planning and operational
stages goes some way to understanding andaddressing those complexities.’

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Endnotes
1 The Elsie Initiative Fund is an innovative mechanism designed toincentivise troop and police contributing countries to understandthe barriers to the deployment of women on UN Peace Operations
and to develop innovative mechanisms to increase the number of
uniformed women who deploy on peace operations.

2 An intelligence role in East Timor with the United Nations
Transitional Administration Authority (UNTAET) in 1999-2000;
a military observer role in Syria with the United Nations Truce
Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) in 2005-2006; and UNTSO
again from 2015-2016 as the Outstation Chief in Tiberius, Israel andCommander of the Australian Contingent (COMASC).

3 Ibid, plus as Military Advisor on Operation SLIPPER (OP S), Kabul,
Afghanistan.

45

6Wing Commander Jade Deveney, profiled in this book.
 The Five Power Defence Arrangements refers to a number ofmulti-lateral agreements between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand,
the United Kingdom and Singapore (all Commonwealth members)
signed in 1971, in which the five signatories undertake to consult
each other in the event of external aggression or threat against
Malaysia or Singapore.
In the Operational Plan or Operational Order.

21

United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan personnel stand in front of a RAAF C17A
Globemaster at Juba International Airport, South Sudan. From left to right: Sudan People’s Liberation
Army officer Captain Joc; RAAF officers Squadron Leader Greg Sorensen, Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT)
Adam Wilson and FLTLT Donna Watts-Endresz (AS NSE); a Cambodian Military Police officer; RAAF
Warrant Officer Gavin Willmett; and Tanzania Army officer Major Bryson.

22

Winning the PeaceWing Commander (Dr) Angeline Lewis
The Inaugural Gender, Peace and Security Fellow
On International Women’s Day 2018, the thenMinister for Defence1 announced Wing Commander(Dr) Angeline Lewis’ appointment as Defence’s
inaugural Fellow for Gender, Peace and Security.
The Fellowship was conceptualised by the Minister
as a mechanism to improve knowledge transfer andcollaboration between the Department of Defence,
academia and the Australian Defence Force
Academy. Part of Angeline’s role was to propose aframework for the Fellowship into the future.

As a post-doctoral veteran of five operational
deployments, Angeline has both the operational
experience and academic credibility to situate theFellowship for future success. She has somehow
managed to complete the Fellowship, while
simultaneously completing a second doctorate andcontinuing her academic research and lecturingcommitments. At the same time, Angeline deployed
as a GENAD and undertook her ‘day job’ as a Senior
Legal Officer. Her work ethic is commendable, as is hercommitment to furthering Defence’s progress in GPS.
At the time of this interview, Angeline was finalisinga report outlining how the Fellowship could be
structured to enable Defence to actively contributeto and capitalise on the growing academic narrativearound GPS:

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations‘I’m hoping the Fellowship will be confirmed ona full-time, ongoing basis, so we [Defence] can getsome substantive research outcomes to integrate into
our operations. There’s a lot of interest from academia,
strategic policy organisations … and researchers in
GPS who are looking at how to operationalise GPS
within a military context … and across the Asia-Pacificregion. The Fellowship is ideally placed to facilitate theexchange of ideas between these experts in different
fields, with the possibility of future Fellows contributing
directly to a substantial research program.’
From a personal perspective, Angeline is interested infurther exploring the perceived ideological disconnect
between the ‘protection’ agenda of GPS as developed in
United Nations fora and peacekeeping and the broader
sphere of ADF operations.
Angeline’s views on the Fellowship have been shaped, inpart, by her own research into GPS and her most recent
deployment as Gender and Protection Advisor to the UN
Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The role was a timely
opportunity to gain practical exposure to the connection
between the GPS Mandate and peacekeeping; whichbecame an area of interest during her doctoral research:‘… I’d been focusing on stability operations and Ruleof Law reconstruction during conflict and the problem
of creating institutions of peace from a situation ofwar.2 You can’t really do it successfully during the war
because, by definition, peacetime institutions aren’t
working to maintain order and security. Yet Rule ofLaw-based theories are premised on using institutional

23

mechanisms as a transition from war to peace, intandem with security sector reform. GPS offered a
new and different perspective on how we would makethat transition, although it can raise similar questions.’much as a variety of other practical and operational
considerations ... the receptiveness of some areas togender input could be mixed when it meant change toexisting modes of reporting, analysis or action …’

Prior to her GENAD deployment, Angeline had also
conducted academic research into Female Engagement
Teams (FETs) in Iraq and Afghanistan, where she
examined the risks associated with assuming a universal
identity, purely on the basis of gender:

Despite these challenges, Angeline, together with otheraligned personnel, planned an internal gender parity
study to help improve women’s meaningful participationin the UNMISS (as opposed to only addressing theirnumerical representation), by better data collection in
respect of where and how female military peacekeepers
were being deployed. It included details for an informal
exit survey to identify barriers and challenges faced by
women deployed to UNMISS.

‘If we take FETs as a case study, how do you take an
American or British or Australian corporal and send
her to Afghanistan and say, “As a woman, talk to
Afghan women and achieve operational outcomes”?
A fundamental critique of this approach is that it
assumes that all women, as women, have common
interests, regardless of their background – but even
within host nation communities, priorities can besignificantly different among groups of women.’
The role at UNMISS proved to be one of Angeline’s
more challenging deployments, primarily due to the large
scope of work and the need to press constantly forcreative analysis and solutions to address gender-based
security threats for the civilian population. The security
environment in South Sudan also restricted her ability toactively engage with local women and regional actors,
which was an aspect of the role she was most looking
forward to:‘I was the Gender Advisor and also the Child
Protection Advisor, so I had to split my time between
those two roles. The role was situated in theForce Headquarters, but under one of the Deputy
Chiefs of Staff rather than in a Force Commander’sspecialist advisory group. The challenges with therole didn’t flow from the organisational structure so

24‘A high rate of female participation doesn’t necessarilytranslate into women on patrol, women involved incommunity engagement, or women in leadership roles
who can successfully support mission tasks – which
include supporting the implementation of the peaceagreement (and its 35% quota for female participationin transitional institutions). A better understandingof participation by rank and position can help target
recruitment from contributing states to key leadershipand decision-making roles and hopefully contributeto improved overall representation by women in
the future.’
Arriving back in Australia in February 2019, Angeline
was posted into Australia’s Joint Operations
Command (JOC) as a Senior Legal Officer, where she
continued to advocate for gender to be consideredthroughout the Joint Intelligence Preparation of the
Operational Environment (JIPOE) and operational
planning processes:‘… If the intelligence and threat analysis integrate
gender considerations effectively, then the normal

Winning the Peace

JMAP [Joint Military Appreciation Process] shouldtake over in generating gender-informed plans without
specialist input from the Gender Advisor. One person
can’t be solely responsible for gender in operational
planning. Like anyone in the JPG [Joint PlanningGroup], I could speak up at any time with fresh
thoughts or critical approaches, even as simply as
asking what the gender distinctions are, or whether
it’s possible to monitor changes in domestic violenceand sexual violence to tell us something about stability
within a specific community.’

Wing Commander Lewis attends a women’s workshop on Conflict Related
Sexual Violence (CRSV) in Juba in late 2018, with Amer Deng (leader ofthe women’s bloc of negotiators for the September 2018 revised peaceagreement, which included a 35% quota for women’s representation intransitional government institutions, plus promises of a hybrid court to deal
with sexual violence and other crimes during the conflict)Endnotes
1 The Honourable Senator Marise Payne, who instigated theFellowship and announced Angeline as the inaugural Fellow in
February 2018.

2 Lewis, A., Judicial Reconstruction and the Rule of Law:
Reassessing Military Intervention in Iraq and Beyond, Brill, 2012,
which comprised her doctoral thesis in international law at theAustralian National University (Doctor of Juridical Science). She
also holds a PhD in sea power history (UNSW Canberra, 2019).

Captain Anne Andrews, RAN
Excellent Outcomes in Gender, Peace and Security
Prior to her deployment, Anne worked in a numberof different roles in the Navy, including learning anddevelopment, human resources and strategic personnel
management. She developed an interest in GPS in 2012and prior to her deployment to OP RS was actively
seeking an opportunity to work in a Navy or Defence
GPS role. She was certainly well-qualified to do so.
In 2016, Anne completed a Masters of Philosophy in
GPS through UNSW Sydney, working with the United
Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York. Her research
examined effectiveness gains through women’s
participation and the application of a gender perspective
in UN Peacekeeping operations. When the opportunity
to deploy as a Senior GENAD arose, Anne ‘jumped at
the chance’:

As at January 2020, the ADF had deployed seven
Senior GENADs to Operation Resolute Support(OP RS) in Afghanistan. Several of the profiles inthis book demonstrate the progress made sinceColonel (COL) Amanda Fielding undertook the firstrotation. Commander (CMDR) Anne Andrews1 is themost recent GENAD to return from OP RS and was
grateful for the opportunity to talk about her many
achievements in the role.

‘I asked for Gender Advising roles when these werebeing established but I wasn’t in the right place at theright time until 2019. When the RS deployment cameup, I was ecstatic to be able to work in the field.’
The deployment turned out to be everything Anne
hoped it would be and she is incredibly proud of thetangible outcomes from her 12 months in the role. Still
working along the three original GPS lines of effort (LOE)aligned to UNSCR 1325’s participation, prevention
and protection pillars (as per the activities of previous
GENADs in the role), Anne developed a Campaign Plan2
to operationalise gender initiatives making them moretangible for the coalition forces, thereby enabling greater
traction with all parties. Anne and her team of four (which

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

grew to eight at the end of her tenure), were responsiblefor implementing the Campaign Plan which included 14
separate projects:‘The intent was to mainstream gender perspective
considerations so the Gender Office wasn’t the leadfor all projects. To enable oversight, I establisheda weekly coordination meeting where leads wererequired to report on their progress. This ended up
being a really efficient way of tracking progress foreach program and synchronising our efforts.’
Without invalidating her own hard work, passion anddetermination, Anne acknowledges the criticality ofsenior leader support in gaining traction in GPS. During
her tenure and largely due to her advocacy, gender
became a line of reporting during the Commanding
General’s3 weekly meeting with key staff, which raised
the profile of GPS further and held others to account in avery visible way.
The Commander’s support proved essential to providing
Anne with the resources, reach and access needed to
excel in her role. Anne also spent time building stronger
working relationships with the International communityand senior leaders in the Ministry of Defence and Ministryof Interior and other Ministries such as Education,
Women’s Affairs and Foreign Affairs, which garneredsupport and expedited the progress of new Gender
Office initiatives.

25

26

Captain Anne Andrews, RAN, speaks with women from the Afghan
Security Forces during Operation Resolute Support in 2019.

Winning the Peace

One of these Gender Office initiatives was an Internship
Program which was conceptualised, approved, funded
and launched within a five-month period, whichindicated Anne’s ability to leverage relationships into
tangible outcomes. The internship involved bringing
degree-qualified women into the Afghan National
Defense and Security Force (ANDSF) for an initial periodof 12 months, earning 75% of the salary they would
receive if they joined the ANDSF at the conclusion of
their internship:essential to the success of the security sector. Other
examples included female police in vital roles such as
searching women at the airport, interviewing female
victims of sexual abuse … or, in the case of the army,
the quick response units helping women and children
in crisis. To achieve any change, it is critical to put
messaging in the community supporting the needfor a security sector that has women in it and thathighlights women’s opportunities to contribute to theirown security.’‘The internship gave university-educated women, who
may never have considered joining the military or thepolice, the opportunity to gain exposure to the sector
and see whether it was a suitable career choice forthem … the flow-on effect was that they would talk totheir communities about their positive experiences andeven if they didn’t join, there was a high likelihood thatthey’d go into another government department which
would still be of benefit to women’s participation.’

The positive messaging may also have contributed tothe high volume of applicants in the last recruitment
rounds for the Afghan Police Force, with approximately
3,000 applicants for only 250 positions. Anne notes thatof the 250 women selected, 95% were degree-qualified,
which reflects the changing cultural landscape of certain
parts of Afghanistan and women’s increasing access to
education and employment opportunities.

For the Pilot Program they received over 100
applications for 45 positions, which is a testament to
the program’s attractiveness to women and the shifting
attitudes towards women serving in security sector roles.
The high number of applicants could also be attributable
to the Ministries of Defence and Police being proactivewith the appointment of senior female Deputy Ministers,
together with a targeted communications campaign
designed to shift community attitudes about womenserving in security sector roles:‘We worked with the communications andpsychological operations teams4 to raise the profile
of Afghan women serving in security sector roles …
this included interviews and programs on local radio
on the role of women in the police and army so thecommunity could see it was not against their values
system and could appreciate that women wereRather than just looking at the numbers of women in
the ANDSF, another focus for Anne and her team was‘meaningful participation,’ especially for women who
had excelled in high-intensity, operationally-focused
specialist training:‘There were several women commandos who had
successfully passed special forces training, butweren’t always employed in the right roles … somewere placed in office roles which didn’t capitalise on
their training. Whereas in the quick response units,
women were regularly employed on patrols to go
forward into crisis situations – the best example being
the Police Special Units, the ‘Triple units’5 … who
did the site exploitation, questioning of children andfamilies and sifted through the evidence … once thedoor was knocked down by the men, they were thefirst ones in … they were just so effective in thoseroles and really proud to be doing it.’

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Captain Anne Andrews, RAN, speaks with women from the Afghan Security
Forces during Operation Resolute Support in 2019.
1

To improve women’s access to appropriate positions
and clear career paths after graduating from training,Anne also coordinated a review and audit of all thefemale-designated positions6 on the Tashkil7, aiming todeploy the right positions in the right locations.
‘The ‘clean up’ of organisational structures andpositions is an extremely complex task that needed
to take account of cultural sensitivities and norms
for both men and women. In the past, positions had
been created in areas which were unsafe for women
to serve and resulted in cases of abuse, vacancies, ormen being placed in positions designated for women.
The review required real change and therefore won’t
happen quickly, but the Ministries understood theneed to move forward.’
One of Anne’s most impressive achievements wasrefining the delivery of the Gender Occupational
Opportunities Development8 program to improve theliteracy levels of ANDSF women and enable them to27

progress into more meaningful roles. Anne notes thataround 25 percent of women serving in the ANDSF
were illiterate, often restricting their employment tomenial tasks such as making tea, cleaning or laundry.
On her arrival at OP RS, Anne quickly detected somefundamental flaws with the program delivery model:‘The program had a focus on teaching English
delivered by American teachers, but because of the
security situation in some areas, there hadn’t been
any classes for several months. I thought, “This is
ridiculous!” It’s a 12-million-dollar contract and they
were only teaching around 400 women for a few hours
a week. We couldn’t cancel the contract, but I could
modify it … and the results were outstanding.’
Anne redesigned the program, reduced the cost from12 to one-million dollars and significantly improved
its sustainability and effectiveness, in addition toother benefits:
Captain Anne Andrews, RAN, Senior GENAD to NATO led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.

‘We changed the program to be delivered by
local Afghan nationals with teaching degrees. This
completely eliminated the security overheads of
employing American teachers … and we were able toemploy a lot more [Afghan teachers] as labour costs
were drastically reduced. We extended the program’s
reach and set a six-month goal to increase the numberof ANDSF women receiving the literacy programs by
50%, which we exceeded by month four; the program
also created employment opportunities for women inregional areas.’
Freeing up such a large amount of funding created new
possibilities for additional programs, including plans tobuild a national high school for girls in Kabul.

1

After such a successful deployment, Anne is extremely
motivated to apply her skills in another GPS position,either in Australia or possibly through another GENAD
deployment. Anne intends to remain actively engaged inGPS, assisting with its promotion and implementation to
every extent possible.

4

Endnotes

7

1
2

3

28

Anne was given temporary Captain (CAPT) rank for the role.
 The three lines of effort included ‘Force Structure, Capacity Building
and Shaping the Environment’.
 Lieutenant General James Rainey Commanding General, Combined
Security Transition Command- Afghanistan (CSTC-A)’s.

Winning the Peace

Combined Joint Psychological Operations Task force (CJ-POTIS).

 The ‘Triples’ (i.e. 222, 333) are General Command of Police Special
Units (GCPSU), elite Afghan police units responsible for responding tohigh-profile attacks and conducting high-risk arrests, crisis responses
and counter-narcotics operations.

5 Securing designated positions for women in the ANDSF was one of
the achievements of earlier ADF GENADs.

6 ‘Tashkil’ is an Afghan term for a list of personnel and equipment
authorisations that forms the organisational structure of the ANDSF.
The review of the tashkil was being undertaken for all positions, male,
female and gender-neutral.
 The Gender Occupational Opportunities Development (GOOD)
program delivered Pashto, Dari, English literacy as well as computing
and office skills.

8

Squadron Leader Karyn Ey
Applying Gender, Peace and Security Within a
Domestic Context
The past eighteen months have been an
extraordinarily busy and challenging time forSpecialist Capability Officer and Gender Advisor
SQNLDR Karyn Ey. As the Executive Officer in the
Gender, Peace and Security Directorate, Karyn has
played an integral role in assisting Captain Jennifer
Macklin to establish the Directorate, deliver arobust governance and accountability frameworkand coordinate a range of exciting activities anddeliverables either completed or planned for delivery
over the coming years.

In addition to her standard workload, Karyn has also
actively contributed to ADF operational outcomes during
an incredibly challenging period of Australia’s history.
She was assigned to the Defence COVID-19 Taskforce
as the Strategic Gender Advisor at the outset of thepandemic response. This is the first time a Gender
Advisor has ever been deployed on Australian soil.
Fortunately, Karyn has the ideal professional andacademic background to undertake work related todisaster or emergency response. Her skills in this field
were developed through academic studies in community
development, a Masters degree in Emergency

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Management and a number of years working in disaster
relief coordination roles. Prior to joining the Air Forcein 2015, she spent five years working as a Disaster
Relief Coordinator with an international NGO, where
she participated in responses to a range of large-scale,
high-impact disasters. The most significant of theseinclude the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan(2011), extreme floods in Queensland (2011), andTyphoon Yolanda in the Philippines (2013).
Karyn’s decision to join the Air Force emanated froma strong desire to serve her country and continue herfamily’s long, multigenerational tradition of military
service. A lecture on Gender, Peace and Security
delivered during her initial Officer training piqued
her interest in specialising in this emerging ADF
capability. Her current role draws extensively on her
pre-ADF expertise while enabling her to apply her
disaster response skillsets to a completely different
operating environment.
While Karyn had a well-developed understanding of
UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions through her
previous disaster response work, her role in the GPS
Directorate provided an opportunity to see thoseprinciples applied within a domestic military context. The
unprecedented events of 2019 and 2020 were certainly
instructive in relation to delivering GPS outcomes withina domestic disaster/emergency response context:29

was the need to engage Gender Advisors from theoutset and have them positioned at the strategic,
operational and tactical levels of response.
‘Unfortunately GENADs were not deployed during the
Bushfire response, but there are multiple examplesof where a GENAD could have provided invaluable
support. Some examples include engaging withwomen and children in remote and regional areas,
involvement in Women’s Business within Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander communities and engaging
with women in certain communities who may feelvery uncomfortable engaging with men outside theirfamilies. Another factor is determining logistical supply
considerations and ensuring the needs of all membersof a family or community have been addressed.
A GENAD’s role is to ensure these considerations
are front of mind from the outset and assist with
community engagement activities that are so critical toensuring community safety.’

Lieutenant General John Frewen, then-Commander of the ADF COVID-19 Task Force is provided with a Gender Brief by Squadron Leader Karyn Ey, Command
Gender Advisor to the COVID-19 Task Force.
1‘Australia’s National Action Plan for Gender, Peaceand Security has a more outward, international
engagement focus and there are definitely different
contextual considerations and nuances when working
domestically. For example, it was quite challenging
undertaking a rigorous gender analysis or country
assessment of your own country … while theunderpinning principles are the same, you need to30

apply a slightly different lens and try to remain as
objective as possible.’
Karyn observed there have been many lessons learnt
by the ADF through both the Bushfire and COVID
experience, which she hopes will be factored into future
large-scale response operations of this nature. One of
the main lessons emerging from the bushfire experience

Winning the Peace

Pleasingly, the lessons learnt from the bushfire response
were actively incorporated into the ADF’s contribution toAustralia’s COVID-19 management efforts. Karyn was
actually the first ADF Gender Advisor to be deployed toa Force Headquarters on Australian soil to address agenuine domestic emergency. The Operation COVID-19
Assist experience demonstrated the importance of
having trained GENADs at the strategic and operational
levels, supported by a larger network of Gender Focal
Points at the tactical level ‘on the ground’ in key areas.
‘The lessons we learnt from the Operation Bushfire
Assist experience had a marked impact on Defence’s
response to COVID-19. We definitely learnt thata GENAD must be deployed straight away on
operations such as these. A gender analysis needs
to be undertaken at an early stage and genderimplications proved invaluable to operational outcomes.
ADF troops received training on interacting withmembers of the domestic and international communities;
certain cultural or religious considerations which may
need to be factored into identification checks or COVID
testing and recognising any signs of violence or abuse
impacting families under extreme stress:‘We’ve got a situation where thousands of Defence
members are being deployed at very short notice andare having direct face-to-face interactions with the
public at a really crucial time in our history. Domestic
and family violence levels were going through the roof
during lockdown, so troops involved in community
door knocking and quarantine security needed to beaware of what family and domestic violence looks
like … the signs to look for and what to do if theysuspected domestic violence or child abuse andwhere to report incidents.’
Another observation from the ADF’s COVID response is
the clear synergies between gender considerations andbroader cultural and community considerations which befactored into any form of response planning.

The deployment of Mixed Gender Engagement Teams was an important element in ensuring gender considerations were embedded into the work of the ADF
during OP COVID-19 Assist..
1

considerations need to be incorporated at all levels
and across all stages of the ADF’s response. I was
immediately assigned to the Defence COVID-19
Task Force in Canberra at the command level, Wing
Commander Kelley Stewart was assigned at the
Headquarters Joint Operations Command level and
LCDR [Lieutenant Commander] Lauren Keany wasat the JTF 629 tactical level. Together, we built astrong, trained gender focal point network in every
state. This enabled us to have reach over all ofAustralia. Having those three levels worked extremely
well and was crucial to delivering a highly effective
COVID response.’
Karyn can provide multiple examples of where applying
a gender perspective and/or considering gender

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations‘We’re dealing with diverse groups of people; people
from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds,
people with differing religious beliefs, people withdisability, the elderly, children … it’s a very diverse
group, especially in some communities and cities.
We needed to consider all of these aspects of diversity
through our response planning processes and throughpre-deployment training. Good examples include
conducting identification checks with Muslim women
who may be reluctant to remove their facial coverings
in front of male troops, or how to engage and interact
with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

31

32

Squadron Leader Karyn Ey at work in the Gender, Peace and Security
Directorate, Russell Offices.

Winning the Peacein a respectful, considered and culturally sensitive
way. Working with the public is an opportunity tobuild trust and confidence in our Defence Force, butconversely, we can also do a lot of damage if we don’t
do that well.’Karyn believes there is definitely room to enhanceand expedite the ADF’s community consultation andcommunication processes and further embed genderand cultural considerations into ADF training andtools. She noted that improved ongoing training inthese areas across the Defence training continuum
mitigates the need for urgent, ‘just-in-time’ training when
emergencies occur.
‘When disaster strikes, it’s much easier to build on
skills when the base knowledge on GPS and culturalconsiderations is already there.’As the Executive Officer in the GPS Directorate, Karynis ideally placed to actively address some of the lessons
learnt from recent operational experiences. Key priorities
on her very long ‘to do’ list include developing a robust
network of trained Gender Focal Points across all areasof Defence and building enhanced GPS awareness into
the through-career training continuum for all Navy, Armyand Air Force personnel.
‘I’d love to reach the point where every ADF member,from newly appointed recruits right through to ourmost senior leaders have a genuine understandingof what GPS is and how to include genderconsiderations into their everyday job. That’s how
we’re going to achieve mainstreaming. So rather thanhaving three experts in a Brigade we’ll have 2,000
personnel who are applying the principles of GPS
in their work. We have very few dedicated GENAD
positions, but over 60,000 opportunities to influence.

This is what I’m really passionate aboutprogressing over the coming years.’
It goes without saying that Karyn intends toremain actively engaged in the GPS milieu for
as long as she is permitted and is particularly
motivated to undertake a United Nations
deployed GENAD role in the future:‘I will serve my country in whatever role isassigned to me, but where I am now seems
like a perfect fit, especially in terms of mypre-Defence expertise. I’m hoping to stayfor as long as I can contribute. My role in
the new directorate is full of opportunity,
especially in relation to progressing
Defence’s next steps under Australia’s new
National Action Plan and helping to realise
Captain Macklin’s strategic vision for GPS
in Defence. I honestly couldn’t be in a better
place and I’m honoured to be here.’

Squadron Leader Karyn Ey, at RAAF Base Richmond, No.22 Squadron, arrival event for
the final C-27 J Spartan delivered to the RAAF.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

33

34

Australian Army Reservists from 5th/6th Battalion Royal Victoria Regimentwork with Victorian Police Officers at the Little River Police vehicle checkpoint
in Victoria in support of Op COVID 19 Assist.

Winning the Peace

Major Attila Ovari
Training GENADs of the Future‘The GENAD role caught my interest and so after
Talisman Sabre, I attended GPS workshops at 1 Div[Division] and ACMC [Australian Civil-Military Centre]
and applied to do the GENAD course because I
thought it complemented what I was doing in my
CIMIC [Civil-Military Cooperation] position.’

Major Attila Ovari joined the Army in 2000 andcompleted 17 years as a Reservist before
transferring to full-time Service in 2019. An
Engineering Officer by trade, Attila has worked ina range of different roles in Army, including planning,
operations, officer commanding and platoon
commander positions. His non-military career has
involved senior management positions in the notfor-profit community services sector, incorporating
portfolios such as aged care, children’s services,
disability and youth services.

Attila was waiting for confirmation of a place on thecourse when he received a short-notice deployment
to the J53/GENAD position within HQJTF 6331. Hemanaged to complete the GENAD course prior to
deploying, without realising that within six months hewould assume full responsibility for its delivery!

An understanding of the challenges faced by different
members of the community has been an asset toAttila’s recent military work, which has required close
engagement as a GENAD, in civil-military coordination
and GPS. Attila was posted to the Australian Defence
Force (ADF) Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC)
in 2019-20, where he coordinated the delivery ofGPS-related training and seminars, including the ADF
Operational GENAD Course.

The HQJTF 633 role proved challenging for a numberof reasons. The short deployment notice meant that acomprehensive hand-over with the previous incumbent
was not possible, which was not ideal. The J53 aspectsof the position also had a very high-tempo, which madeit difficult for Attila to dedicate the time necessary to
fulfil the GENAD component of the role. However, Attila
achieved his main objective for deployment, which wasto implement a more structured reporting process for
GENAD activities across the Middle East:

Attila’s first exposure to GPS was during Exercise
Talisman Sabre 2017, while working in the J35 cell of a
US Headquarters based at Enoggera Barracks.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations‘Before I deployed, Captain Porter2 mentioned the lackof reporting back to JOC [Joint Operations Control]on what the GENADs in the Middle East were doing. I
reviewed the role and thought the most effective thing
I could do was turn the position into a coordination

35

Participants and trainers at the Australian Defence Force Operational Gender Advisor Course Session 6 in 2019.

point for GENADs in the Middle East, a bit like a
COORD [coordinating] Chaplain’s role … to feed that
information back from the forward bases, including
any lessons learnt. So that’s what I set out to do overmy five months there.’
Another one of Attila’s tasks was refreshing the Standing
Instructions (SIs) for Gender in Military Operations for
the ADF in Middle East Operations, which had not beensignificantly reviewed since 20163. He also undertook arange of activities to improve awareness of GPS acrossthe headquarters:

In addition to creating valuable international engagement
outcomes, Attila and other course directing staff6 believe
the international students have enriched the learning
experience for all attendees and afforded a deeper
appreciation of how GPS is contextualised withindifferent countries and cultures:‘Students gain a realistic appreciation of thecomplexities and challenges GENADs may face,especially on an overseas deployment. You also get
amazing firsthand insights that you wouldn’t otherwise
have. For example, on the last course, I had an Afghan
Officer in my syndicate and when we were discussing
some of the issues in Afghanistan … she was able
to explain things in a way that we just wouldn’t
have considered.’‘Through being involved in reporting and embedding
GPS into other processes in the headquarters, I
managed to get GPS back onto the radar and madesure that anything produced by the headquarters
was reviewed from a gender perspective, which wasanother good outcome.’
Post-deployment and while considering Canberra-based
posting options, Army offered Attila the role at the POTC,
which he grabbed with both hands. Since starting in
the role in February 2019, Attila and his team haveachieved some impressive outcomes in the GPS training
environment. Perhaps the most important outcome
was a thorough review of the GENAD Course Learning
Management Package (LMP), to improve certain aspectsof training to accommodate the needs of an increasinglyinternational audience:‘Until 2019, the course was only open to five-eyes
nations4 … as part of the LMP review process wemade sure the course materials and scenarios wereappropriate for an international audience. One simple
example was changing the term ‘RSL5’ in one of theoral assessments to ‘veteran’s organisation.’ This
achieved the same intent, but the terminology was
more accessible for non-Australians.’

2019 GPS Emerging Issues Seminars. (POTC)

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

37

Attila is careful to emphasise the benefits are not
one-sided; and he finds it particularly rewarding
seeing people from different cultural contexts bothunderstanding and embracing the GPS imperative:‘It works both ways … also on the last course, we had
a senior Iraqi policeman who seemed a bit disengaged
for the first few days. About mid-way through thecourse, he pulled me aside and said, “Thank you
for this excellent and important training. We need to
implement GPS training in Iraq and I may need yourhelp.” That was a particularly gratifying moment …
my main hope is that students go back to their homecountries and make positive changes through theimplementation of GPS in their country.’
Another one of Attila’s initiatives involved adjusting
the GENAD course program to address the Services’
growing requirement for targeted Gender Focal Point(GFP) training. The GENAD course is now comprisedof two distinct phases: a three-day ‘GPS 101’
familiarisation module which is suitable for training
GFPs, followed by a five-day ‘specialist training’
module directed at GENADs. This approach has saved
POTC considerable resources and reduced the timecommitment for already-stretched GENAD Course
directing staff. This phased approach was successfully
piloted in December 2019.

In 2019, the POTC also launched a new GPS Seminar
Series, which attracted attendees from academia,
NGOs, civil society and government agencies. Attila’s
vision was to create a platform for robust discussion
and consideration of contemporary, current and relevant
GPS themes:‘When I arrived at POTC, I spoke to the Service
GENADs and Commander Macklin7 and said “There’sa chance to do something a bit different here … POTC
runs seminars on peace operations and humanitarian
operations … why don’t we run a seminar for GPS”?
The intention was to encourage deeper thinking about
GPS issues and to hear wider perspectives than wewould normally get in the ADF. It worked really well …
the results were so positive it looks like I’ve doctored
the evaluation forms.8’
While the ADF is already delivering a world-class,cutting-edge GPS training capability, Attila has anumber of ideas for taking GPS training and seminars
to ‘the next level.’ Irrespective of the direction that his
Army or civilian careers take, Attila intends to always
be a ‘card carrying member’ of the global GPS andGENAD community.

Since offering the course to international students, thedemand for GENAD training has increased exponentially,
with 105 students enrolled onto the two 2019 courses.
To accommodate these higher numbers, Attila is aiming
to panel three GFP/GENAD courses each year, while
also exploring options for a ‘mobile training product’
which could be delivered in different countries and easily
adapted to meet the training demand.

38

Winning the Peace

Endnotes1 Headquarters Joint Task Force 633’s mission is to support thesustainment of ADF operations, enable contingency planning andenhance regional relationships in the Middle East Region (MER).

2 CAPT (RAN) Porter was the Senior GENAD in Joint Operations
Command at this time.

3 The first Standing Orders were drafted by LTCOL Darlene Youngwhile in the HQJTF633 GENAD role.

4 ‘Five Eyes’ is an intelligence community comprising Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

5 Returned Services League, a well-known Australian Veteran’sorganisation.

6 Similar views were expressed by both WGCDR Jade Deveney and
LTCOL Deborah Warren-Smith, who are also profiled in this book.

7 Director - Gender, Peace and Security, formerly called Director National Action Plan for Gender, Peace and Security.

8 Author’s note: the seminar was excellent and Attila most certainly did
not doctor the evaluation forms!

Wing Commander Llani Kennealy
Making a Genuine Difference‘I’ve been working in the gender space for several
years now in a range of different roles at the strategicand operational levels, but the UN posting position isan amazing chance to apply my expertise at a global
level … I’m looking forward to doing work that makesa genuine difference to the lives of women and girls …
and New York City is not exactly a ‘hardship posting’2!’
A year later, Llani reflected on her 2019 words withsome irony. New York City did turn out to be somethingof a ‘hardship posting’ in many respects, with most of2020 spent in COVID-19-related lockdown and unable
to see her children, wider family and friends. Despite(and possibly enabled by) these challenges, Llani still
managed to deliver some extraordinary outcomes within
her first year:

Wing Commander (WGCDR) Llani Kennealy was
first interviewed for this book in late 2019. At thetime, she was simultaneously winding down froman intense deployment as the GENAD for Operation
Inherent Resolve in Iraq, while also coordinating aninternational posting to the United States. She spokeof her excitement about working with United Nations(UN) Women1 in New York City.

‘As the Strategic Military Advisor – Peacekeeping for
UN Women, I’m the only military person on staff at
UN Women. My experience brings a level of credibility
when working with UN and military entities to increase
women’s participation in peacekeeping ... one of
the challenges during lockdown was interacting with
the international community and key stakeholders
virtually, rather than having the opportunity to meetand forge those close personal connections that arereally important to the work that we do. However
the lockdown did enable a greater focus on strategy
and policy, which will be really beneficial to the UN’s
future work.’

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

One of Llani’s achievements has been to reshape thenarrative around women’s participation on peacekeeping operations:‘… most of the previous talking points about women’s
participation were focused on gender equality
outcomes and ‘it’s the right thing to do’, which doesn’tnecessarily resonate with most military audiences. So
I’ve been working really hard with my UN colleagues tofocus the narrative on improved operational capability
and outcomes, which definitely gets more buy-in frommilitary leaders.’
This buy-in is helpful in relation to other aspects of Llani’srole, including managing and sourcing funding for the
UN Female Military Officer’s Course and working on
security sector reform through her involvement on theInter-Agency Security Sector Taskforce. Llani uses her
military expertise to provide input into the developmentof policy and programs at the strategic and operational
level, while also serving as the UN Women Gender
Focal Point for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. While
travel opportunities have been curtailed, Llani has
been advocating for GPS outcomes through seniorlevel dialogues and several conference/panel speaking
engagements. Llani’s success has resulted in UN
Women seeking to retain her expertise for an additional
year. As a secondary role, she is also the Chair of the
Women’s Military Network in New York. In this role, she
has forged a pathway where she directly advocates tothe Military Police and Advisors Community of the39

Squadron Leader Michelle Oakden (right) talks with Wing Commander
Llani Kennealy during the Air Force Women Flying Breakfast.

40

Winning the PeacePermanent Missions in New York for greater participationof women as military peacekeepers.
Like many of her peers, Llani’s pathway into Gender,
Peace and Security was through roles which focusedon increasing women’s representation in nontraditional military occupations. Her marketing flair andadvocacy resulted in some excellent outcomes for Air
Force, including the highly successful ‘Women in Air

Force – Defying Gravity’ campaign and associatedactivities, which encouraged young women to consider
aviation careers.
‘Initially, my primary focus was women’s participation
within our own military, as opposed to looking throughthat global lens. This work enabled me to develop a
deeper conceptual appreciation of the ‘participation’aspects of GPS and achieving outcomes in the faceof resistance … both of which proved invaluable to my
GENAD work in Australia, Iraq and most recently at
the UN.’
Another one of Llani’s career highlights was her 2014
appointment as the Chief of Air Force’s (CAF) inaugural
Gender Advisor:‘ …As his Gender Advisor, I was briefing the Chief3 one
day about women’s participation statistics … and he
was very intent on getting more traction in the genderspace. He said “Llani, we need a gender perspective
on CAFAC4 so you’re now on that committee.” I was
the most junior member on that committee, but myinclusion was a strong demonstration of leadershipcommitment by the senior leaders in Air Force.’
This appointment led to Llani’s 2016 posting to the
newly established GPS GENAD position in Headquarters
Air Command. Her task was considerable - developinga strategy to operationalise GPS in Air Force. One ofher first achievements was delivering a Concept ofOperations (CONOPs) for the consideration of genderin air operations. Australia’s Air Force was the first in theworld to create doctrine of this nature.
‘We were building a new capability and we needed
clear doctrinal guidance around GPS and what thatmeant for Air Force. We had the strategic guidance
but needed to create something that was useful at theoperational and tactical levels.’

Wing Commander Llani Kennealy with Female Engagement Team trainees from the Jordanian Military and their mentors from the Canadian Forces to discuss lessons
learnt from their training and the overall capability development, Amman Jordan 2019.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Llani believes that Air Force’s rapid progress in GPS islargely attributable to the development of foundational
guidance, coupled with another of her initiatives,
targeted training through Air Force’s ‘GPS 101’
foundational learning module. While the course wasdesigned for an Air Force audience, the module became

41part of the pre-course training for the ADF Operational
Gender Advisor Course.
Llani’s 2018 role as Director National Action Plan
provided an opportunity to deliver more strategicallyfocused doctrinal guidance. The Joint Doctrine Note
‘Gender in Military Operations,’ which was publishedin 2018 remains Defence’s foundational guidance on
operationalising GPS. Another outcome in this role
was the publication of ‘Local Action, Global Impact,’ asynopsis of Defence’s many achievements in GPS.5
While Llani has experienced challenges and resistancewithin an Australian context, her deployment to Iraq was‘next level’ in terms of difficulty. The GENAD function
was an emerging capability within the OIR Headquarters
and levels of awareness regarding GPS were low:
‘Our primary mission was to ensure that a gender
perspective was applied to the planning and conductof all operations … we knew the best way to achieve
this was to establish Gender Focal Points in each
Headquarters function … but it was a struggle and
we encountered major resistance in parts of the
Headquarters. This completely changed when theCommander implemented gender briefs each weekwith his one and two-star level staff … he said, “pick a
day and make it happen” and I did! ’Llani used the weekly briefings to galvanise her
aspiration to have GFPs in key parts of the Headquarters
and ensure a gender perspective was routinely applied
to all aspects of the operation:

uncertain terms, “I want all of the red to be green by
1700hrs tomorrow … tell Llani who your Gender Focal
Points are”. Our GFP network was literally establishedwithin 24 hours … which was just awesome.’
Another deployment highlight was engaging withdifferent groups of women to better understand their
desired outcomes and then incorporating these insights
into operational planning:‘I had the opportunity in Syria to meet the Commander
and the YPJ6 and members of Syrian civil society …
it was fantastic learning from these amazing women
who were working to advance the status of womenin their community. The YPJ were also responsible forproviding security at the Al-Hol Internally Displaced
Persons camp … it was really helpful understanding
their challenges and then feeding that information backto the coalition’s planning staff.’
In a career of many achievements, Llani has enjoyedthose roles which enabled her to shape strategic
thinking and innovate in the area of gender equity. She
particularly relished representing Air Force on the Chiefof the Defence Force Gender Equality Advisory Board
and working with the then Minister for Defence, theHonourable Marise Payne, to further the GPS global
agenda in the Asia Pacific region. Another highlight
was accompanying the Australian Sex Discrimination
Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, on a listening tour of the
Middle East and Afghanistan.
These experiences have confirmed Llani’s strong viewthat the single greatest success factor for GPS and‘At my first coalition briefing, I had an infographic
which had green showing the established
Headquarters GFPs and red showing the many, many
gaps. The Commander saw all the red and said, in no42

Winning the Peace

broader cultural reform is strong and visible seniorleadership commitment.
‘Having visible leadership and direct access … that’s
one thing I’ve noticed throughout my years of working
in this space that makes a real difference to getting
things done. It’s so hard for gender initiatives to betruly transformative if the senior leadership is not reallyvisible and genuinely committed to making positivechange. I also feel that ADF leaders trust the expertisethey have in GPS … and so they give us the space
to get on with what needs to be done. I have a lot offaith in our leadership and can’t wait to see Defence’s
next phase of activity in the GPS space. The one thing
I know for sure is that I’ll always remain connected to
GPS and progressing gender in any role I may have inthe future.’Endnotes
1
2

3

Following Colonel Brad Orchard, also profiled in this book.
 A ‘hardship posting’ is a colloquial Australian military term for a
posting to a less than desirable location or where there may be
more challenging conditions/circumstances.
The then-Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies.

4 Chief of Air Force Advisory Committee, the most senior decisionmaking committee in the Air Force.

5 The Defence Report Local Action, Global Impact can be found
at: www.defence.gov.au/JCG/Women_Peace_Security/docs/
Implementation_GPS_Report.pdf

6 The Yekîneyên Parastina Jin (YPJ) are a Kurdish all-female fighting
force located in Northern Syria.

Commander Jacqueline Swinton
Paving the Way
Commander (CMDR) Jacqueline ‘Jacqui’ Swinton is a
Legal Officer in the Royal Australian Navy. She joined
the Navy in March 2007 as a Direct Entry Officer,
having completed her Bachelor of Law and Legal
Practice from Flinders University, South Australia
in 2005. Some of Jacqui’s career highlights include
operational deployments to Operations Slipper,
Resolute Support, Manitou and Fiji Assist and as theStaff Officer to the Chief of the Defence Force andSenior Legal Advisor to the Chief of the Navy.

Jacqui has also continued her studies acquiring a Masters
in Military Law from the Australian National University in2015 and a Masters in Defence Studies from the Royal
Military College of Canada in 2020. At the time of herinterview, Jacqui was the Chief of Staff to the Director
General Military Legal Services.
Jacqui’s first exposure to GPS was when she received
a short-notice deployment as the Legal Advisor to
the Commander for Operation Fiji Assist in 2016. She
had been studying UNSCR 1325 and subsequent
resolutions when she requested to be considered for
the GENAD role. Jacqui was officially tasked as the
GENAD (concurrently with her Legal Advisor duties) to the
Commander while sailing to the Fiji Islands and as such,
was able to provide gender perspectives to the planning
process in addition to the conduct of Fiji Assist1.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

The Fijian National Disaster Management Office
coordinated the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster
Relief (HADR) response, supported by Fiji’s own policeand military resources. Jacqui deployed onboard HMAS
Canberra with her Amphibious Task Group colleagues:‘It was a very short notice deployment … and the firsttime the ADF had deployed a GENAD or GFP on thistype of HADR operation. There was no duty statement
or clear guidance regarding what my role was and I
hadn’t completed any formal GENAD training … so I
researched as much as possible, familiarised myself
with the United Nations Security Resolutions andreached out to the GENAD network for guidance … I
had so many plans and ideas. However with the limited
time, I was confronted with reality in that I couldn’t
achieve everything I hoped to.’With minimal guidance, Jacqui had to make her own
decisions regarding how to best contribute to operational
outcomes. In terms of command and control, because
Jacqui was the GENAD to the Commander of the
Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF)2, she had directaccess to the planning and conduct aspects of theoperation onboard HMAS Canberra. There were also two
GFPs, Major Rachel Ayoub and Major Jo Richards, whowere deployed onshore. She was pleasantly surprised by
the level of support she received from Headquarters Joint
Operations Command (HQJOC) and JTF personnel:

43

Chief of Staff Commander Gerry Savvakis RAN (left), and Legal Officer Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Swinton, RAN, of Fleet Battle Staff, work in the
Maritime Component Command of the 1st Division Deployable Joint Force Headquarters at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area as Australian and US Navy
warships participate in high-end maritime operations off the eastern Australian coast during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2017.

44

Winning the Peace‘CJOPS [Chief Joint Operations] was very
interested in operationalising a gender perspective
and … I was given full attention and requests forassistance in transport, logistics and community
engagement were prioritised. The CONOPS[Concept of Operations] from CJOPS stated upfront
that GPS was an important line of operation that
he wanted to see operationalised. It was then up to
me to put things into practice … and work out how
to make the principles come alive on the operation.
CJTF was very supportive, forward leaning andinterested in results and the JOC GENADs werealso supportive.’
In addition to providing a gender perspective tooperational planning, Jacqui also conducted a rangeof tasks in support of the mission. She undertook local
assessments, which entailed asking questions of local
councils regarding the apportioning of financial andnon-financial assistance. She also applied a gender
perspective to logistical considerations to ensure thatwomen’s needs were adequately met through theprovision of stores and supplies.
Jacqui also worked with other actors to distributeliterature about preparing for natural disasters,
which may help mitigate damage to communities in
the future:‘One of the tasks I was involved with was delivering
important information to local women in remote areas
who may benefit in the future. One example was the
FemLINK Pacific pamphlets on, ‘Weather watch how to prepare your home for natural disasters.’ This
information reached a lot of villages that would notusually have access to information of this nature …
through education these communities will hopefully bebetter prepared for any future disasters.’(L-R) Joint Fires and Effects Coordination Centre members, Legal Officer Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Swinton, RAN, of Fleet Battle Staff, Gender andPolicy Advisor, Lisa Brown, of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Legal Officer Lieutenant Grace Blanks, NZDF, of Defence Legal Services, Rebecca
O’Brien-Devine, of the Australian Department of Defence Graduate Program and Public Affairs Officer Major Gabrielle Parker, of the 5th Brigade, exchange views oninternational laws and dynamic targeting at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
1

A large part of Jacqui’s role involved various formsof community engagement with Fijian women, tribal
leaders, NGOs and UN agencies3 and female colleagues
from the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF). Fostering
positive relationships with key stakeholders and different
Fijian community groups was one of the most positive
outcomes from Jacqui’s deployment:‘Liaising with and helping local women and children
in the community was absolutely the highlight of my
deployment. They were so proud and thankful tohear what we did in the military and how we were

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

helping them. They appeared to be in good spirits
and were so resilient, even though some people had
literally lost everything. I think they felt really gratefulfor the opportunity to speak with us about how thecyclone had impacted their families and communities
and appreciated we were trying to gain a better
understanding of their needs and priorities so we
could factor those into the recovery and relief effort.’
Although the community engagements were themost rewarding aspects of Jacqui’s role, arranging
the visits proved to be one of her greatest challenges.

45

From a logistical perspective, as she was stationed
onboard HMAS Canberra, Jacqui found it difficult toliaise with Head of Mission staff and UN and NGOs tomake the arrangements:‘Fortunately, I had access to the other two GENADs
ashore who assisted with visit coordination, attended
Cluster Meetings4 and had situational awarenessabout a more holistic approach to gender perspectives
in the clean-up.’

Jacqui feels enormously proud of her work in Fiji andhas since undertaken additional operational GENAD
roles. She has remained engaged in GPS throughassisting with the delivery of GENAD training andconducting presentations on operationalising GPS at
military conferences and seminars in Japan, Hawaii
and Fiji and to the ADF GENAD course. Jacqui also
provides advice and support to others deploying on
GFP and GENAD roles:‘My biggest piece of advice is to engage early withother actors who have been ‘on the ground’ formuch longer than you have as they will have a muchbetter understanding of the culture, informal power
structures and cultural considerations in different
communities. You have to be really innovative, open
and flexible. It’s not about solving the problems
yourself, it’s about empowering the local women or
NGO or UN agencies who will be there, doing thehard work, long after you leave.’

One of the key lessons from Jacqui’s deployment
experience was the need to be considerate of different
cultural norms and nuances, even when those norms
can challenge your own ideologies:‘I found the cultural traditions to be challenging
at times. One example was when we arranged acommunity engagement to deliver goods to womenin a particular village and we had to go through theVillage Chief and a group of men who sat in the circle… the women had to remain quiet and wait for the
blessings and thank yous before being allowed toparticipate in the engagement and receive the goods.
I had to be respectful of the culture … it wasn’t myplace to step in and bring the women into the fold.
Being culturally respectful in a situation such as that
achieves bigger gains in the long term.’
The goodwill created through the operation has had
an enduring impact on relations between Australia andFiji and improved coordination between the various
stakeholders engaged in GPS in the South Pacificregion. Fiji has played an increasingly influential role in
implementing GPS and shown great leadership in thisarea. A number of RFMF personnel have now completed
the ADF Operational GENAD course, which has alsoenhanced relationships between our two countries.

46

Royal Australian Navy officer Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Swinton with
Joint Task Force 635 speaks to a Fijian woman on Koro Island, Fiji during
Operation Fiji Assist.

Endnotes
1

2 OP Fiji Assist was the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) responseto the Fijian Government’s request for assistance after Tropical
Cyclone Winston on 20 February 2016, which devastated thecountry and resulted in the death of forty people.
Captain (RAN) Brett Sonter (now Commodore).

3 Specifically, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF), Action Aid and FemLinkPacific.

4 Clusters are groups of humanitarian organisations in each of themain sectors of humanitarian action, for example, water, healthand logistics, (UNICEF), Action Aid and FemLinkPacific.

Winning the Peace

Royal Australian Navy officer Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Swinton delivers
female dignity packages to women in Vuna Village on Taveuni Island, Fiji.The visit
to Vuna was part of International Women’s Day 2016 activities.

Lieutenant Colonel Luke Hughes
Building Gender, Peace and Security Capability in the Army
For Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL) Luke Hughes, 2020
marked a 40-year association with the Australian
Army, having joined the Army Reserves in 1980 as an
Infantry Officer. He served as a Platoon Commander
during the 1990s, before taking a hiatus from the
Army until the mid-2000s. He has since reinvigorated
his Army career, deploying to East Timor in 2010 and2011 as a ‘J5’1 planner. At the time of our interview,
Luke was engaged on a full-time basis as the Staff
Officer 1 - Information Warfare in Headquarters
1st Division’s (HQ 1Div) Deployable Joint Force
Headquarters.

Exercise Talisman Sabre 20172 (TS17) was Luke’s first
exposure to GPS and he perceived a general lack ofunderstanding regarding the GENAD role and how GPS
should be considered within the exercise scenario.
‘We had very good briefs on GPS prior to the exercise
and we had a GENAD on the ground, but I still think
there was a lack of understanding about how to
actually integrate it.’To further develop his own understanding of GPS, postTS17 and while working as the J93 in HQ 1 Div role,
Luke completed the ADF Operational GENAD course.
Since completing the training, Luke has been a genuine
advocate for GPS, primarily due to having a very clear
appreciation of the operational benefits:

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations‘When we go into countries and communities, weachieve those strategic types of effects from what we
do tactically. Not all societies are patriarchal, some arematriarchal and matrilineal ... within the human terrain
and information environment, we need to understandthose nuances. If we deny ourselves access to senior
women leaders, we could very well find ourselves
not succeeding operationally. Operation Fiji Assist
is an excellent example of this … it wasn’t until they
engaged women leaders that they realised they weredirecting resources to the wrong places to achieve therequired outcomes.’
Since completing GENAD training, Luke has applieda gender perspective to different aspects of his work
at HQ 1 Div, but it wasn’t until Talisman Sabre 2019
(TS19) that he found an opportunity to apply GPS in ahigh-end war-fighting scenario. He made every effort tomainstream GPS throughout the planning stage of the
Exercise, especially in relation to developing a robust
process for reporting Conflict-Related Sexual and
Gender-Based Violence:‘We didn’t have an appointed Gender Advisor … but
I endeavoured, to every extent possible, to work with
Headquarters JOC4 to make sure we had a consistentreporting mechanism if we encountered things
like gender-related violence, so we could feed that
information up the chain. I was pretty keen to achieve
consistent reporting from the ground up.’47

Operational Gender Advisors Lieutenant Colonels Luke Hughes and Robyn Fellowes during preparation for EX VITAL PROSPECT 2020.

48

Winning the Peace

The TS19 Exercise scenario included a numberof planned GPS events (or injects) whichwere designed to test the Force’s response
to different gender-related issues. Luke was
required to respond to the serials from two
different perspectives: as the SO1 (Staff Officer)– Non-Lethal Effects and as a GFP within thatfunction. There were also a number of different
stakeholders and actors with a vested interest
in GPS, including both military and Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) personnel
operating as GENADs. Around the mid-point of
the Exercise, Luke decided to implement a morestructured approach to considering GPS:‘We ended up establishing a GPS working
group conducted at 1900 hrs each evening.
We had the GFPs, DFAT5 staff, the Padre,sometimes the Provost Marshal and otherinterested parties. The working group format
enabled us to cover-off on what was occurring
within the tactical scenario … if anything
seemed related to the national interest,
Eleanor6 would provide us with the strategic
wrap-around, which was extremely beneficial… Eleanor was just excellent in helping us
out there.’
The GPS working group construct proved highly
beneficial to coordinating an appropriate andconsidered response from a tactical, operationaland national-strategic perspective. This wasa positive outcome from TS19 that may havebroader application on a national and possiblyinternational scale:Executive Officer of Battle Group Cannan, Australian Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Luke Hughesfrom Headquarters 11 Brigade, applies camouflage cream as he prepares to attend a brief in thecommand post during Exercise Hamel 2014 at Townsville Field Training Area.1‘The model worked really well on Talisman
Sabre … I see a real opportunity for Defence

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

to bring together key stakeholders fromInternational Policy Division, DFAT, the Services,
Joint Capability and JOC to develop a moreconsistent and coordinated national approachto GPS in the different countries Australia
works with … based on different country’s
needs, cultural sensitivities and priorities for
GPS … we would make some significant gains,but it’s something that needs to be done froma team approach.’
Another valuable outcome from TS19 was
identifying the need to improve the Force’s
response to sexual and gender-based violence.
HQ 1 Div had developed a reporting tool andprocess for this purpose during TS17 which wasrefined and tested for TS19:‘We used the reporting tool from TS17
and it was okay, but not perfect. We stillneed to develop simpler and more effective
mechanisms for reports of sexual and genderbased violence … this is so important on
the ground. We need to develop reporting
processes for national, operational and tacticalreporting and response coordination from aninteragency perspective.’
Luke is currently working with JOC and other key
stakeholders to ensure the GPS outcomes from
TS19 are addressed in a coordinated way and isparticularly enthusiastic about the national GPS
working group concept.
‘Having dedicated GENADs as planners is vital,
that’s their role as a specialty and having GPS
recognised as an information-related capability
is part of that … the progressive integration

49

While Luke would consider deploying as a GENAD
in the future, he sees greater benefit in his continued
work to integrate GPS in his current role. Planningfor international engagements and ensuring there aresufficient numbers of trained GENADs for operations
and exercises are on his ‘to do’ list.
‘Command is responsible for Army International
Engagement in South East Asia … I’m currently
working on a study of a couple of different South
East Asian nations at the moment and I’m looking
at them through the gender lens as well … throughthe coordination and integration of GPS into major
exercises and ensuring we don’t just meet ourrequirements but advance what we’re doing … I think
I can contribute a lot to GPS in my current role.’

Army Gender Advisor, Lieutenant Colonel Luke Hughes, photographed while the serving as the Commanding Officer of 9th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment.
1of GPS into training and briefings and more practicalexamples would also help to build an understanding of
the capability.’
Overall, Luke has observed some positive changes
in relation to the acceptance of GPS and reduced
resistance by Army personnel. He attributes this toimproved awareness and a growing understanding of theoperational benefits:

50‘In October last year [2019], I attended a review of theinformation operations doctrine … I found it interestingthat it had already been suggested that GPS be
included as an information related capability ... to me,
that’s a significant step and I got quite excited about
that. There were no ‘naysayers’ at the table at all …
people were really on board and understood that for
GPS to be operationalised, it has to be part of how we
do our engagements, how we do our planning, how
we do our targeting and so on.’Winning the Peace

Endnotes1 J5 is the staff function responsible for strategies, plans andpolicy within a Joint Headquarters.

2 Talisman Sabre is a biennial series of combined Australian andUnited States training exercises focused on the planning andconduct of ‘high end’ warfighting.

3

Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC).

4

Joint Operations Command.

5

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

6 Eleanor Flowers, a DFAT Gender Advisor for TS19, is also
profiled in this book.

Wing Commander Jade Deveney
The Effectiveness of Mainstreaming
Wing Commander (WGCDR) Jade Deveney’s
interview was conducted in late 2020, from her‘mandatory quarantine’ hotel room in Sydney. She
was enjoying some ‘down time’ after an incredibly
busy, but highly successful GENAD deployment on
Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), the international
military intervention against the Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria (ISIL, in the vernacular, Daesh).
Jade’s extensive gender advising experience atthe strategic, operational and tactical levels of
operations, coupled with the timing of her arrival in
Iraq resulted in some excellent mission outcomes.

‘I arrived at a really fortunate time, as they were
rewriting both the Campaign Plan and Operations
Order for the next phase of OIR. I was tasked withanalysing and developing, at the strategic andoperational level, the key gender considerations forachieving sustainable regional stability in Iraq and Syria
and ensuring those considerations were embedded
throughout those documents… not just in a separate
Annex that only the Gender Advisor will read. So
for example, the Gender Analysis was included in
the Intelligence Annex and so on … it was really
embedded throughout those documents.’
Jade encountered some complex gendered issues
while working in Iraq, including Daesh using women in

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

their operations and managing the risks associated withradicalised Daesh women living in Internally Displaced
Persons (IDP) camps. Jade’s ability to situate theseissues within the content of the overarching Campaign
Plan and gain authentic leadership commitment toaddressing gendered matters is a testament to her
passion and expertise.
Prior to deploying, Jade was the Air Force’s Senior
GENAD, which was a natural career progression after
years of working to progress gender, diversity andinclusion outcomes at the strategic level of Air Force.
Air Force has made some tremendous progress towards
operationalising GPS over the past few years, much ofwhich can be directly attributed to Jade.
When asked to reflect on her key GPS achievementsfrom her three-and-a-half years in the GENAD role,
Jade is quick to emphasise that Air Force’s successis predicated on a range of factors, including efforts
by a number of different personnel. This refreshingemphasis on ‘teamwork’ and acknowledgement ofothers is arguably one of the reasons for Air Force’s(and Jade’s) success:‘These are not ‘my’ achievements, they are Air Force’s
achievements and I’ve had a lot of really good people
in my corner ... it took a genuine team effort to deliver
such outstanding outcomes. Air Force’s dynamic culture,agility and flexibility enables us to make things happen
really quickly, sometimes just by picking up the phone.’51

The unusual positioning and scope of Jade’s role is an
example of this agility. Jade works to progress GPS
at the strategic, operational and tactical levels of Air
Force, but her position is structurally located within Air
Force’s Air Command Headquarters. The Air Command
positioning has afforded Jade with improved access andreach into the operational arm of Air Force:‘Having a dedicated GPS position in Air Commandhas accelerated our progress and demonstrates
leadership’s commitment to GPS. We haven’t stuck to
a one-size-fits-all model … we’ve implemented GPS ina way that is effective for us.’Jade notes that Air Force had a systematic, planned
approach to GPS from the outset, which was focusedon three primary building blocks including developing adoctrinal framework, upskilling Air Force personnel andtesting the capability in multiple operational contexts.
Establishing foundational doctrine, ‘Gender in Air
Operations,’ was seen as an important enabler for
subsequent activities. The doctrine was based on earlier
conceptual work undertaken by Group Captain Stuart
Dowrie, who was involved in the early stages as thecapability was developing:‘We were the first military in the world to develop
operational doctrine of this nature, unpacking thequestion, ‘What does GPS mean to Air Power?’ We1
provided technical GPS content and worked together
with the operators, as the subject matter experts,
to draft the content relevant to their areas … it wasa collaborative approach. It speaks to our culturethat it was drafted, approved and published within asix-month period.’
In accordance with Air Force’s plan, the next phase ofactivity was upskilling personnel, which was achieved by

52

Royal Australian Air Force Wing Commander Jade Deveney, Gender Advisor (centre), discusses the gender considerations regarding civilian populations in an
operational area, with Security Force personnel at the Batchelor Entry Control Point.
1

embedding GPS into the Professional Military Education
and Training (PMET) continuum:‘Our plan is that Air Force members joining today willdevelop an increasingly sophisticated understandingof GPS as they progress to different roles and ranks
throughout their career.’

Winning the Peace

Jade notes that rather than situate GPS as ‘stand-alone’lessons, gender concepts and considerations havebeen integrated into the operational-focused Air Power
training modules. For example, an Air Power assessment
on humanitarian assistance might include various genderconsiderations as part of the assessment scenario.

In addition to mainstreaming GPS into the PMET
continuum, Jade has also worked to develop acontext-specific appreciation of GPS through theinitial employment training pipeline for different
occupational groups:‘We’ve asked, ‘What does GPS mean if you’re alogistics officer?’ and ‘What does GPS mean if you’rea loadmaster?’ and we’ve built the answers to those
key questions into the core initial employment training
for the different occupational groups. We’ve also
built GPS into other operational training like the air
operations planning course, air operations targetingcourse, and the senior air component leadershipcourse for fighter pilots, where they consider GPS in
relation to joint efforts.’
A similar opportunity arose through the 2018 Integrated
Sea and Land Series, which Jade considers to be a‘defining moment’ for mainstreaming the GPS capability
in Air Operations.
‘On day one of the Exercise, the Air Operations
Commander called and said, “I need you out here
to be my GENAD.” We used this opportunity tostart unpacking what GPS meant for Air Force inthis context. I was sitting in targeting groups asking
things like, “What is this infrastructure used for?” and“How do men use it?” and “How do women use it?”and “Do men and women have different patternsof movement?” ... just asking those key questions
really helped improve the planners’ and operators’
understanding of why GPS was important and how itmattered to us.’This opportunity enabled Jade to build Air Operations
Centre staff awareness of and knowledge about theapplication of GPS, in addition to contributing a gender
perspective to campaign planning and execution.
Jade also provided the operations staff with additional
considerations when evaluating targets, to improveoutcomes for populations impacted by military actions.
As Air Force’s GENAD for Exercise Pitch Black 2018,
once again, Jade ensured GPS was mainstreamed
throughout the exercise and factored into there-stabilisation operations. This was achieved byconducting a gender analysis for consideration byplanning staff before the exercise, creating frameworks
to meet any mandatory reporting requirements andproviding input to the Commander’s Critical Information
Requirements. Jade also ensured womens’ perspectives
were captured through all community engagement
activities, including key leader engagements.
In terms of other GPS mainstreaming activities, Jadehas focused on increasing the number of GENADtrained personnel across Air Force, particularly staff
in key planning or operational positions. From Jade’s
perspective, the major advantage of having large
numbers of planners and operators trained in GPS is theability to send a GFP forward as part of the response
team in situations where there may be minimal scope todeploy a dedicated GENAD.
‘The beauty of having operators trained on GPS isthat I’ve always got someone in country and on the
ground. They may be deploying as an air planneror operations officer, but they can then be looking
through that gender lens and factoring GPS intoplanning. Air Force’s response to Tropical Cyclone Gita
is an excellent example of this in action. The approach
worked really well for us.’Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Jade has employed the same ‘mainstreaming’ strategy
when considering at how Air Force can integrate GPS
into their exercises. Wanting to avoid the tokenistic ‘tick
the box’ approach, Jade has participated on numerous
exercises over the past few years and has maintained an
approach of incorporating GPS into existing serials andinjects, rather than creating serials as ‘add-ons’ to an
existing scenario. This was certainly the case on Exercise
Cope North 20192:‘We were exercising our evacuation handlingprocesses and one of the planners asked me, “WhatGPS serials do you want to inject,” and my response
was, “How about you show me the existing serials andI’ll build gender considerations into those.”– We ended
up turning an existing serial involving finding someone
with a large sum of money into a human trafficking
serial. It was that easy.’

Wing Commander Deveney deployed on Exercise Pitch Black 2018 training
ADF members to apply gender considerations when conducting community
engagement activities.

53

Air Force has assessed the two-year exercise planning
cycle to evaluate where GPS is most effective. As aresult, the focus is now on four main exercises, eachwith a specific purpose or intended outcome. At thetime of our interview, planned exercises included Cope
North; Pitch Black3; Joint Warfighting Series4; and PacificAngel5. While Pitch Black seems an unusual choice,given the lack of scenario and domestic focus, it was
selected for other reasons:empowerment in schools. Jade also led a training
team advising His Majesty’s Armed Forces in Tonga on
developing Strategic Human Resource Management
capability with a focus on increasing women’s
participation and roles within their military.

‘We chose Pitch Black primarily because it’s theChief of Air Force’s premier international engagement
activity ... and it’s an opportunity to situate Australia
as a regional leader in GPS. This is where the work of
GENADs directly links up to the National Action Planand Australia’s national strategic objectives.’
After such an accelerated start, Jade views the next few
years as an opportunity to consolidate and refine. While
Jade will post into a new role after her OIR deployment,
she intends remaining closely connected to GPS throughvarious endeavors and aspires to return to a full-time
GPS role in future.
With her extensive experience, Jade also supported
international engagement activities to build GPS
capabilities with Australia’s regional partners,
participating in numerous government level
engagements advising international organisations on
best practice models of implementation and facilitatedtraining on GPS for international militaries, includingIndonesia, Vietnam and Laos. Consistent with thestrategy of mainstreaming, Jade worked with medical
staff and construction engineers during Exercise PacificAngel to understand how gender considerations
applied to their humanitarian work with a focus on
clearing debris from school and child play areas,
safety and lighting for infant and child clinics and girls

54

Wing Commander Jade Deveney deployed to Tonga to support His Majesty’s
Armed Forces to increase the number and roles of women in their military.

Wing Commander Jade Deveney deployed to facilitate a GPS training
workshop for the Vietnamese and Laos militaries.

Endnotes

Wing Commander Jade Deveney deployed to Indonesia as the Gender Advisor
for Exercise Pacific Angel supporting Government level discussions of GPS
and supporting ADF and USAF medical and engineering teams in integrating
gender considerations to their community projects.

Winning the Peace

1 Jade is referring to herself and Wing Commander Llani
Kennealy, also profiled in this book.

2 Exercise Cope North is an Air Force humanitarian and disaster
response training exercise located in Guam.

3 Exercise Pitch Black is a biennial three-week multi-nationallarge force employment exercise conducted from RAAF Base
Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal.

4 Joint Warfighting Series is a tri-service exercise of maritime,land and air elements.

5 Pacific Angel is a US-led international exercise with regional
partner nations deploying medical and engineering teams toassist local communities overseas.

Ms Eleanor Flowers
A Whole of Government Approach
Eleanor Flowers joined Australia’s Public Service
in 1993 and has spent most of her career in policy
and advisory roles within the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). From late 2016 to
mid-2019, Eleanor was DFAT’s senior policy leadand subject matter expert for GPS, which required
working closely with different departments andagencies to actualise the first and help develop thesecond Australian National Action Plan for Women,
Peace and Security. Given the focus of Eleanor’s
previous DFAT roles, her move into GPS felt like anatural career segue.

‘What I love about working in DFAT is the variety, theinteraction with the world and the ability to createchange for the better. I had previously worked in
the trade division on policies to encourage bestpractices within the corporate sector. Better practices
such as maintaining a human rights focus andsustainability reporting result in better relationships
with local communities and improved long-termcompetitiveness. Gender equality was a big part ofthat. I’m passionate about using government policy,
our diplomatic networks and the aid program to leverchange. Whether it is establishing new corporate
best practices in supply chains or the security
operations at mine sites, if we work collaboratively

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

across government, the corporate sector and withcivil society, we can achieve way more than acting
solo. Moving into DFAT’s gender team was a great
opportunity to focus on a topic with high potential toeffect change - and one where there is still so much to
be done. In the beginning, I was working on a range of
gender issues, but GPS was just so big it became myentire job.’
While the GPS global agenda sits within the Gender
Branch of DFAT’s Multilateral Policy Division, Eleanor
notes that DFAT has multiple points of engagement withDefence on GPS. One of these is DFAT’s Humanitarian
Division, which manages the civil-military relationshipfor a range of issues, all of which incorporate gender
as a fundamental value. DFAT also has secondees at
Defence’s Joint Operational Command (JOC) and theAustralian Civil-Military Centre (ACMC):‘We have strong structural relationships for GPS
and excellent collaboration between DFAT and
Defence. The NAP lays out the whole-of-government
approach to GPS … but it’s those close working
relationships that support the operability of that
document going forward.’
Having been an integral member of Australia’s strategic
GPS community for the past three years, Eleanor iswell-placed to make these observations. She says ahighlight has been her involvement in the different stagesof NAP coordination, implementation and reporting and55

she has thoroughly enjoyed working closely with thesecurity sector, other departments and civil society to
implement the Plan whilst also building the next iteration.
She attributes Australia’s success in GPS to excellent
collaboration and the Government’s robust mechanisms
for coordination and synchronisation:‘When we were developing the NAP, we had asubcommittee comprising Defence, the AustralianFederal Police, the relevant government departments
and Civil Society Organisations. We usually met
monthly and it was incredibly valuable having thatgroup of people together and hearing the different
perspectives. One of the things Australia is known
for internationally is our strong relationship with civilsociety. We work very closely with civil society on a
day-to-day basis and that gives us a much broader,‘hands on’ perspective and helps us to ‘keep it
real.’ They always push us to do more, which is agood thing.’
DFAT have delivered some impressive GPS outcomesin the past few years1, particularly under the auspices of
DFAT’s Aid Program, including support for UN Women’s‘Women, Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF)’:‘The [WPHF] fund was set up with initial support
from Australia. Australia is the third largest
government contributor. The fund works with local
grassroots organisations to empower women in theircommunities. It is already operating in the Pacific …
it’s open to a range of countries in our area2.’
An important initiative which Eleanor led was theestablishment of a Donor Coordination Group amongst
donors and prospective donors to the WPHF, which has
proven extremely successful:56‘It was quite innovative for a government to do thatand it’s allowed us to work much more closely withother donors and promote the fund to other aid
agencies with significant success. This work has been
in close partnership with UN Women, who run thefund and it’s resulted in very practical outcomes for
women in the Asia Pacific region.’
By way of example, Eleanor cites disaster preparedness
efforts in the Pacific and ensuring women wereactively engaged in all stages of the preparedness
planning processes:‘So, where the military would come in withassistance after a disaster, we worked to improve
the organisational infrastructure and planning that’sin place with local authorities. This achieves better
outcomes for those communities and makes it easierfor us to assist when needed. This ensures wedevelop and harness women’s networks in crises andensure their needs are met.’
Just prior to her 2019 move to a Senior Analyst role with
DFAT’s Global Watch Office, Eleanor had the opportunity
to deploy as a civilian GENAD on Talisman Sabre 2019,
which was another memorable experience from her timein GPS:

Ms Eleanor Flowers, DFAT Gender Violence and Security Branch, speaks at
the seminar for Women in Pacific Defence Forces, hosted by International
Policy Division. Held in Canberra, the seminar aims to enhance and sustain
female contribution to peace and security.

‘Talisman Sabre was definitely another big career
highlight … it was fabulous being able to apply thetheoretical knowledge from my previous three years
within a practical setting and see how the military
applies GPS … I have to say that I was incredibly
impressed by what I found.’she believes worked extremely well within the Talisman
Sabre scenario:

One of Eleanor’s main observations for TS19 was a clear
shift away from having multiple military GENAD positions,
towards more of a ‘mainstreamed’ approach, which‘While the military didn’t have specific Gender
Advisors, a lot of people had GENAD training andthey applied a gender perspective throughout theWinning the Peace1Ms Eleanor Flowers worked as a GENAD at Talisman Sabrein Queensland in August 2019. The soldier is unknown.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

57

operation. The goal was to mainstream genderconsiderations through everything … so gender
becomes everyone’s job, not just the role of the
Gender Advisor, which seemed to work really well.’Another aspect that appeared to work well on TS19 was
the formal coordination process instigated by Lieutenant
Colonel Luke Hughes3:‘The coordination meeting was brilliant. When there
wasn’t a specific military Gender Advisor and when
you’re trying to mainstream everything, it is really
important to have a mechanism for coordination. We
would go through the gender issues of the day …
and discuss considerations for both the immediateand longer term. We were able to get on the same
page, nothing got ‘dropped’ and I was able to provide
advice on those issues from a DFAT perspective.
We each had different resources at our disposal andproper coordination enabled us to capitalise on those.’
Eleanor was particularly impressed by the responses
to the different gender-related injects incorporated
throughout the Exercise, many of which required
cooperation between multiple stakeholders. Examples
include receiving intelligence reports of terrorist cells
offering sexual slaves as recruitment incentives and large
numbers of unaccompanied children in IDP (InternallyDisplaced Persons) camps, in areas with high levels ofhuman trafficking.
‘We needed to ensure women and children were
protected from being trafficked. This isn’t justimportant for their own safety, but is also vital tosocietal recovery and removes a revenue stream
for terrorists … it was quite realistic because weknow this is already happening in the real world. In
planning an immediate response, we were always

58

looking at the longer-term stability of that community.
We also needed to engage the different networks
at our disposal: our existing aid programs, broader
civil society and religious networks to manage thecare of orphans and other vulnerable people in the
IDP camps.’
For Eleanor, the main ‘lesson learnt’ for all participants
working on GPS on TS19, was the efficacy andefficiency of employing a ‘whole-of-government’approach, especially when managing complex orpolitically sensitive issues:

could take that military action, but that’s potentiallymore destabilising in the long term, which means
you’re going to end up coming back here.” We arealways looking at the longer-term outcomes and thosesecond order and third order effects.’
Talisman Sabre was an excellent way to conclude
Eleanor’s time in GPS after making the difficult decision
to change roles in late 2019:‘Australia really punches above its weightinternationally … we are one of the leading global
nations on GPS and there is so much to feel proudof - including our military forces. We have greatstats on women’s representation, the deployment ofGender Advisors overseas and of course, the recently
established Gender Advisor course. Our governmentis leading by example and putting funds where they’reneeded. While the GPS role was the most exciting andrewarding job I’ve ever done, it felt like the right time
to step aside and enable others to learn how dynamic
and influential it can be to work in that space. We
really are making an enormous positive difference inthe world through our work on gender.’‘There are more tools in our toolbox from a wholeof-government perspective than just those at the
military’s fingertips and that’s an amazing learning
outcome. We have a huge amount of local resources
at our disposal, including connections to the private
sector, NGOs delivering our longer-term aid program
and the humanitarian networks involved in theimmediate relief effort. We also have the ability to get
aid funding and support where it is most needed …
which takes some of the pressure off the military andfrees up their resources for other things. I think military
people were pleasantly surprised by what you canaccess, if you take a whole-of-government approach.’
The criticality of incorporating Australia’s strategic
national considerations when planning an immediate
military response was another extremely valuable
outcome from TS19:‘The Commander said he’d really valued DFAT’s input
and what we bring on the diplomatic front. We arein it for the longer term and where the horizon on an
operation like Talisman Sabre might be “day minus ten
and day plus seven”, our [DFAT’s] horizon is decades
in either direction. So, we’re thinking, “Well, yes, you

Winning the Peace

Endnotes Many of these are detailed in the Australian Government’s annual
progress reports for Australian NAP on GPS 2012 – 2018. The
2018 version can be found at www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/
publications/2018-progress-report-women-peace-security.pdf

1 More of DFAT’s ground-breaking work to support gender equality canbe found at https://www.dfat.gov.au/international-relations/themes/
gender-equality

2 The profile of Lieutenant Colonel Luke Hughes provides additional
information about the coordination group structure and outcomes.

3

Lieutenant Commander Alison Zilko
A Nexus with Nursing
Since joining the Navy, Alison has been involved in awide range of operations and exercises in her capacity
as a Navy Nursing Officer. Most of her work has been
focused within the Asia-Pacific regions, including theSolomon Islands, a range of Micronesian countries, Fiji,
Vietnam, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Christmas
Island. Engaging with the women in these areas, initiallyfrom a clinical perspective, is how Alison initially became
interested in GPS:

Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Alison Zilko has had
a strong interest in GPS for the past twelve years,
which is the entirety of her service in the ADF. In
her civilian employment, Alison is a highly qualified
and experienced senior emergency nurse, hospitalmanager and midwife. She decided to join the Navy
Reserves after the Banda Aceh Tsunami, primarily
to assist the ADF with Humanitarian Assistance andDisaster Relief (HADR) operations.

‘I’ve been fortunate to deploy three times on PacificPartnership in 2013, 2015 and 2017. In 2013, I
deployed with a group of ADF personnel into the
Papua New Guinea Highlands to speak to women
who were very keen to engage with us. We discussed
key issues facing their communities, including
domestic violence and the health and educational
factors impacting their families and communities.
Because, essentially, the women were talking aboutkeeping their communities peaceful, safe and secure,this was when I first considered becoming involvedin GPS.’
Alison observes that the ‘participation’ aspect of GPS
is now a formal component of all Pacific Partnershipexercises, particularly in creating safe spaces for womenfrom dispersed tribal communities to come together todiscuss and address ongoing security issues and otherchallenges. Alison experienced this firsthand during
Pacific Partnership 2015, when she joined a group of
ADF and US GENADs to speak with women in the AsiaPacific community:

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations‘Women in some communities can be extremely
isolated and downtrodden. Some are considered
third-rate citizens, to the point where they can be
traded for livestock or sold. Bringing these women
together to offer mutual support and a safe place toshare their experiences was an amazing way to startbuilding networks and for women to understand thatthey are not the only ones in their situation. Although
they may only see us for a few days, it’s about
education and empowerment. Gender Advisors help
start the conversation which creates momentum andinspires women to take further action.’
Alison says her involvement in GPS activities in a variety ofdifferent countries highlights the criticality of inculcating agender perspective into every military operation:‘GPS is a vehicle for developing abetter understanding within an Area of Operations anda mechanism for helping restore peace and security
in communities ravaged by war or disaster. It’s vital
we understand the communities we are working in.
Without a gender perspective, certain considerations
can be completely overlooked. At the end of the day,it’s the local people, particularly the women, who willrebuild the community after the battle or humanitariandisaster event. If we don’t engage them, we will not beable to achieve the long term objectives... no matter
how many guns or ships we have.’
As one of the few ADF Nurses who has undertaken the
GENAD role, Alison offers a considered perspective on

59

While Alison has been ‘unofficially’ engaged in thework of GPS and gender for many years, in 2017,
she undertook the ADF Operational Gender Advisor
Course, to learn more about GPS and gain formal
accreditation in the role. Alison’s experiences were
overwhelmingly positive:‘This course is the ‘gold standard’ for Gender
Advisor training... before the course I had a basic
understanding of GPS, but the course provided
access to people from government, otherorganisations, NGOs, international speakers andpanels and included participation in a range of
exercises. It was just amazing and I couldn’t soak up
enough of the knowledge shared in the room. I was
also inspired by the strong leadership from the senior
Gender Advisors in the room and their lectures. It wasincredible to observe such strong and passionate
leaders1 working to bring others on board and build
this new capability in the ADF. I honestly can’t speak of
it highly enough.’
The impact of Alison’s attendance on the course had an
unexpected flow-on effect to her husband, Commander(CMDR) Grant Zilko, a Principal Warfare Officer in
the Navy:

Royal Australian Navy Nursing Officer, Lieutenant Commander Alison Zilko, gets a kiss from a Vietnamese child at the paediatrics ward of Cam Ranh General
Hospital, Vietnam, during Exercise Pacific Partnership 2017.
1

how her clinical background has positively impacted herwork in the gender field:‘In some countries, especially in remote areas, medical
staff may have access to communities that nonmedical personnel may not have. My clinical work60

transcends all rank barriers, power structures andstatus issues... People, especially women, may be
more willing to talk to you from a medical sense andthis creates a pathway to discussing other issues,
such as peace and security ... I have additional accessas a nurse that I may not otherwise have.’

Winning the Peace‘During my GENAD course, a Navy Ship Commander
and I had a lot of conversations about GPS andgender issues, including how the ADF was further
developing this capacity. He became increasinglyinterested in the opportunities this presented at thetactical and operational level. As the Commanding
Officer of HMAS Success, he began applying theprinciples within his command and when deployed on
Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2018, had his Command teamfacilitate a gender related activity in each port they
visited. This achieved highly positive outcomes as partof the ADF engagement in those countries. Applying
his strong interest in achieving GPS outcomes andutilising the considerable experience of the womenin his crew, including his Second in Command andhis Command Warrant Officer, he encouraged theship’s company to improve their understanding of
the importance of gender related engagement in
the Navy, which they all subsequently embraced
and applied.’
After completing her GENAD training, Alison has
continued her learning through participating in online
topic networks, reading and online training modules
offered by NATO and attending international exercisesin Fiji and Italy. She hopes to remain actively involvedin assisting the ADF to further consolidate their
GPS capability:‘This is the area that I am really interested in... I feelthat our [the ADF’s] approach to GPS is escalating,in that we are working hard to apply a gender
perspective to all exercises and operations, alongsideprogressing the education of all Defence personnel
regarding what can be achieved. I’ll always be an
advocate for GPS and I remain very keen to conduct
further deployments in the Gender Advisor role. In
the interim, I’ll continue to learn, read and advocate
for GPS.’

Endnotes LCDR Zilko referenced LTCDR Gemma
Pumphrey, LTCOL Robyn Fellowes and
GPCAPT Dee Gibbon.

1

Lieutenant Commander Alison Zilko in discussions with a Vietnamese Doctor at Cam Ranh General Hospital during Exercise Pacific Partnership 2017.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

61

Colonel Brad Orchard speaks at the seminar for Women in Pacific Defence Forces, hosted by International Policy Division. Held in Canberra,
the seminar aims to enhance and sustain female contribution to peace and security.

62

Winning the PeaceColonel Brad Orchard
Boldly Going Where Few Men Have Gone Before
Brad was selected for the UN role on the basis of his
substantial operational experience2, tertiary qualifications(including a research component of his Master of Human
Resources which addressed recruiting higher numbersof women into the Army) and significant experience
working to progress gender outcomes in both the Armyand ADF more broadly.
Although he is now considered an international GPS
specialist, Brad’s pathway to working on gender issues
was through his 2012 posting as a Staff Officer in the
Workforce Strategy team in Army Headquarters. Whilein this role, his work became increasingly focusedon gender, primarily due to the then-Chief of Army’s3
visible commitment to improving gender equality in
the Army. Brad instigated and delivered many of thestrategies, policies and programs which have tangibly
lifted the number of women in the Army over the pastseven years.

Colonel (COL) Brad Orchard, an Infantry Officer inthe Australian Army, is one of the growing numberof senior ADF men engaged in the field of GPS. In
2021, Brad completed a two-year ADF secondment
to UN Women1 Headquarters in New York City, thesecond rotation of a five-year ADF commitment
which commenced in 2016.

Following the Staff Officer role, Brad gained international
exposure to GPS during his posting as the Project
Director for the implementation of the Australian Human
Rights Commission (AHRC) Review into the Treamentof Women in the ADF, where he served as Defence’s
primary liaison point between the Department and theAHRC. He accompanied the then-Sex Discrimination
Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, to visit deployed
forces in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and to NATOmeetings in Brussels. One of the highlights of thisrole was accompanying Ms Broderick on a NATO
Partnership for Peace and Security project visit to Madrid

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

where they collaborated with NATO international militarystaff and Spanish and Canadian academics. It was
Brad’s first exposure to the global issues surrounding
women’s participation in the security sector andsignificantly deepened his understanding of genderconsiderations from an international perspective.
As part of the trajectory to his UN position, from2016-2017, Brad served as Defence’s Director of the
NAP for GPS, in the Office of the CDF. Working closelywith the Senior GENAD at JOC, Brad coordinatedactivities under the Defence Implementation Plan,
including gaining Chief of Service Committee (COSC)
agreement to fund development and delivery of the
Operational GENAD Course and to establish dedicated
GENAD positions in key operational and strategic
headquarters. During his tenure, Brad was invited to fill
the role of Directing Staff on the NATO GENAD Course,which is a testament to his expertise in the GPS field.
He commenced his secondment to UN Women in
January 2018 and notes that this role afforded him
another opportunity to gain international exposure
across various aspects of GPS:‘My position was in the Peace and Security Section,
which has a global focus on all aspects of GPS
considerations, including peacekeeping, women’s
participation in peace and security, rule of law,transitional justice, national action plans, protection,
countering and preventing violent extremism.’

63

Brad’s policy responsibility was peacekeeping and theprevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. His portfolio
included programming, coordinating and conducting theUN’s Female Military Officers Course4 and undertaking
normative work in support of UN Women’s global gender
equity goals:‘I worked on the UN Gender Parity Strategy5, whichsets some very ambitious targets to increase thenumber of uniformed women in peacekeeping. I also

worked on the ‘Action for Peacekeeping’ initiative,
which aims to revitalise interest in peacekeeping
within the UN system and across member states… advocacy was a key component of our work
and we spent a lot of time working with member
states and UN organisations to help them meet their
GPS commitments.’
Brad cites his greatest achievement at UN Womenas assisting the Canadian Government to deliver

Guest speakers and attendees of the ‘Shoalhaven and Fleet Air Arm Navy Women’s Forum’ held at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, HMAS Albatross.

64

Winning the Peacethe ‘Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in
Peacekeeping’6. His involvement comprised forming
part of the four-person Terms of Reference writing teamand he established and managed the fund, pending therecruitment of a dedicated fund manager7.
As one of the few men working in the gender and GPS
field, Brad encountered some mixed reactions by otherpersonnel in relation to his work. However, most of
his peers and colleagues have been supportive andBrad has sensed a discernible shift towards greater
acceptance of GPS over the past few years. He felt
extremely welcome in his UN Women role, where around75 percent of staff are women.
Brad observes that men can experience different
challenges and opportunities when working in the field of
GPS and reflects on how he considers his own gender:‘… while it shouldn’t be the case, in some respects it
can appear less ‘self-interested’ when a man is talking
about gender equality and that has some advantages.
At the same time, there’s the very real risk of a man
telling women what it means to be them and I’malways very conscious of that. I’m not a woman and
I’ve never felt the discrimination women have felt ... I
can reflect ambitions and I can deliver programs, but
in my mind there’s always that question of authenticity
which impacts how I do my job.’On his return to Australia, Brad was promoted to Chiefof Staff to the Head People Capability and Chief of Staff
in Defence People Group. While recognising that some
gaps still remain in the ADF’s process towards fully
operationalising a gender perspective, he says he is very
happy to be part of the work done to date:‘We have the doctrine, we have high-level direction,
we have the GENAD course … but at the end of theday, how much of that filters down to affect decisions
that junior commanders are making on operations isstill, probably, an open question. I’m really proud of
the ADF’s progress so far but there is still a significant
amount of work to be done.’

Endnotes The UN entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women was
created in 2010 as a stand alone UN agency to specifically progress
global gender equality outcomes.

1 Deployments to East Timor in 1999/2000, Timor Leste in 2006, Iraq
in 2007 and Afghanistan in 2013 and service with the United States
Marine Corps leading the Australian Instructor Support Team in 2004.

2

General David Morrison.

3 A ten-day residential training program designed to upskill female military
officers to enable deployment on UN Peacekeeping missions as either
Staff Officers or Military Observers.

4 A UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations document produced in
2018.

5

 More information about the Elsie Fund can be found at www.unwomen.
org/en/news/stories/2019/3/news-the-elsie-initiative-fund-launched-toincrease-uniformed-women-in-un-peacekeeping

6 An ADF member was selected for this role, LTCOL Deb Warren-Smith,
who is profiled in this book.

7

To mitigate any skepticism regarding his authenticity,
Brad has always taken a consultative approach to his
GPS work and ensured that any strategies, initiatives orprograms are female-led and predicated on significant
input by his female colleagues. He hopes that theoutcomes of his efforts in gender and GPS have createda more equitable workplace for all:
‘I joined the Army the year after women were able tobe trained with everyone else. I was in my first year at
ADFA8 which is also when women started there too …
and the year I was posted to 1RAR9 in Townsville waswhen women first started serving at 3 Brigade10 … so I
have always had women peers, colleagues and friends… as such, I have had some exposure to their positive
and also less positive experiences. Defence is working
to create a more equitable workplace for women …
and my work has helped to facilitate that.’

8

Australian Defence Force Academy at UNSW Canberra.

9

1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
 The 3rd Brigade is a combined arms brigade of the Australian
Army, principally made up of the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Royal
Australian Regiment.

10Australian Defence Force personnel at the Nordic Centre for Gender in
Military Operations in Sweden.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

65

Flight Lieutenant Sarah Brown in preparation for Exercise Christmas Drop 2019.

66

Winning the Peace

Flight Lieutenant Sarah Brown
A Humanitarian Career‘I saw the Air Force as a great way to develop myhumanitarian skills and apply my knowledge in ameaningful way. I completed the Air Force’s Gap
Year program in 2010 after finishing high school
and after completing my degree, decided to join
the Permanent Air Force [PAF] as a Direct Entry
Logistics Officer. I chose logistics because it seemed
the best way to align the military world with myhumanitarian aspirations.’
Sarah was posted to Air Mobility Group (AMG)1 after
finishing her officer and logistics training, which was her
first posting preference due to its alignment with her
humanitarian aspirations. In 2015, when AMG sought
expressions of interest to be the Group’s Gender Advisor(GENAD), Sarah enthusiastic responded.

Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT) Sarah Brown knew from avery young age she wanted to be a humanitarian andher entire adult life has been in pursuit of that goal.
Her first exposure to community services was a parttime job as a youth worker, which she undertook
whilst studying politics and international relations
at the University of Newcastle. Her experiences ofworking with vulnerable young people led to Sarah’s
Air Force career.

As Sarah was a fairly new Flying Officer, she wasconcerned she may be too inexperienced and junior
to do the job justice. However her concerns wereassuaged by a highly supportive senior leadershipteam who sensed her passion for the role and felt that
academic background were more important than rank
and seniority.
‘I worked with an absolutely fantastic human being,
Group Captain Stewart Dowrie2, who was AMG’s
Chief of Staff at the time. He opened up my career
opportunities in this field. He told me to always‘back myself’ and really helped me grow the GPS
platform within the Group. Group Captain Dowrie, Air
Commodore Richard Lennon and I were the team thatbrought GPS to life within AMG.’

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations‘Bringing GPS to life’ entailed extensive planning,awareness raising and delivering training on GPS acrossthe Group. One of Sarah’s most significant deliverables
was the Commander’s Directive for GPS, which wasessentially an action plan with different lines of effort for
implementation across multiple aspects of AMG. Notingsome of the challenges faced by other GENADs bothwithin and external to the Australian Defence Force,
Sarah was pleasantly surprised by the support she
received when progressing GPS outcomes, across alllevels of AMG. She attributes this to strong leadershipand the nature of AMG’s primary mission:‘Engaged leadership was a huge factor for success.
The Commander and Chief of Staff were such
fantastic advocates … they encouraged me topresent at meetings and made sure they included
GPS talking points in any of their internal briefings,
speeches and external engagement activities. A large
number of personnel in AMG have had ‘hands on’
experience with humanitarian work. They’ve seen
the ‘real life’ application and understand why genderconsiderations are so important, so there was very
little resistance to GPS.’One highlights from Sarah’s time at AMG was a highly
successful GENAD role on a 285 Squadron mission to
Papua New Guinea (PNG).
‘285 Squadron (at the time) was our loadmaster andpilot training squadron for the Hercules aircraft. AMG
undertake a lot of training missions in PNG

67and because I was considering how to implement
gender into Air Force loadmaster training, I wanted toget an improved understanding of the role. The ADF
spends a lot of time in PNG, so in recognition of thehumanitarian principle ‘first do no harm’, it seemed
important to ensure we had a good understandingof the communities where we were working. The
outcomes of this mission were really positive andenabled me to formulate the GPS aspects ofloadmaster training in a really practical way.’
In 2019, Sarah undertook a very different GENAD
role, as part of Exercise Christmas Drop Australia,
which was the first time the ADF delivered supplies
to remote Indigenous communities within a domestic
Australian context3. The operation was atypical froma military perspective in that it didn’t fall neatly into
a conflict, peacekeeping or disaster relief scenario.
Sarah’s involvement as a GENAD through the planningstages of the exercise, ensured it was conducted withconsideration of GPS principles:‘As a GENAD, it’s my job to challenge any
assumptions made by planners and other personnel
involved in the exercise. One of the main assumptions
was about what remote Indigenous communities
might want and need in terms of supplies. The initialplan was to deliver fishing, boating and camping
gear, as well as AFL [Australian Football League] andNRL [National Rugby League] sporting equipment.
This seemed gendered in a way that was potentiallynon-beneficial for women so I emphasised that weshouldn’t assume anything … we needed to dotargeted, succinct community engagement, not only toensure we delivered beneficial goods, but also to getthose important permissions to enter the community inthis way.’68

Sarah participated in four pre-exercise engagementswith the remote communities and was struck by thestark differences between what men and women
requested in terms of supplies.
‘Women didn’t speak about what women needed… they spoke about what the community needed,
what their husbands needed and what their children
needed. Their requests were very practical … forexample, they wanted fresh food because thesecommunities are often cut off from fresh foodsupplies during the wet season. They requested
clothing, emergency and disaster equipment
because these items are often inaccessible and when
they are available, they are extremely expensive. The
engagement allowed us to assess the communities
needs from all angles of the population, not just themost easily accessible.’
Another important lesson learnt from Exercise Christmas
Drop Australia was the need to go beyond formal
community engagements to gain different insights from awider sector of the communities where the ADF works:‘The formal engagements usually involve meeting theCEO of the communities and the highest elder, bothof whom are usually men. When I was by myself,
however, I was able to approach groups of womenin the community and sit down under a tree anddiscuss women’s business. I visited local sheltersand healthcare centres and from those different
engagements, was able to get a real perspective ofwhat different parts of the community needed andwork out how to distribute any goods equally andfairly … and ensure this was done safely, without
unintended second and third order effects.’

Winning the Peace

Flight Lieutenants Sarah Brown and colleague meet with women at the local
community centre in the remote Indigenous community of Yandeyerra to delivercare packages provided by the charitable organisation ‘Support the Girls’.
1

Sarah undertook the AMG GPS role as a secondary
duty until 2017, when she made the decision to leave
the full-time PAF and transfer to the Air Force Reserves.
At the time of our interview, Sarah was working with
Wing Commander Jade Deveney as Headquarter Air
Command’s Deputy GENAD to progress GPS acrossall of Air Force. Her decision to leave the the full-time
Air Force was primarily influenced by her strong desire
to pursue a humanitarian career. Since leaving, Sarah
has worked for the UN and a range of NGOs, including
the Red Cross, in a variety of different roles, whilst also
maintaining a strong presence in the Air Force.
The synergies in and experiences of both aspects ofher career have been mutually beneficial. Her GPS
background in the ADF has inspired her to gravitate
towards humanitarian roles which focus on women,
particularly ending violence against women, thetrafficking of women and girls and putting an end
to domestic and family violence. At the time of ourAustralia seems to be continuously held up as a bestpractice example of what other countries need to do
to improve their own GPS outcomes. So, instead ofme gathering ideas and information to bring back, it ismore about other countries drawing information andideas from me! Australia is viewed as a world leader
on operationalising GPS within a military context andI feel very fortunate to have been a part of that.’Endnotes Air Mobility Group (AMG) is one of the largest Force Element
Groups within Air Force and is responsible for providing the ADF’s
combat air mobility capability, which includes: air logistics support;
airborne operations; special operations; air-to-air refuelling; searchand survivor assistance; aeromedical evacuation and associatedtraining.

1 Author’s note: Group Captain Dowrie was mentioned by a numberof Air Force interviewees as an important part of Air Force’s rapid
adoption of GPS.

2

Flight Lieutenant Sarah Brown with Jane Holmes from the charitable organisation ‘Support the Girls’, Staff Member from ModiBodi and members of 176 AD
SQN, packing donations to be airdropped for Exercise Christmas Drop Australia.
1 The United States has been undertaking Operation Christmas Dropfor many years. The operation entails delivering supplies and gifts
to remote communities across the Pacific region.

3

interview, Sarah was employed by the Jesuit Refugee
Service, where she works with women and girls who areseeking asylum, or from a refugee background and havebeen impacted by sexual or gender-based violence:‘There is a significant intersection between my
Defence GPS work and my NGO role, which involves
finding safe spaces for women and girls who havebeen directly impacted by conflict and sought
protection in Australia. A lot of my recent work has
involved examining emerging global trends aroundissues that are being faced by women internationally,such as forced displacement.’

In terms of her next career move, Sarah will always
remain connected to the ADF, but also hopes to secure
a UN Peacekeeping mission role. She is certainly
open to deploying as an ADF GENAD or GFP, should
the opportunity arise, and is immensely proud of her
contribution to the Air Force’s efforts to progress GPS
and Australia’s reputation on the international stage:‘During my first visit to UN Headquarters in New
York I remember hoping to have some really robust
discussions about how the ADF could improve theirapproach to GPS … but during this engagement andevery international engagement experience since,

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

69

Lieutenant Colonel Darleen Young instructs UN peacekeepers.

70

Winning the Peace

Lieutenant Colonel Darleen Young, AM
A Humanitarian Focus
It was a 1999 deployment to Bougainville on Operation
Bel Isi2 which enabled Darleen to experience, firsthand,the connection between applying a gender perspective
and improved operational success, particularly within thecontext of peacekeeping:

Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL) Darleen Young, AM is
one of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) mostaccomplished specialists in training personnel forpeacekeeping operations. Darleen has spent asignificant part of her military career instructing at
the ADF’s Peacekeeping Operations Training Centre(ADF POTC)1, where she is posted as a Senior
Instructor. Her UN training work has taken her allover the world, including multiple secondments
to various UN operations and positions, both as acivilian contractor and a member of the ADF.

‘I deployed to BEL ISI as the Headquarters Logistics
Advisor, however, very early on I recognised that
Bougainville is a matrilineal society … the Commander
and senior staff were unable to successfully negotiate
access to the ‘no go’ zones which the females had
control over. Because the women had quite a lot of
regular meetings and were leading the reconciliation
between the two main groups … I became a kindof liaison officer for our force. This enabled me tosuccessfully negotiate access to the ‘no go’ zones.
Back then, it wasn’t called ‘Gender, Peace andSecurity’, but it was all about understanding theoperating environment.’
From her positions at POTC and various UN
secondments, Darleen has worked tirelessly to build
improved awareness of GPS, Protection of Civilians(POC) and Children Affected by Armed Conflict(CAAC). She believes that incorporating a gender
perspective into the analysis and planning for military
operations has become even more critical in the past
decade, due to an increasingly complex and fraught
operational environment.
Darleen’s UN work with personnel from different
countries and exposure to various types of operations

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

has convinced her that the lines between conflict,conflict prevention, peace enforcement, peacemaking
and peacekeeping are becoming increasingly blurred:‘… in places like Mali, you can’t really call that‘peacekeeping’ anymore … you’ve got IED[improvised explosive devices] threats, you’ve got
terrorists and females who’ve been part of theviolent extremism. In conflict, we’re increasingly
seeing women as actors, including as perpetrators,
combatants and victims …. you can’t just save GPSfor peacetime.’
Darleen notes that one of the most successful
mechanisms for building awareness of GPS, POC
and CAAC considerations on UN missions has been
incorporating the content into the training packages
delivered by UN Mobile Training Teams3 (MTT), which
commenced in 2011. She personally undertook thedevelopment and delivery of the UN MTT training
packages for Kenya, Rwanda and Vietnam, which
necessitated building the GPS content from theground up.
In addition to significant international training experience,
Darleen has also served as an Army GENAD in
two different roles. She was the first ADF member
to undertake both UN and NATO-specific GENAD
training, which enabled her to develop a sophisticatedappreciation of the different approaches taken byeach organisation:

71

Lieutenant Colonel Darleen Young undertakes field training with females at Officer Academy Afghanistan.

72

Winning the Peace‘The UN has employed Gender Advisors for many
years … but these were usually civilian staff withmasters degrees in human rights or gender who are
posted to a mission for five or six years. I completed
the UN Gender Advisor Course in 2010 , but it was
only when I undertook the NATO Gender Advisor
Train-the-Trainer course in 2012 that I realised how
different the NATO and UN approaches were andthe variation in how GPS was applied at the tactical,
operational and strategic levels.’
Darleen applied this insight during her first formal ADF
GENAD posting with Director General Land (DG LAND)
from 2014 – 2016. Her primary task was to integrate
GPS and a gender perspective into Army operations,with a focus on force preservation, induction training
and Army and Joint training exercises. While Darleen
achieved some positive outcomes, she found her
progress hindered by strong resistance in some parts ofthe Headquarters.

She attributes this to a lack of knowledge of GPS at thetime and the ongoing confusion between GPS and the
Army’s internal gender strategies. Interestingly, Darleen
found that military personnel from other countries,
especially in the Asia-Pacific region, are generally more
receptive to GPS than some of her ADF colleagues:‘Most people in the ADF thought I was just a
nuisance … but other countries understand theirown challenges at the domestic level … they
understand the commitment to identify and respondto the different security needs of the population andin particular women and girls ... they don’t seem tohave the same barriers we have in our own force inregards to the implementation of GPS because theysee how important it is on the ground and for theirown protection.’
In 2016, Darleen deployed to another challenging
GENAD position in the Headquarters Joint Task

Force 633 in the Middle East. Her GPS expertise andexperience enabled her to rebuild and realign the
GENAD capability, which had diminished due to theprevious incumbents being overloaded with non-GPS
related duties.
Darleen recalibrated the role by demonstrating how
the position could add value to the ADF’s Middle East
Operations. This included undertaking a gender analysis
of each Area of Operation, building a framework for
GPS reporting and delivering a Standing Instruction on
Gender and Child Protection for the ADF in Middle East
Operations, which is still in place today. Once again,
Darleen encountered resistance, but by this stage had
become extremely adept at implementing strategies toencourage others to appreciate and accept GPS:‘ … what I’ve learnt over the years is that you haveto make the message relevant to the operational
environment and culture of the country you’re
working in … you need to be resistant, persistentand sometimes get creative to achieve the intended
outcomes. Sometimes it’s taken me a long time tochange deep seated attitudes, but these people often
end up being the strongest advocates for GPS.’A salient example of Darleen’s ‘resistant and persistent’long-term advocacy in the Asia-Pacific region was therecent Royal Thai Military Armed Forces’ announcementthat women would be permitted to attend Thai Staff
College for the first time in 2020. Darleen was delighted
to learn that two of her long-term Thai Army womencolleagues were selected to attend the course, enablingthem to finally progress to the higher ranks. She firmly
believes that this relates to some targeted actions
undertaken by those seeking to enhance women’s
participation in peacekeeping::

United Nations Troop Contributing Countries are exercised at the Mongolian Peacekeeping Training Centre incorporating Gender and Protection into complex
and demanding field lane activities.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations73

‘We had a huge international conference in Thailand
in 2019 involving some senior officers, including at
the Chief of Service level. I asked each country todisplay statistics on how many females they deploy
overseas, which required publicly admitting how wellthey’re doing and vice versa. It also gave me theopportunity to highlight where policies need to change
to give women the same opportunities as men. I’ve
been advocating for changes like this for years andsometimes you think your messages are not being
heard, but in this case, it obviously worked.’
Darleen notes that the UN’s Gender Parity Strategy andhaving female quotas for peacekeeping missions has
also been helpful in encouraging countries to dismantle
barriers and increase women’s participation in the policeand militaries of Troop Contributing Nations. ADF POTC
has also made some internal policy modifications in
support of the UN’s strategic intent:‘We have insisted that certain countries in the
Asia Pacific region meet gender quotas to access
POTC training … this is making a real difference inthe number of women being deployed and getting
promoted, because they were given the opportunity to
do the training or participate on an exercise ...’In terms of a future focus for Defence, Darleen would
like to see the ADF place more emphasis on other UN
mandates, especially those pertaining to the protectionand empowerment of children. She fully intends staying
engaged on GPS through her work at POTC andhopes to witness even more positive outcomes fromher ‘behind the scenes’ work to support women’s
participation in military and policing forces aroundthe world.

During Shanti Doot at the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training, platoons were developing tactics, techniques and procedures toaddress conflict related sexual violence, child protection and other cross cutting themes stemming from current UN mission situations.

Endnotes POTC resides within Australian Defence College, which is part of the Chief Joint Capabilities (CJC) portfolio.

1 From 1997, the Australian Army, as part of a coalition of civil and military personnel from throughout the region, spent five years in
Bougainville to assist with maintaining the ceasefire and supporting peace processes.

2 MTTs are requested by UN Troop Contributing Countries, in order to achieve a particular training outcome.

3

74

Winning the PeaceColonel Amanda Fielding
A Strategic Focus
Amanda was the inaugural Senior GENAD in the new
Resolute Support (RS) Headquarters (HQ), after Australia
successfully secured the position during the 2014 NATO
staff negotiations. When asked what she was mostlooking forward to about returning to Afghanistan, her
response was immediate:‘GPS is one of the lines of effort for my position, so
I’m really looking forward to reconnecting with theamazing Afghan women leaders I worked with in 2015
and seeing the progress made towards NATO’s GPS
objectives. My interest in GPS and understanding ofAfghan culture, were major drivers for me seeking andbeing selected for this DA posting … I honestly can’t
wait to go back.’

At the time of being interviewed for this book,
Colonel (COL) Amanda Fielding was preparing
for her third tour in Afghanistan, this time as theAustralian Defence Attache (DA). She has an
excellent understanding of diplomatic relations in
Afghanistan, having worked closely with a numberof the NATO embassies when last deployed
there in early 2015 as NATO’s Senior GENAD to
the Commander of Resolute Support (COMRS),a four-star US General.

Prior to being posted into the NATO GENAD role in2015, Amanda spent the majority of her Army career
working in the field of Logistics and in Command
positions. Stepping into a Senior GENAD role at short
notice with minimal preparation time was definitely
a challenge:‘Having worked in ISAF [International Security
Assistance Force] headquarters, I had a goodunderstanding of the country, culture and operationallandscape, but the GPS aspect was completely new
to me. Because of timing issues, I missed out on
both the SWEDINT Gender Advisor Course1 and the
Resolute Support Key Leader Training Course2, bothof which would have been really helpful preparation.
I read as much as I could about UNSCR 1325 andProfiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

the GPS Mandate, connected to the NATO Gender
Advisor network and familiarised myself with the
Gender Annex of the Resolute Support Operational
Plan … but most of my learning was done on the job.’
By the time Amanda arrived at RS, the previous Senior
GENAD on the ISAF mission, Brigadier General Gordana
Garasic (a Croatian one-star), had departed the mission
and so a hand-over was not possible. In transitioning
from ISAF to the Resolute Support Mission (RSM), theposition had also been downgraded from one-star to
Colonel (equivalent). This presented some additional
challenges, including the practicalities of not having a
dedicated transport and security team at her disposal3
to support the multitude of engagements undertaken by
Gender Office staff.
Amanda’s first few months at Resolute Support werededicated to establishing the GENAD role and Gender
Office team within the new HQ structure. The primaryfunction of the Senior GENAD in the RSM was directly
advising COM RS and senior HQ staff on all matterspertaining to UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions;and implementing the gender priorities outlined in the
Operational Order and Plan.
‘Resolute Support was a Train, Advise and Assist
mission and so our work as GENADs was to provide
advice on implementing a gender perspective into all
aspects of the mission. The Gender Office focused
our external advisory efforts on senior leaders within
Ministry of Interior [MoI] and Ministry of Defense [MoD]75

while also having that internal advisory function within
the RSM HQ. Another line of effort was engaging with
the international community, senior Afghan leaders andinfluencers and other stakeholders to progress GPS
initiatives in Afghanistan.’
Amanda notes that having clear GPS guidance outlinedin the key operational documents was a significant
enabler; not only as an authority to act, but also toensure GPS considerations were factored into routine
reporting back to NATO HQ:‘Our advisory work was focused on three lines ofeffort that were quite interrelated: increasing women’s
representation in the Afghan National Defense andSecurity Forces [ANDSF]; ensuring women who
enter the ANDSF are valued, safe and respectedin training/working contexts; and ensuring there isadequate infrastructure, equipment, policies, facilities
and training programs to support women’s ANDSF
careers. Everything we did was directly related to oneof those three primary lines of effort.’
To achieve these objectives, one of Amanda’s key tasks
was ensuring gender considerations were factored into
operational planning groups/coordination meetings,
which usually meant having a GENAD at the table.
Amanda personally attended the higher-level planningmeetings and delegated the more routine meetings to
one of the five GENADs in her team.
While being at the table was helpful and necessary,
another structural challenge of reclassifying the Senior
GENAD position to Colonel was gaining support from the
Essential Function (EF) leads4, who were predominantly
Brigadier Generals (equivalent). Amanda was usually themost junior ranked person in a meeting of more seniorstaff and often the only woman, which presented its own

76

challenges. Fortunately, she found excellent support
from the COM RS, General John Campbell, influential
Afghan leaders (men and women) and from diplomaticcommunity. Amanda cites the Canadian Ambassador,
Deborah Lyons and Australian Ambassador, Matthew
Anderson as being enormously supportive of the work of
the RS Gender Office.
Embedding gender considerations into RS planningand decision-making processes was a significant
achievement. However, Amanda considers her greatest
achievement to be establishing the Women in Security
Advisory Committee (WSAC), which served as theprimary coordination point for security-related GPS
issues within Afghanistan.
‘I realised within the complex Afghan landscape,there were multiple high-level stakeholders in the
GPS space, each with different perspectives,
ideologies and agendas. Stakeholder priorities were
not always aligned and previous efforts to progress
UNSCR 1325 were, frankly, quite disjointed andoften duplicated. COM RS and I conceptualised the
WSAC as a high-level forum where key actors could
come together, discuss issues and perspectives andcoordinate GPS efforts across the many agencies
working on GPS and women’s rights. It proved to be
an incredibly powerful mechanism for change andthe concept has been replicated in other operations,which is really gratifying.’
To ensure the WSAC was situated for success andsuitably empowered to authorise and enact change,
Amanda ensured participation by a wide range of very
senior stakeholders, with strong representation by senior
Afghan leaders and influencers and key members of theinternational community:

Winning the Peace‘We made sure the WSAC had representation by
Afghan Civil Society, the Afghan Independent Human
Rights Commissioner, NGOs, the United Nations, theDiplomatic Community, Afghan Ministers for Interiorand Defence and key political advisors. I think one of
the reasons behind the WSAC’s enduring success
was the meeting being co-chaired by COM RS andthe honourable Mrs Rula Ghani, President Ghani’swife, who is a very high-profile champion for women’s
rights. COM RS and Mrs Ghani’s personal involvement
set the WSAC up for success. We ended up having toturn people away because everyone wanted to be apart of the WSAC.’On returning to Australia, Amanda achieved anotherfirst by becoming the inaugural GENAD to Chief Joint
Operations (CJOPs) and establishing a gender teamwithin Joint Operations Command. Again, one of her
key tasks was advocating for GPS and instilling genderconsiderations into operational planning processes.

Following the Defence Women’s Speaker Series event guest speakers
gather in the grounds at the Australian War Memorial. From left: Assistant
Secretary Enterprise Reform, Ms Shannon Frazer; Australian Army officer,
Colonel Amanda Fielding; Gender Advisor Joint Operations Command and
Deputy Secretary Defence People, Rebecca Skinner.

Australian Defence Attaché to Kabul, Afghanistan Colonel Amanda Fielding withMajor Fatima, Officer Commanding Zarghona Tolay as she cuts the ribbon tosignify the opening of the Afghan National Officer Academy (ANAOA) Amenities
Centre in Qargha, Kabul.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

77

posting, but she is convinced that no matter what lies
ahead, she will always remain deeply connected andcommitted to GPS:
‘Once you have worked with women in conflictzones and you see how to effectively assist themto secure their own equality and futures, you feeldriven to continue to assist. Implementing the GPS
global agenda is challenging but incredibly rewarding
because you are actually making a tangible positive
difference to the lives of women and their families,
communities and countries. I can’t ever imagine notbeing connected to GPS, in whatever capacity that
may be.’Endnotes
Australian Army Officer and Chief Advisor of the Afghan Nation Army Officer Academy (ANAOA) advisor group, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Smith (left), Australian
Defence Attaché to Kabul, Afghanistan Colonel Amanda Fielding (centre) and Royal New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) Chief Instructor Mentor ANAOA
advisory group, Lieutenant Colonel Paul King (right) with Afghan National Army Officers during the opening of the ANAOA amenity centre in Qargha, Kabul.
1 The Swedish Armed Forces International (SWEDINT) – Nordic Centre
for Gender in Military Operations is an internationally-focussed course
which prepares personnel of all ranks to undertake the role of Gender
Advisor on operations.

1 A two-week course designed to prepare senior military officers andcivilian personnel for NATO deployments.

2

This task was made easier by her own operational
planning background and extensive knowledge of the
Joint Military Appreciation Process (JMAP). Operation Fiji
Assist (FA) in 20165 was the first ADF operation where
gender considerations were formally incorporated into
analysis and operational planning processes and the
Operational Order for the operation,6 to great effect.
Amanda was also instrumental in developing a strong
network of operationally focused GENADs and GFPs
across the ADF and leveraging the ADF’s efforts on

78

an international scale. She also conceptualised andconducted the region’s first Operational GENAD training
course, which was delivered in time to train US and ADF
staff for Exercise Talisman Sabre 2017. While her listof firsts and achievements is impressive, Amanda cites
the opportunity to grow the ADF’s operational GENAD
capability from its inception as the highlight of her Army
career so far. 			
Amanda is not sure what her future holds beyond her
Defence Attache posting to Afghanistan in 2020, DA

Winning the Peace Only one-star and above level staff have access to their own transportdetail and security team.

3 The Resolute Support Mission Command Structure differs from a
traditional joint HQ and is organised around seven ‘Essential Functions’encompassing standard HQ functions.

4 The ADF’s Disaster Relief Operation to provide support to Fiji after thedevastating impact of Tropical Cyclone Winston.

5 LCDR Jacqueline Swinton was one of the GENADs deployed on
Operation FA, she is also profiled in this book.

6

Wing Commander Kelley Stewart
A Lifelong Commitment to Equality‘When I’m talking about Gender, Peace and Security,
I’m talking about the human terrain and the populations
we are working with … it’s not about trying to change
those populations but rather understand them …
they learn a little about us and we learn a little about
them and you develop a genuine partnership. This isespecially important when understanding the needsof a population when providing humanitarian aid or
disaster relief. Engaging with the whole population
promotes mutual understanding and ensures that
we are generating goodwill towards Australia in theregion, building mutual trust and situating the ADF asa regional partner of choice.’
Kelley’s work as a GENAD is a natural progression
from her many years of advocating for women’sequal participation in all aspects of life, which began
in childhood:
Wing Commander (WGCDR) Kelley Stewart has beenposted as a GENAD in both Air Force’s Headquarters
Air Command and the Plans Branch Headquarters
Joint Operational Command (HQJOC). In these roles,
she ensured GPS and gender considerations werefactored into all planning processes for relevant
Air Force and joint operations and exercises, fromthe planning stage through to the developmentof operational documentation such as Support
Instructions and Operational Orders. For Kelley, thecapability argument is very clear.

‘People really weren’t surprised when I became a
Gender Advisor as I have been a passionate advocate
for women’s rights for a really long time in both militaryand civilian roles. I have been an advocate for genderequality since Grade Five, when my Mum helped me
write a petition to the Principal because the girls werebanned from the footy oval but the boys were allowedon the other grassed area to play … it just seemed
really unfair to me … I have never lost that passion for
ensuring there is a level playing field for all, irrespectiveof sex.’Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

At the age of 22, Kelley joined the Air Force as a qualified
Environmental Health Officer and forged a successfulcareer. However, her childhood passion for gender equality
and women’s rights remained a strong focus, particularly
after having three children whilst in uniform. To this end,
in 2007 Kelley left the full time Air Force and completed
a masters-level research project which examined, for the
first time, the breastfeeding experiences of ADF women.
Her research benchmarked ADF breastfeeding rates andidentified both barriers and enablers to breastfeeding in
the military context, providing the foundation for moreprogressive breastfeeding guidelines in Defence.
In 2011, Kelley re-engaged with the Active Reservesto develop the Air Force Diversity Guide for Supporting
Breastfeeding Mothers in the Air Force, a document on
which the Navy based their 2017 Breastfeeding Support
Guide. The research also reignited Kelley’s long-heldambition to work in maternity health in a more ‘hands
on’ way.
While maintaining her close connection to the Air ForceReserve, in 2011 Kelley commenced midwifery studies.
While studying midwifery, she successfully led the
Air Force’s efforts to gain National Breastfeeding Friendly
Workplace accreditation. Because of her research andongoing advocacy, she remains a sought-after expert
and advocate in this field. In 2017, in recognition of her
midwifery expertise and gender advocacy, Kelley wasappointed to the Australian Capital Territory Nursing andMidwifery Board of Australia.

79Gender Advisors Squadron Leader Karen Brown and Wing Commander Kelley Stewart
brief Air Vice Marshal Steven ‘Zed’ Roberton on applying a gender perspective when
considering the effects of air targeting on civilian communities.

80

Winning the PeaceKelley returned to the full-time Air Force in 2018
specifically to fulfil a GENAD role in JOC and notes thestrong correlation between her work in maternal healthand the GPS global agenda:‘I see huge synergies implementing Gender, Peaceand Security in conflict and disaster response settingsand delivering maternity services … especiallyensuring women’s active participation, protecting
women’s human rights, preventing unnecessary
morbidity and ensuring that women’s perspectives
and experiences are always kept at the forefront ...’
From a military perspective, Kelley notes the criticality ofengaging women at all stages of an operation, from earlyplanning through to assessing the lessons learnt once
an operation has concluded. Typical GENAD advice
ensures that ADF women are represented in operationalroles. This enhances ADF capability by providing greater
access to civilian women and their networks which isusually more difficult for men:
‘When undertaking the initial site surveys for Exercise
Balikatan 20201, some women asked if they could
speak to me separately, away from the men, so they
could share their perspectives and tell us the importantconsiderations for them. Their priorities included
specific health needs, transport issues, the preventionof domestic violence and a need for self-defence
training specifically for women. These needs may nothave been expressed had I not been there.’On the same site visit, Kelley was invited by the mayor’s
wife to attend a meeting of the local women’s leadershipfederation which included senior women leaders from allover the municipality:

Chief of Joint Operations Royal Australian Navy Vice Admiral David Johnston presents Royal Australian Air Force Wing Commander Kelley Stewart with an
Operational Gender Advisor Course completion certificate.
1‘This was an amazing opportunity to connect with
influential leaders across the region and better
understand their concerns and requirements … andalso to explain the importance of what we were doing
there … this mutual understanding and sharing ofperspectives will definitely result in improved outcomesthroughout and beyond the Exercise.’

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

In military exercise planning more broadly, Kelley ensuresthat the development of scenarios include genderthemes and that GPS training objectives and injects areincluded to test the training audience. Among other roles
women may have in conflict settings, the opportunity
to include scenarios around women’s leadership andinfluence is a key message Kelley tries to incorporate:81

‘We need to check our own gender biases and ensure
we are trained to acknowledge that women, men,boys and girls have different experiences of conflictand instability … we cannot lump all women andchildren into the “vulnerable persons” basket and must
remember that women are also leaders and often havedifferent yet significant influence in their communities.
We need to have both women and men participate in
the decision-making that affects their lives.’
When asked if she intends continuing her work as a
GENAD beyond her current posting, Kelley observedthat developing a ‘gender perspective’ is a lot likedeveloping an ‘environmental health perspective’, in thatonce developed, the knowledge and skills are retained,even when not actively engaged in the role:

Advisor. Applying a gender perspective is really
important to everything that we do and I’ll definitely
take that with me into future roles.’‘… every time I’m in a supermarket I instinctively
consider the different foods and how they arepackaged, stored and transported ... I never reallystop being an Environmental Health Officer. I think
being a Gender Advisor is a lot like that … I’m always
applying a gender lens and perspective to what I’mdoing, even in social situations. This has certainly
become more deliberate since training as a Gender

Kelley hopes to see enhanced sharing of learning
across the three Services and within the Joint Operation
realm as the ADF continues to build its Gender
Advising capability:‘We all bring our different professional and personal
experiences and perspectives into the GENAD roleand there is no one way or right way to influencechange … we now have trained GENADS who are
specialists in intelligence, combat operations, logistics,
engineering, health, administration, the list goeson. We need to capture these multiple professional
perspectives and leverage this collective experience toensure the ADF remains at the forefront … if we canharness that information, we are going to make it astronger and more agile capability.’

Endnotes Exercise Balikatan is an annual military exercise between thePhilippines and the US, which commenced after the closure of US
military bases in the Philippines. The ADF has participated in Exercise
Balikatan since 2014.

1

Wing Commander Kelley Stewart and civilian participants in 2017 Exercise Talisman Sabre.

82

Winning the Peace

Commander Sarah Mills
A Focus on Training‘I had been flying since I was 16 years old and flying
was what I had always wanted to do. Althoughcoming off course was disappointing, I had realisedby that stage that the inherent difficulties [with flying]weren’t going away, so I considered a different career
path. I decided to stay in the Navy but change to
become a Training Systems Officer (TSO), which
seemed like it would be a good fit for me. I like to think
I have been a part of the broader cultural change inNavy and the wider ADF regarding women in aviation… those experiences are certainly part of who I am
and have enhanced my capabilities as both a training
specialist and GENAD.’

Commander (CMDR) Sarah Mills joined the Navyin 2001 with the aspiration of becoming a maritime
pilot. She successfully passed the first and second
phases of ADF flying training and gained her
wings in 2004. However, when she encounteredsome difficulties during the advanced stages ofNavy-specific pilot training1, she found she had toreassess her career objectives.

Sarah studied for her Bachelor of Education (Vocational)
while concurrently working at HMAS Creswell among
TSO and staff, which provided invaluable practical
exposure to the theoretical concepts she was learningin the classroom. After finishing her degree, in just two
years, Sarah became a fully-fledged TSO and has since
enjoyed a number of postings, including to Darwin with
the Fleet Training Advisory Cell, Commissioning Training
Officer in HMAS Choules and has also undertaken arange of specialist training and leadership positions at
HMAS Creswell2.
It was through her work as a TSO that Sarah firstbecame engaged in GPS in 2014, at a very earlystage of Defence’s implementation of the AustralianGovernment’s NAP for WPS:

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations‘I became involved when Navy was establishing the
Defence Implementation Plan (DIP), which has actions
related to the ADF’s approach to GPS in professional
military education and training. I was heavily involvedin those Training focussed DIP working groups ... andwhen the ADF started the Operational GENAD Course
in 2017, I jumped on one of the early courses so I
could continue being involved with GPS.’Sarah’s first opportunity to practise her GENAD skills
was in 2018 during Exercise Indo-Pacific Endeavour(IPE18), a large-scale annual maritime activity designed
to enhance Australia’s engagement with countries in
the Southwest Pacific region. The IPE series focuses on
military interoperability between different countries witha focus on humanitarian assistance, disaster planningand relief operations. The GPS component of IPE18
was primarily on ‘participation’ as a GPS Theme andbroadening opportunities for women in Vanuatu, Fiji,
Tonga and Samoa’s security sectors. Sarah’s role as thelead GENAD was managing requests for GPS-related
activities by participating countries:‘It was incredibly busy. We had seven weeks fromarriving in Hawaii to plan, prepare and field therequests [from participating countries] and design
an approach. There were strong indicators from acouple of countries that they wanted ways to provide
local female leaders the opportunity to discuss what
leadership means for them and having us facilitate
that. We actively encouraged Pacific women to83

Guard Commander, then Lieutenant Sarah Mills, from HMAS Coonawarra, during
the Governor’s Cup Ceremony. HMAS Coonawarra is on parade for the presentationof the Governor’s Cup in acknowledgement of having the best Navy Establishment
in the Nation. The cup was presented by the Administrator of the Northern Territory,
His Honour Mr Tom Pauling, AO, QC.

84

Winning the Peace

engage in those discussions. Another focus was
finding ways to share practical insights into how
women can support themselves and each other.’
Sarah was responsible for prioritising those GPS-related
requests, planning the activities and providing training
to other ADF members to assist with facilitating those
activities. While she was based on HMAS Adelaide, sheundertook a ‘cross-deck’ activity to upskill personnel in
HMAS Success to deliver the workshops and training
packages. As different West Pacific countries are atdifferent stages of GPS implementation, Sarah noted theimportance of tailoring the approaches to suit the specificrequirements of each country:‘Women have been serving with the Republic of Fiji
Military Force for quite a long time, but they had only
just recruited their first 26 women into their Navy.
They wanted to engage on how to best facilitate andsupport these women going to sea in the future. We
took the women on a tour of our ship and at the sametime, talked about being in the military and life at sea …
so there was a mentoring element too. The male Fijian
Navy Key Leaders requested a separate forum where
they could develop an understanding of how to best
support the new Navy women … it was just fantastic.’
One of the workshop products created by Sarah was the
Women’s Leadership Forums, which were designed
to encourage dialogue and engagement on women’s
leadership and empowerment. The forums were attended
by senior and emerging women leaders from thesecurity sector, industry and government and a numberof engaged ‘male champions.’ They were extremely
successful and possibly due to the seniority of attendees,
have paved the way for continued engagement between
Australia and regional partners on GPS.

‘The GPS engagements certainly supported the aimsof IPE18 in creating those ongoing key connections.
Since IPE18, we have had an increased number ofrequests through International Policy Division for the
ADF to provide additional training and support tohelp with increasing women’s representation in theirdefence forces. That’s a brilliant outcome and directly
linked to IPE18.’
One of the highlights from Sarah’s IPE experience wascoordinating and facilitating a forum in Tonga onboard
HMAS Choules, which addressed GPS considerations
during Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief(HADR) operations, which was attended by the thenMinister for Defence, Senator Marise Payne.
‘The Minister’s speech was really positive and resulted
in some healthy and robust discussions about how
we can ensure that any future HADR responses
encompass GPS and gender considerations in theplanning and analysis stages, rather than when it’s
too late. We talked through very practical approaches
and identified some tangible actions as a result ofthat discussion. A similar engagement occurred in Fiji,although that was more focused on peacekeeping
and addressing Fiji’s stated goal to increase women’s
representation in their Armed Forces to 10%, inline with the United Nations gender targets. Jade3
and I went back to Tonga at the end of 2018 to runworkshops aimed at increasing women’s participation
within His Majesty’s Armed Forces and down the track,getting women into the Tongan Maritime Force (TonganNavy). There’s certainly a push to boost the numbersof females in the security forces in our region and our
discussions were around how best to facilitate that.’N.B His Majesty’s Armed Forces included three female sailors
for the first time in a sea operation, as part of a trial in early
September 2021.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Sarah was fortunate to return to Fiji in 2019, alongside
CMDR Michael Miller and re-engage with the Navy
women she met in 2018. Once again, they spoke
about current challenges and how these might be
mitigated to enhance women’s opportunities within
the Navy. She wrote a report addressing the actions
required to enable women to go to sea on the new
Guardian-Class Patrol Boats, which were designed
to accommodate women4. Sarah believes a major
barrier o these opportunities is the deeply held views
about women’s traditional roles within the family andcommunity and ongoing concerns about women’ssafety and dignity while at sea.
‘We suggested mitigating these concerns througha process of openness and transparency. For
example, having family days with tours of the ships
and showing the families the separation between
the men’s and women’s facilities onboard and also
engaging in positive social media and broader media
campaigns about the important role that women canplay in the armed forces … with messaging centredon how women can actively contribute to keeping
their communities safe and together, particularly intimes of crisis or disaster. I believe there needs to bea careful, measured and staged approach, with theright messaging, to any strategic efforts to get women
to sea. The best part of my GENAD and GPS work iscreating these wonderful connections with people andworking with different countries towards achieving their
GPS objectives.’
Beyond her international engagements, Sarah has
maintained a close connection to GPS through avariety of mechanisms. She has fulfilled the role of
Directing Staff on the ADF GENAD Course and helped
to mainstream GPS across Navy’s initial and continuing
training continuum. Her team developed a series of GPS85

training products which are designed for at an initial,
intermediate and advanced level of learning to support a
broader awareness of GPS throughout Navy.
The combination of Sarah’s GPS knowledge and skills asa training specialist has produced excellent outcomes,
both domestically and from a regional perspective. She
aspires to leverage this skillset again in the future witha possible deployment, as a GENAD role with a strong
connection to training.
‘If I want to continue my career as a training specialist,
I have to ensure that balance between any othersecondary positions. In the future, I would love an
opportunity to use my knowledge and expertise tosupport that, potentially in a broader focus. We’reseeing some great changes within our own Defence
Force, which, as a result, is spreading rapidly
and widely into our backyard. There is a growing
recognition across our Asia Pacific region of the valuethat women bring to security sector roles.’Endnotes On the AS 350 Squirrel rotary wing training aircraft, which were
flown by Navy’s No. 723 Squadron at HMAS Albatross.

1 The Navy’s Management and Strategic Studies Faculty at HMAS
Creswell delivers Officer Leadership and Promotion Courses, theWarrant Officer Promotion Course and the Chief Petty Officer
Promotion Course.

2

3

Training Officer and Gender Advisor, Commander Sarah Mills, stands on the quarterdeck of HMAS Adelaide whilst crew members conduct pipe repair training
during a damage control exercise.

Wing Commander Jade Deveney, also profiled in this book.

 Guardian-class patrol boats are a class of small patrol vessels
designed and built in Australia for small Pacific Ocean countries
and can accommodate men and women sailors.

4

86

Winning the Peace

Lieutenant Colonel Robyn Fellowes
Commanding Respect
LTCOL Fellowes brought significant experience to her
GENAD and GFP positions, having served for 35 years
in a variety of operationally orientated roles, as both afull-time member and in a reservist capacity. Robyn hascommenced writing her memoir which will focus on
her impressive career, including her experiences as a
GENAD/GFP.

Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL) Robyn Fellowes retiredin January 2022 from her planning roles within
Headquarters 1st Division (HQ 1 Div)/Deployable
Joint Force Headquarter (DJFHQ). LTCOL Fellowes
worked in Operational Assessment and as aContingency Planner in the J5 Plans Branch. In
addition to her planning responsibilities, she wasalso the lead Gender Focal Point, working with the
DJFHQ GFP Network and HQJOC to ensure genderconsiderations were factored into planning for
operations and exercises.

Although Robyn is technically commissioned to Signals
Corps, in 1999 she became the first Australian Defence
Force (ADF) woman to pass Special Forces Commando
training; some fifteen years before Defence removed therestrictions preventing women from serving in frontline
combat roles. In the same year that Robyn earned her
coveted Green Beret, the Special Forces Commander
placed a ban on any more women undertaking thetraining, which was deeply disappointing to Robyn andother women aspiring to serve in Special Forces. Thisand other early-career experiences ignited Robyn’scommitment to gender equality to improve operational
effectiveness within the military context.
When Robyn deployed to Bougainville in 1998, as partof the multinational ADF-led Peace Monitoring Group(PMG), she gained some first-hand insights regarding
the importance of engaging women in the communities
where the ADF operates:‘I was a Captain at the time and my role was as
the patrol commander within the Combined Joint
Interagency Task Force. We would visit different

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

villages to engage with the local population on thepeace process … I would usually ask my 2IC1, a maleFijian officer, to talk with the male village leaders, while
I would speak with women from the village and we’dboth come back with completely different narratives.
The men would say everything was going well withthe peace process, whereas the women would say,
“We have no freedom of movement, there are armed
gangs threatening us and the security situation is dire.”
Wherever we went, it would be the same story. I had
noticed from my arrival in Bougainville that the peacedelegations did not include women participants, which
I thought was a problem, because men and women’s
perceptions about the security environment werecompletely different.’
Robyn observed women had been unable to actively
engage with the peace process because of the fraught
security situation and decided to take action to improvetheir safety and security in addition to enabling their
participation. Robyn drew on the PMG’s resources(additional helicopters, boats and vehicles) to organisea large forum for women to share their views on security
and the peace process, which attracted over 300
participants from across the country. The outcomeof the forum was a comprehensive understanding of
women’s main concerns and priorities, which were
subsequently factored into broader peace maintenanceefforts. Although Robyn’s actions pre-dated the releaseof UNSCR 1325, there is clear alignment to the GPS
global agenda.

87

Robyn’s first formal exposure to the term ‘Gender, Peaceand Security’ was in 2015, while serving with Operation
Resolute Support (OP RS, also known as RSM) in
Afghanistan as the Senior Staff Officer – Lessons Learnt.
‘Colonel Amanda Fielding2 was short-staffed andasked me to assist with working groups for improving
the recruitment and retention of women in the Afghan
National Army (ANA) … that’s where my interest in
GPS first started. It made sense operationally thatwomen needed to be included in the ANA. Because ofthis interest and my Army planning background, COL
Fielding asked if I wanted to help her integrate genderconsiderations into the operational planning processes
for ADF operations and exercises at JOC [Joint
Operations Command] … of course I said yes.’
The decision to return to a full-time Army role andrelocate to Canberra was not an easy one. Since
retiring from full-time service in 2008, Robyn had built a
successful business near Toowoomba which required
her total focus. However, her commitment to GPS wassuch that she subsequently closed her business andcommenced her role as the Deputy Gender Advisor(GENAD) in JOC.
The JOC GENAD team was required to build thecapability from the ground up, which was a massive taskwith a never-ending ‘to do’ list. Fortunately, they received
strong support across most of the JOC headquarters
and particularly from senior leadership:‘We were very fortunate because the CJOPs [Chief ofJoint Operations] was incredibly supportive of the work
we were doing and he applied the GENAD capability
very effectively. He was the enabler without thatleadership buy in, we could not have achieved what
we did in 18 months.’

88

Robyn’s previous experiences
had demonstrated that there isalways a gendered aspect tohuman terrain, so a key task
was to review JOC’s current
and planned operation andcontingency plans to ensure
GPS had been considered,
where required. Anotheraspect was engaging with ADF
partners, particularly in the Asia
Pacific region, to ensure there
was synergy on gender-related
issues. Robyn also played arole in developing the JOCspecific content for the ADF’s
Operational GENAD course,which was piloted in May
2017. The pilot course was
overwhelmingly successful.

Women from the Sudanese Peace Liberation Army (SPLA) learning about their constitutional rights in Juba.

‘The highlight from mytime in JOC was playing
a small part in delivering ADF’s Operational Gender
Advisor Course, which was the first of its kind in thesouthern hemisphere. We needed the course to build
the GENAD capability and the only way to increase
the numbers of GENADs required to support ADF
operations and exercises, was to grow our own.’
After eighteen months in the JOC position, Robynwas offered a Military Gender and Protection Advisor
role within the United Nations Mission in South
Sudan (UNMISS) or OP ASLAN. This proved to be
an invaluable opportunity to apply her expertise andknowledge of GPS within a complex international
peacekeeping context.

Winning the Peace‘My tour in South Sudan was the most challenging
deployment of my career. I needed every aspectof my previous 33 years of Army experience tosuccessfully execute the role … the operational
understanding I gained at JOC was essential. While
there was minimal direction for my position, I saw
myself as the Force Headquarters Gender Plannerand I worked closely with my civilian counterparts(Senior Women’s Protection Advisor, Gender Affairs
and the Child Protection Unit) conducting integrated
mission planning so we could collectively contribute to
mission success.’
Robyn’s first order of business was to conduct a genderanalysis of the South Sudanese context to ascertain
her main lines of effort, with consideration to UNMISSpriorities of protection of civilians and enduring peace.
The analysis revealed some clear priorities:‘I learnt most of the sexual violence occurring in
the country was being perpetrated by men in the
Sudanese People’s Liberation Army [SPLA]. I knew
from my ADF experiences and GENAD training thathigher numbers of trained women in a security force
can lead to a reduction of these incidents in thelonger term ... my first priorities were empowering
women in the SPLA and reducing the levels ofconflict related sexual violence perpetrated by
SPLA members.’
Robyn engaged with women already serving in the
SPLA to ascertain their perspectives and discovered
they were often restricted to menial tasks, such as
making tea and did not have clear direction or position
descriptions for their roles:‘The SPLA women wanted to be trained properly
and given meaningful roles so they could contributeto the security of South Sudan, alongside themen ... it was similar to Afghanistan where thefocus was on increasing the numbers of women,
but without much consideration of training andcareer progression. If women don’t feel like they’recontributing, they don’t have a good reason to stay.
If you fix retention, you automatically resolve yourrecruiting problem.’
From these engagements and with approval fromthe SPLA leadership, Robyn organised a training
workshop ocused on empowerment and educating
women about their constitutional rights. The workshop
was extremely successful and set the conditions forfurther training across the country.

Colonel Bol (centre) and Lieutenant Colonel Fellowes and key staff working together in Juba.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

89

Another of Robyn’s achievements was, in partnershipwith the UNMISS Police Commissioner, obtaining UN
Development Program funding to establish a network for
women in the SPLA and South Sudan National Police
Service (SSNPS).
‘The Police Commissioner was Fijian, so we had that
immediate regional understanding from our countries
having worked closely together in the past … sheunderstood the importance of supporting womenin the SSNPS. Our aim was to establish a women’s
network that would provide ongoing support andmentoring opportunities for SPLA and SSNPS women.
These women did not want a hand-out, they wanted
hand-up.’To ensure GPS considerations endured beyond
her tenure, Robyn worked closely with the U53 tomainstream gender considerations into key operational
documents, including: Strategic Mission Guidance; theForce Operation Order; Standard Operating Procedures;and regular situation reports (sitreps).
‘When I arrived, there was no mention of genderconsiderations in any reporting … there was nothing
in the daily sitreps about gender, or sexual and gender
based violence reporting and the intelligence collection
plan was not focused on the wider protection ofcivilians outside of the Internally Displaced Persons[IDP] camps, so they weren’t analysing the data
being collected by the wider mission to understandhot spots and trends. Before I left, I made suregender considerations were integrated throughout
key aspects of the operation and properly reported
and documented … which is so important whenthe mission’s priority is protection of civilians andenduring peace. You can’t contribute to mission
success if you aren’t ensuring your forces are

90

trained and in a position to respond and protect thevulnerable population.’
Since returning from South Sudan, Robyn has continued
working for the Army on a full-time basis in planning
and GFP roles. Robyn notes there are significant
opportunities to continue working closely with the ADF’s
partners to further develop GPS within the Asia Pacificregion and beyond:‘The tasks the ADF and Whole of Government (WoG)
GENAD community are being asked to do requires
dedicated and experienced GENADs in planning
positions in Joint Operations Command and large
joint task forces … Gender considerations are but
one of the many planning considerations, but hugely
important … the gendered nature of human terrain
should never be overlooked. I have always consideredgender considerations as an inch wide and a mile
deep and the one issue that can unhinge a jointtask force mission by undermining its legitimacy. I
think the ADF has an experienced GENAD capability
and we can offer a lot to the WoG effort and to ourregional partners.’

Endnotes The J5 Branch is responsible for planning operations that may
occur in Australia’s Area of Interest in the event of a crisis.

1 Colonel Amanda Fielding was the Senior GENAD OP RS at thetime. She is profiled in this book.

2 The U5 is responsible for planning. Joint headquarters positions
in UN missions are categorised using a ‘U’ prefix, rather than the
more commonly used ‘J’.

3

Winning the Peace

Lieutenant Colonel Robyn Fellowes attending the inaugural Sudanese
People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) Women’s Workshop in Juba, which she
developed and organised.

Warrant Officer Dean Maher
Trailblazing in Gender, Peace and Security
The latter years of Dean’s career as an Avionics
Technician have been increasingly focused on
operational planning, operational support andcontributing to Air Force’s expeditionary capability. He
was posted as the Base Armament Manager for Air
Force’s 381 Squadron (which provides a contingency
response capability), when he first encountered theconcept of GPS:‘I was tasked with being a GENAD as a secondary
duty … I didn’t know what it was about and I
remember thinking, “I’m probably the worse person
for this job … but sure, I’ll give it a crack.” So, I started
researching, which included reviewing the material
released by the Australian Civil-Military Centre … I also
watched Side by Side1 which was really helpful.’

Warrant Officer Dean Maher joined Air Force asan Avionics Technician but has spent most of his
career working in the field of explosive ordnanceas an Armament Technician. He has deployed on anumber of operations including Slipper, Highroad,
Papua New Guinea Assist (PNG) Assist andIndonesia Assist.

the broader strategic view, but contextualised for theunit and our mission.’
Since 2017, Dean has been almost constantly engaged
in different aspects of GPS. He deployed on OperationPNG Assist4, where he applied a gender perspective tohis role as an Operations Officer (OPSO) and Combat
Support Group liaison. Dean completed the Australian
Defence Force (ADF) Operational GENAD course in May
2018 before deploying in a OPSO/GENAD capacity
to Operation Indonesia Assist5 in October 2018. Hisrole primarily entailed providing advice on genderconsiderations when transporting displaced persons on
ADF aircraft and ensuring the gender composition of
the ADF Force was appropriate and consistent with themission’s requirements.

On the basis of this research, Dean developed abriefing on GPS for his unit, which he aligned to the
expeditionary unit’s mission. He was not convincedthat his briefing and focus were ‘hitting the mark’ until
meeting Wing Commander (WGCDR) (then Squadron
Leader) Jade Deveney2 while attending an International
Humanitarian Protection course at RAAF BaseRichmond.

Through his own operational experiences, both before
and after training as a GENAD, Dean has witnessed
numerous instances of gendered considerations
and implications during ADF operations, particularly
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations.
He cites one particularly memorable example of
how assumptions about gender can influence theprioritisation of aid:

‘I introduced myself to everyone as a Gender Advisor
and very quickly found out that I wasn’t3 [laughter]… while on the course, I found there was … an Air
Command sanctioned presentation I could use toensure I was giving the Air Force view of GPS … as itturns out, the presentation I produced was aligned to‘During PNG Assist, we were managing a small
hub-and-spoke6 operation, supplying CH47s7 up in
the highlands of PNG. We had a lot of aid coming infrom different agencies … and a lot of it was from theAustralian Government. I noticed a large supply of
dignity kits8 sitting on the side of the tarmac that had

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

91

Royal Australian Air Force Gender Advisor, then Flight Sergeant Dean Maher, provides guidance and advice to Sergeant Rebecca Hass on gender in military operations, as part of Exercise Cope North 19, Baker Airfield, Tinian Island.

92

Winning the Peacebeen scheduled for delivery the previous afternoon.
These kits were configured to meet the needs ofwomen in the earthquake-devastated region, who,
in most cases, had nothing left ... I asked the person
in charge why the items hadn’t been delivered andwas told, ‘Because it’s not important … it’s not foodor medicine so it’s not a priority.’ I replied, ‘Sir, haveyou heard of GPS and UNSCR 1325?’ He hadn’t so
I provided the gender perspective and informed himof the Australian Government’s implementation of the
National Action Plan [NAP]. The kits were deployed on
the next mission ...’
It was prescient that Dean viewed the dignity kits asa priority and not only for the women who needed
them. Indeed, just a few days later, after the kits were
distributed, the ADF’s consideration of women’s dignity
was a key talking point in a speech made by Australia’s
Minister for Foreign Affairs9, who was accompanied to
PNG by the Chief of the Defence Force. Dean notes thatafter the speech, the person responsible for prioritising
aid deliveries gave him a ‘sneaky thumbs up’ fromacross the tarmac, probably feeling extremely relieved hehad taken the GENAD’s advice.
Due to the nature of his work on HADR operations,
Dean often had contact with personnel from internationalNGOs and different CSOs. Some personnel expressed
their surprise regarding the comparatively highrepresentation of women working on and around
Australian military aircraft:‘A female representative from the World Food Program
was asking about the number of women loadies10 on
our aircraft. She asked if it was normal to have women
working on the aircraft like this. When I said, ‘Yes’11,
she asked, ‘Why do you do that?’ I explained that we[Air Force] don’t discriminate when it comes to being

Royal Australian Air Force loadmaster Warrant Officer Greg Skevington directs the forklift driver as aid is unloaded in support of Operation PNG Assist 2018 atMount Hagen Airport.
1able to do a job and that while women’s participation
has not always been great, it was quickly changing.
I explained that our need to change is based on
improving operational outcomes. When you think
about the types of HADR missions we’re doing, theloadmasters are often that first point of contact withvulnerable populations, usually after a traumatic eventor under extremely stressful circumstances. Having
women as well as men in those first-contact roles
improves our ability to engage and communicate

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

with populations impacted by disaster … which has
a positive impact on achieving the mission. Australia
is seen as really progressive in terms of women’s
participation on operations, even from a European
NGO perspective.’
More recently, Dean undertook a GENAD position on Air
Force’s Exercise Cope North, an annual military exercise
involving multinational personnel predominantly fromthe US, Japanese and Australian militaries. The exercise

93

did not go as planned from a GENAD perspective, asboth WGCDR Deveney and Dean believed the GENAD
position would be situated within a Combined Air
Operations Centre (CAOC) and have a whole-of-force
focus. Unfortunately, only the HADR aspects of theexercise were within the GENAD’s scope. Dean also
struggled to find time to address gender considerations
due to his high-tempo operations role. Despite
the role not going as planned, it provided valuable
learning opportunities for Air Force regarding how toresource and apply GENADs and GFPs in the exercise
environment and resulted in a number of changes for
Cope North the following year. One of the limitations of
the GFP concept is time and this was apparent to Dean:‘In the end, I did a Gender Assessment, but we just
had no time … one of the lessons learnt from Cope
North was that you can’t really be an Operations
Officer and a GENAD at the same time... It should
be somebody’s main role and they can have othersecondary roles, but they need to be able to focus on
the gender aspects. People say, “That’s never going tohappen, it isn’t important enough,” but it’s importantenough if the Government thinks it’s important and the
UN and NATO think it’s important.’
To emphasise the importance of having specialist
GENAD roles, Dean uses the analogy of Safety Advisors.
He notes that while safety is certainly mainstreamed andconsidered the responsibility of all personnel, Air Forcestill has specialist Safety Advisors attached to mostunits, usually as a full-time role. He believes the GENAD
capability should be considered in a similar fashion.
From Dean’s observations, not having a trained GENAD/
GFP involved in planning and operations often meansthat gender factors can be overlooked:

when you’re the first on the ground and last out.
During one deliberate planning activity for a non HADR
operation, the planners turned around and said, “Heygender have you got anything to add” … and I said,“Well first of all, we don’t actually have any females inthis planning group.” Their response was, “Oh yeah,
good call.”’Being male in a female dominated field and one of
the few Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCO)
actively working on GPS, it’s fair to say that Dean has
encountered some good-natured criticism from some of
his ADF colleagues, which he is philosophical about. He
considers the low numbers of SNCOs engaged on GPS
as more of an issue and hopes that higher numbers of
SNCOs are afforded the opportunity to train and work as
GENADs in the future:‘I did feel a little bit like the ‘token male’ to start with,
but I’m happy to be viewed that way if it is going toresult in higher numbers of men putting their handup for GENAD roles. I have noticed more Air Forcemen have been engaging which is really positive. I
would like to see more enlisted personnel going into
GENAD and GFP roles on operations. I understandwhy some deployments need a certain rank … but
you could have an enlisted person in there, maybe as
a 2IC [Second in Command]. If you’re looking to havegender-mixed teams and engage more men, then that
could be a good way to achieve that. I think it’s really
important to have a range of different voices speaking
about gender.’‘Sometimes it’s about making sure you have the rightmix of people to achieve the mission … especially94

Winning the Peace

Endnotes ‘Side by Side - Gender, Peace and Security’ is an Australia CivilMilitary Centre produced educational video which addresses how
the international community has, and can, meet its commitments on
GPS. The content is publicly accessible via https://www.acmc.gov.
au/resources/videos/video-side-side-women-peace-and-security

1

WGCDR Jade Deveney is profiled in this book.

2 As the role was part-time, it would be considered a Gender Focal
Point rather than Gender Advisor.

3 The ADF provided humanitarian assistance to the remotehighlands areas of PNG, following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake andaftershocks.

4 OP IA 2018 was the ADF’s contribution to planning, preparation anddelivery of humanitarian aid from Balikpapan to Palu Indonesia.

5 In this situation, a ‘hub-and-spoke’ operation refers to providing
a central supply point and aviation support base for Chinook
helicopters flying back and forth delivering aid supplies to the PNG
highlands.

6

Boeing CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.

7 Dignity Kits are intended to provide basic feminine hygiene,
sanitation and in some cases, modesty items for displaced womenand girls of reproductive age.

8

9

The Honourable Julie Bishop MP.

10

A common ADF abbreviation of the word ‘Loadmaster’.

11 Air Force has made a concerted effort to increase women’s
representation in the Loadmaster mustering; with women now
representing around 40 percent of personnel.

Captain Stacey Porter, CSC, RAN
Building on Progress, Furthering the Vision
Captain Stacey Porter joined the Royal Australian
Navy (RAN) in 1990 as an Instructional Officer,
which has since been renamed to Training Systems
Officer. In 2006, she was ‘crash posted1’ to HMAS
Kanimbla II2 as the ship’s training manager, whichenabled her to gain the sea-time necessary toadvance in a Navy career. Stacey’s first commandrole was as the Executive Officer (Second in
Command) at HMAS Harman3 in Canberra, followed
by a year completing Australian Command andStaff College in 2010. She then gained invaluable
exposure to the joint operational world through her
next posting as the Chief Staff Officer to the Director
General Support.

In 2013, Stacey assumed command of Navy
Headquarters’ Tasmania, which was one of her mostrewarding postings. The Commanding Officer (CO) role
was Stacey’s first real foray into gender-related activities:‘The CO of 29 Squadron4 also happened to be female5… we linked up and did quite a few high-profile
speaking events and engagements, which focused on
demonstrating women could progress up the ranks,
become COs and have amazing careers in the ADF.
Because of this, when it came time to negotiate mynext posting, I sent an email to my career manager
outlining the great things I felt I could offer the Navybeyond another training development role.’

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Stacey’s timing was impeccable as Navy were actively
seeking a suitably qualified and motivated person for
Navy’s first rotation into the Senior GENAD positionin the Resolute Support Mission (RSM), Afghanistan.
Stacey completed the requisite suite of training
courses, including Swedish Armed Forces International(SWEDINT) GENAD training and NATO Key Leader
Engagement and Advisor training, which enabled her
to ‘hit the ground running’ when she arrived at RSM in
April 2016.
Similar to her predecessors, Stacey worked towards
three primary lines of effort which were outlined in both
the Operational Order and Operational Plan for the
RSM. The GENAD mission was to increase women’s
meaningful participation in the Afghan security forces;
ensure they were safe and supported; and had accessto the training, equipment and facilities needed tosucceed in their chosen career.
Stacey notes the benefits of entering a well-established
GENAD function, which already had a seat at the table
for all major planning and synchronisation meetings
across the headquarters. The GENAD office also had
the strong and visible support of the Commander RSM
and most of the three, two and one-star officers in theMission. This enabled Stacey to progress the GPS
portfolio without the distraction of also having to fight toget gender on the agenda.
In terms of deliverables, one of Stacey’s tasks wascoordinating the first intake of women recruits for the95

(From left to right) Lieutenant Colonel (US) Donna Fanning (Ministry of Defence Gender Advisor) and Captain Stacey Porter (Senior Gender Advisor) meet with Brigadier Ian Rigden (Chief Mentor Afghan National Army Officer Academy) during a visit to ANAOA.

96

Winning the Peace

The Turkish government made every effort to ensure
the women’s training experience was as comfortable
and successful as possible, including fully refurbishingand modernising the classrooms and accommodation
facilities within the training compound. Unfortunately, thepost-Turkey outcomes were not always as positive:

Mr Rowan Ramsay MP hosts Commander Stacey Porter RAN during theAustralian Defence Force Parliamentary Program 2011. Photography byLauren Black.
1

new Afghan National Army (ANA) induction training
program in Anatolia, Turkey. Meeting and engaging
with Afghan women who were joining or had alreadyjoined the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces(ANDSF) was a major highlight of Stacey’s deployment:‘I was really struck by the women’s motivation forjoining the ANDSF … they weren’t there for personalor professional gain … they were there for the goodof Afghanistan, to help get the country back on its
feet and become independent, which was really
heartening. 109 women were selected for the first
Turkey intake and everyone, both Afghans and RSM
personnel kept saying, “You’ll never get them backfrom Turkey … they’ll run away or defect.” But every
single one of those 109 women completed the training
and came back, which is possibly related to theirreasons for joining in the first place.’

the First Lady was chairing and the Minister of Interior
was incredibly angry and said the audit report was
inaccurate. However, just a few days later, these‘missing’ resources started popping up again all overAfghanistan ... and the FRUs started functioning
properly again. I think this really demonstrates thepower of the WSAC and benefit of having suchinfluential Afghans around the table.’‘After coming back, some women would complete
additional training or specialist training to qualify
for roles in logistics, explosive ordinance orcommunications maintenance … but most ended
up being sent into administrative jobs, which
was a complete waste of their specialist training
and quite demoralising in terms of their career
aspirations. Ensuring women had meaningful work
after completing their training became our next big
challenge and we looked at a range of different
interventions to address the issue.’After a successful and rewarding deployment, Stacey
returned to Australia and was posted into the Senior
GENAD position at JOC. Her intention was to continue
progressing projects and actions started by her
predecessor7, but her ambitions were tempered by asideways move in March 2019, into the Director J8
position. Stacey was tasked with rebuilding JOC’s‘Lessons Learnt’ function, while remaining in the Senior
GENAD role.

Another of Stacey’s tasks was continuing thecoordination of the Women in Security Advisory
Committee (WSAC), which was a powerful forum forsenior stakeholder collaboration on GPS issues. The First
Lady of Afghanistan’s ongoing personal involvement as
the WSAC Co-Chair was extremely helpful to expediting
progress in key areas. One example cited by Stacey was
the reinvigoration of the Family Response Units (FRU)6,
which was one of the First Lady’s main priorities:

Her aim for 2020 was to consolidate the lessons
learnt from the multitude of GENAD Post Operation andPost Activity Reports (PARs) previously submitted to
JOC over the past few years. She also hopes to develop
PARs for her own international experiences, including
lecturing on two of the United Kingdom’s Human
Security Courses (which may offer valuable insights
for the ADF’s Operational GENAD Course) and herparticipation on Exercise Viking 2018:‘Millions of dollars had been spent on building andequipping the FRUs all over Afghanistan … after
receiving reports that many FRU’s had fallen into
disrepair, the WSAC commissioned a thorough audit
and the results were pretty damning. Vehicles had
been misappropriated, equipment was missing andpolicewomen were interviewing witnesses in toilet
buildings because men had taken over the FRU
buildings. This report was tabled at the WSAC, while‘The Viking series occurs every four years and is thebiggest military exercise in the Northern Hemisphere.
Viking 18 was delivered across nine sites in Europe
and one of the main lines of effort is the Protectionof Civilians … it was rich with Gender, Peace andSecurity injects and I came away with some excellent
ideas for injects into future ADF exercises … I hope to
implement these in the future.’

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

97

Stacey also conducted a brief visit to Honiara as partof Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2018, primarily to meet andengage with senior female leaders, including politicians,
government officials, diplomats and senior officers in
the military and police. Stacey saw this as an important
opportunity to advocate for the GPS work being
progressed in Australia, while also capturing ideas fromother countries.

While Stacey intends on retiring in 2022, she says she
will always remain connected with, and committed to,progressing GPS outcomes.

Endnotes
1 HMAS Kanimbla II was a landing platform amphibious (LPA)
ship purchased by the RAN to bolster its amphibious capability
QUICKSTEP, the ADF contingency operation to evacuate Australians
from Fiji in the face of an emerging coup.

3 HMAS Harman provides administrative support to Navy personnel
located in the Canberra area.

4 No. 29 (City of Hobart) Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force(RAAF) Reserve squadron located in Hobart, Tasmania.

5
6

7

Captain Stacey Porter, RAN (RSM Senior GENAD) with members of the Resolute Support Mission Team visiting the site of a new accommodation compound for
Afghan Female Policewomen in Kabul.

98

Winning the Peace

A Navy term for a short-notice posting.

2

Wing Commander Deborah Phillips.
 The FRUs were established using US and international donor
funding to provide a safe and secure place for women in rural andregional areas to report crimes to trained female police officers. This
was necessary because in some parts of the country, women were
not permitted to speak to men outside their own families, including
male police officers.
Colonel Amanda Fielding.

Squadron Leader Ellie AurischOperation Render Safe
‘I joined with an outside perspective on international
relations and what was going on in the global politicalspace and I was interested in how to contribute …
I guess that’s why, long term, I looked into genderadvising and how I could assist in this way.’
After graduating from ADFA, Ellie commenced her Air
Force Logistics Officer career with a posting to 41 Wing1
as the SO3-Logistics. During her time at 41 Wing,
Ellie was selected for an ANZAC exchange to New
Zealand, which provided her with invaluable insights into
pacific partnerships.
In 2012, Ellie deployed to the J4 Alpha2 position in
Headquarters JTF633 in Kabul, Afghanistan. During
this deployment, Ellie first became aware of the GPS
global agenda through her interactions with Commander(RAN) Jennifer Wittwer, who was one of the International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Gender Advisors(GENAD) during that same period:

Squadron Leader (SQNLDR) Ellie Aurisch joined the
Air Force in 2007 via an Australian Defence Force
Academy (ADFA) pathway after already completing
two years of a degree in International Relations.
Her decision to join the ADF was prompted by aninterest in international affairs, coupled with thestrong desire to ‘do some good in the world’.

‘‘Commander Wittwer explained the activities she
was undertaking to inculcate a gender perspective
in Afghanistan … and I started thinking, “This issomething I really believe in,” … it was just a fledgling
concept in the ADF back then and it’s fantastic to see
how far we’ve come in the past few years.’On her return from Afghanistan, Ellie worked in a numberof different logistics roles around Australia. She wasfulfilling the GPS representative role as a secondary
duty at Point Cook in 2016, when she received the callProfiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

to deploy on Operation Render Safe3 as GENAD to the
Commander. This was Ellie’s first GENAD deployment
and the first time the ADF had deployed a GENAD onthat operation. She relied on briefings from GENADs,
UN online training and documentation, in addition toprevious seminars to educate and inform herself about
the role.
Ellie’s primary role on Render Safe was to provide advice
to the Commander to ensure that vulnerable groups
were not impacted by the Explosive Remnants of War(ERW) mission and to connect with communities andgroups who may be able to provide further information
on ERW locations. One of the major differences between
Render Safe and other gender missions is the non-crisis,
non-conflict nature of the operating context:‘Render Safe is unique compared to other operations
we gender advise on because it’s a completely
permissive peacetime operational environment … Ina humanitarian sense, it’s about Australia going out
and being a friend to our Pacific neighbours while also
removing Explosive Remnants of War, which havebeen there since World War II.’In addition to advising the Commander, anotherone of Ellie’s tasks was to provide a point of liaison
between communities and the Commander, including
communicating women’s concerns, expectations andpriorities regarding the Operation. However, it was
not always easy to engage with women, especiallyin highland communities. When Ellie managed to99

concerned about having access to fresh water. Theirpriorities were keeping their families together and living
in a secure and peaceful community.’
A key challenge for the Explosive Ordinance Disposal(EOD) personnel was locating the UXO to remove.
The Operation’s success over a number of years
has resulted in there being progressively fewer
UXOs to locate and remove. As such, for the past
few years, the mission has tended to focus more on
community engagement and positive relationshipbuilding, which aligns to the core capabilities of an ADF
GENAD or GFP.
One practical example of this was Ellie’s focus on
engaging with children in the communities where
ADF RS personnel had a presence. Within rural andhighland communities, young children, due to theirinquisitive nature and style of play, unfortunately
tended to be those most likely to find UXO. Seeking
information about UXO locations from children requireda high degree of sensitivity and careful management ofcertain perceptions:

Flight Lieutenant Ellie Aurisch presents an overview of Gender, Peace and Security to 70 personnel from RAAF Base Williams prior to the commencement ofthe ‘Half the Sky Challenge’ 5km Fun Run/Walk. The ‘Half the Sky Challenge’ was conducted on all bases across the nation during the month of October andNovember 2015, to recognisee and celebrate the 15-year anniversary of Australia’s ongoing commitment to UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
1

successfully engage, she was struck by the disconnect
between the intended operational outcomes and thepriorities of the communities they were working in:‘It was really hard to meet and talk to the women in
subsistence farming communities because they are100

working constantly to keep food on the table. When
we did speak with women, it was usually late at night
after the work was finished … we were reliant on
the populace to tell us the location of Unexploded
Ordnance [UXO4] … but they had lived with the
UXO for seventy or so years … and were far more

Winning the Peace‘We needed to engage with children to complete
our mission but the last thing you want is to be seen
to be potentially exploiting minors … we needed to
avoid a situation where a group of uniformed men
approach a child or group of children and follow theminto the forest to look for ERW … this wouldn’t lookappropriate to the community. I think my value-add
was being able to sit back and look at situations andsensitivities and ask, “Is this the best way to achieve
the aim?” and “What are the gendered implications?”
and “What might be the second and third order effectsof this action?” and provide advice as to how we mightachieve the same outcome but in a more culturally andsocially sensitive way. My GENAD contribution wasabout best achievement of the mission, understanding
gender vulnerabilities and how we conduct ourselves tocontinue receiving the goodwill of the community.’This deployment remains one of Ellie’s most memorable
and rewarding military experiences. She cites having
excellent support from her Commander and the deployed
Community Engagement Team as contributing to her
positive experiences during the deployment. As a full-time
GENAD, having the ‘headspace’ to focus on genderconsiderations, without also having to undertake anotherrole, allowed Ellie to engage with the community tounderstand how to best cooperate for mutual benefit:

must not push your culture and values onto them. You
must accept what is and ask questions politely to drawout discussion. You must be willing to get dirty, to go
back day after day to become trusted, to be eloquentin presenting your facts and information to assist withthe mission. I also learnt the importance of cooperation
with ADF, DFAT and host nation initiatives, to ensure wewere aligned and not duplicating our efforts.’
Ellie very much hopes to deploy as a GENAD in the
future. She has remained connected to the GPScommunity through all of her recent ADF endeavours.

‘It was a humbling experience, deeply moving at times
and a highlight of my career. I will always remember
the generosity of the Solomon Islands people andwillingness for us to be included within the community.
I learnt so much about Solomon Island culture that
could not be learnt through ‘briefs’ and this deeper
understanding of culture had a positive impact on
the mission.’

Endnotes1 No 41 Wing, based at RAAF Base Williamtown, is responsible
for tasking subordinate units to provide continuous widearea surveillance, airspace control and execution of air battle
management operations.

2 The J4 function plans, coordinates and directs logistical support
to operations.

3 Operation Render Safe is an annual series of operations to locate
and remove World War II-era Explosive Remnants of War (ERW)from South Pacific island nations. The operation is led by the ADF
but involves Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams and otherpersonnel from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom,
New Zealand, Canada and the Solomon Islands.

4 Unexploded Ordnance is any sort of military ammunition or explosive
ordnance which has failed to detonate or function as intended.

Her experience also provided some valuable lessons,which Ellie now shares with other GENADs andpersonnel from other countries. Common themes in her
presentations include remaining focused on the mission
and the importance of building trust in the communities inwhich the ADF works:‘The ADF mission will always be your primary focus.
Everything you do should be in support of mission
success. A Gender Advisor does not seek to change
the status quo, but does ensure the actions of Defence,by doing their job well, do not increase inequities andcan potentially improve conditions. There must be therecognition that your ideals and aspirations may not be
the same as those of the communities you visit and you

Flight Lieutenant Ellie Aurisch meets with people from a local village to discussoutcomes for the community during Operation Render Safe 2016.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Flight Lieutenant Ellie Aurisch and Esme, one of the local
village women, discuss outcomes for the local community
during Operation Render Safe 2016.

101

Lieutenant Commander Dave Chapman meets local children in March 2019 during a visit to Arno Atoll, Republic of
the Marshall Islands, while deployed in USNS Brunswick as Gender Advisor on Pacific Partnership 19.

102

Winning the Peace

Lieutenant CommanderDavid Chapman
Navigating Unchartered Waters
Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) David ‘Dave’Chapman joined the Navy in 2005 and graduatedfrom the Australian Defence Force Academy in2009 after completing a Bachelor of ElectricalEngineering. Although his primary role is as a
Weapons Electrical Engineering Officer, over recent
years, Dave has had considerable involvementin the field of GPS by way of three separate
operational deployments. The most recent was
his deployment as the J33 (Current Operations) on
Operation Accordion1 where one of his ancillarytasks was to provide Gender Advisor (GENAD)
support in the absence of the primary GENAD.

Even before receiving formal GENAD training, Davedeveloped a solid understanding of UNSCR 1325 andthe GPS Mandate, primarily through his twelve-month
2016/2017 deployment as a United Nations Military
Observer (UNMO) on Operation Paladin. He spent
the first half of his deployment working in ObserverGroup Lebanon under the operational command of
the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
For the second half, Dave was assigned to ObserverGroup Golan under the Operational Control (OPCON)

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operationsof the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force(UNDOF), monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and
Syria in the Golan Heights.
While he was not formally appointed as a GENAD on
the UN mission, he noted that a gender perspective
was certainly factored into the planning and conduct ofdifferent aspects of the operation:‘Gender considerations were a routine aspect ofour daily activities … concepts taught on UN predeployment training and during mission reception andstaging were logical from a human terrain analysis
perspective and were applied to good effect in
the planning and conduct of our patrols. A gender
perspective was also important when our observer
teams were interacting with the population, which
includes key leader engagements and interactingwith members of the host-nation’s military andpolice forces. Any data and reporting processes
for refugees and internally displaced persons werealso disaggregated by gender, which provided
useful insights into how different members of the
population were impacted by both the conflict andceasefire activities.’
In 2018, after completing this deployment and largely
due to his positive exposure to GPS within a UN
construct, Dave completed the ADF Operational GENAD

103

Course to enhance his knowledge of the ADF GENAD
role. One of Dave’s observations from ADF GENAD
training was the strong emphasis placed on advocacy
and promoting the GPS concept to others. He is
optimistic this aspect of the training will soon berendered unnecessary:‘The ADF Operational GENAD Course provided apractical demonstration of where and how genderconsiderations may be constructively input to
operational planning. But there was also a heavy
influence on advocacy in the training, in that a major
focus was explaining what a GENAD does and why
the role is relevant. I believe the necessity for this will
decrease as the ADF reaches an end-state whereapplication of a gender perspective to operations is
considered business-as-usual.’
In March/April 2019, Dave had the opportunity totest his new knowledge and skills when he deployedon Exercise Pacific Partnership 2019, in a dedicated
GENAD and GPS Officer2 role. He was positioned
onboard the United States Naval Ship ‘Brunswick’,
which is a Spearhead-class expeditionary fasttransport ship, in service with United States’ Military
Sealift Command.
The original mission was to build partner capacity
across medical, community engagement andengineering lines of effort in multiple locations acrossthe Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and theFederated States of Micronesia (FSM). However,during the Exercise, the mandate shifted, when the
ADF was required to provide direct support to theMortlock and North-West Islands in response to
Super Typhoon Wutip, which devastated the remote,low-lying atolls.

104

Lieutenant Commander Dave Chapman and local women leaders meet on Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands in March 2019, discussing community issues
and priorities, to shape support provided by Pacific Partnership Force Elements within the Atoll.
1

Dave’s contribution to both phases of the Exercise wasto provide a gender perspective to various activities
and engagements:

Winning the Peace‘I provided education and briefings to the crew,
conducted community engagement and engaged withhost-nation government officials as well as medical

and education staff in towns and villages. This wasreally helpful to our ability to connect with the local
populations where we were working. I also attended
the Pacific Women Leaders’ Coalition Conferencein Majuro, which was hosted by the President of the
Marshall Islands, President Hilda Heine, the first female
Head of State of a Pacific Nation.’

has increased its efforts to operationalise GPS inrecent times which has resulted in more interesting
opportunities for members to gain GENAD experiencein an operational context. I intend to remain involvedin the GPS field by volunteering for ongoing Gender
Focal Point ancillary duties or possibly another GENAD
deployment in the future.’

From Dave’s perspective, one of the primary positive
outcomes from deploying as a GENAD on PacificPartnership during the execution phase was establishingnew contacts with female leaders in NGOs, the UN andhost nation government bodies, which facilitated genderbalanced planning for future iterations of the Exercise.

Endnotes Operation Accordion’s mission is to support the sustainmentof Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations, enable
contingency planning and enhance regional relationships in
the Middle East Region (MER).

1 The US military uses the term ‘GPS Officer’ instead of
GENAD, but the role and responsibilities are the same.

2

Another notable benefit of having a deployed GENAD
during that Exercise was to support contingency
planning following Super Typhoon Wutip. For example,
a detailed gender analysis of the population provided
insights into the unique, traditional indigenous lifestylesof these remote and isolated communities which helped
ensure all interactions were cognisant considerate of
the unique needs of those populations. Dave views thisas an excellent example of GENAD input enhancing
operational outcomes within a real-life Humanitarian
Assistance and Disaster Relief situation.
As a male working in the female-dominated field, Dave
has not experienced any particular challenges. He
intends to remain connected to the GENAD community
and aspires to undertake a Directing Staff role on
future GENAD training courses. His experiences of
GPS in three different operational contexts would
certainly provide a valuable additional dimension to the
ADF training:‘I have found the experience of deploying as a
GENAD to be interesting and rewarding. The ADF

Lieutenant Commander Dave Chapman on patrol as a United Nations Military Observer near the Lebanese village of Kafr Kela in August 2016, observing theceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

105

Squadron Leader Claire Pearson engaged in a sports
demonstration for Nuer tribe women within the UN InternallyDisplaced Persons (IDP) camp in Bor, South Sudan. (2016)

106

Winning the PeaceSquadron Leader Claire Pearson
A Healthy Dose of Scepticism‘When I was deployed to Headquarters International
Security Assistance Force [HQ ISAF] in Kabul in 2012
… there was a Swedish officer who was the ISAFGENAD. My initial thoughts, which have obviously
changed since then, were that she wasn’t reallyinvolved in the fight … the position seemed like a
distraction to the rest of us who were trying to docombat activities.’
Given her initial views, it was ironic that in 2016, Claire
was given a GENAD role on a subsequent deployment
to United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in
an intelligence capacity:‘As soon as I arrived, the Brigadier said, “We’ve
been directed by UN Headquarters to have a Gender
Advisor for each sector … because you’re our ‘Lady
Officer’2, you’ll be our Sector East Gender Advisor.”
Being the bolshy redhead I am, I spent three days
protesting that the role wasn’t tied to women ... but
then I realised, as an Australian who actually knows
something about the concept of GPS, I was likely tohave a much greater impact than somebody who may
not even understand what gender means.’
Squadron Leader (SQNLDR) Claire Pearson, an
Air Force Intelligence Officer and veteran of four
operational deployments1, is refreshingly honest
about her initial scepticism towards GPS.

After making the decision to embrace the role, Claire
experienced significant frustrations, primarily due to thepoor understanding of gender across the sector. Anotherchallenge was the lack of a mandate, direction or evenbasic guidance regarding the expectations of the role.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations‘It was really a case of ‘choose your own adventure’ atthat point.’
Accordingly, Claire undertook her own research, reached
out to the UN Women Office in Juba, South Sudan
and the Senior Joint Operations Command Senior
GENAD3 to help her formulate a plan. She subsequently
wrote a Commander’s Decision Brief outlining different
recommendations for GPS initiatives, which was
eventually approved. In the interim, Claire developed anddelivered presentations to educate different battalions
about basic gender concepts.
‘It was interesting talking to UN peers that have very
traditional views on women’s roles. In fact, just mypresence in the Headquarters as “the Lady Officer”
was, in itself, eye-opening. I challenged their traditionalviews further because I also understand what theyknow from a military perspective.’
In addition to GPS training, Claire developed different
mechanisms for engaging with the local South
Sudanese women. She considered that sport may be
an appropriate vehicle for bringing women and girls
together to engage and interact and the UN literature
supported this approach:‘I settled on soccer because it was easy to organiseand didn’t require much equipment. Once again, I had
to convince the Sector Commander to approve theactivity … he was initially dead against the idea and107

told me, “Girls can’t play soccer.” He was also
concerned the men teaching the girls would kickthe ball too hard and knock the girls over.’However, Claire countered each of theBrigadier’s arguments and eventually gained his
endorsement. She then worked with the highly
supportive Minister for Education to gain South
Sudanese government approval. The soccer
clinic for girls was very successful from a rangeof perspectives, including as an opportunity toengage in non-sport related matters:‘We highlighted key messages when talking to
the girls and brought in women from the UN
Police such as the Nepalese Police Force todemonstrate women can be in uniform and canalso be leaders.’
Another initiative was to inculcate a gender
perspective into operational planning and herwork in the G2 [Intelligence] function. One positive
outcome of this approach was increased patrols
around the areas where women cdollect firewood,
because reporting indicated that women wereincreasingly being attacked and sexually assaulted
outside the Sector East Internally Displaced
Persons (IDP) Camp.
On her return to Australia, Claire completed thefirst iteration of the new ADF Operational Gender
Advisor Course, as part of her preparation to be
the White Force GENAD for Exercise Talisman
Sabre 20174 (TS17). With a more sophisticatedappreciation of the nexus between intelligence
analysis, operational planning and GPS outcomes,
Claire took the opportunity to rewrite or adjust
some of the planned gender injects to better alignthem with a high-end warfighting situation:

108‘A lot of the planned injects were shaped
around media reports or civil-military
engagements. However, in a full-blown conflict,you’re not going to be getting BBC news
feeds or feeds through civ-mil or aid agencies
because you wouldn’t have that access to the
population. I changed it so the gender injects allcame via intelligence channels because that’s
how it would transpire in reality.’
Claire observed that as the intelligence staff on
TS17 had not received any specific training on
GPS or incorporating a gender perspective into
their analysis work, they missed almost all thegender injects. This was a valuable lesson as
it highlighted the importance of mainstreaming
gender considerations into the Joint Intelligence
Preparation of the Operational Environment(JIPOE). Since TS17, Claire notes the Air Forcehas made good progress towards mainstreaming
GPS within the Air Force intelligence community:‘The Defence School of Intelligence (Air) now
deliver a GPS presentation to capture new
recruits5. Also, at 4606, our targeting squadron,they’ve started integrating GPS into their internal
exercises. Significantly, my unit, 87 Squadron7,
has just released a Gender in Military
Operations Strategy - the first squadron in the
Air Force to do this … we have tied this strategy
to our CONOPs to ensure it’s not lost.’
The 87 Squadron Strategy was distributed to thewider ADF intelligence community to encourageother ADF intelligence units to develop theirown strategies.
Over time, Claire has become a genuine advocate
for GPS and remains invested in the space. She

Winning the Peace

Squadron Leader Claire Pearson conducting planning with the Bor school principal. (2016)

the [intelligence] community and I’ve tried to use ourlanguage ... right up front I say, “I’m not here to talkabout domestic gender diversity programs, I’m here
to talk about combat effects and how we can win the
war faster” ... when you bring people in on that, you
can start the conversation.’

Claire firmly believes her initial reluctance regarding GPS
has helped her engage with other military personnel who
may also be dismissive of the mandate:

has lectured on GPS at the ADF Peace Operations
Training Centre (ADF POTC), written a journal article
about GPS by undertaking and continuing to develop
her GPS knowledge through postgraduate studies at
the Monash University Gender, Peace & Security Centre.
Claire intends to deploy again as a GENAD and continue
to contribute to broader Defence GPS initiatives.

‘… the education piece is getting there ... it has to bepresented in language the war-fighters understandand contextualised for each battle. I’ve targeted
people who are considered the real influencers inEndnotes Kandahar, Afghanistan; Kabul, Afghanistan; Bor, South Sudan; andMiddle East Region.

1 As the only female in Sector East HQ, Claire was frequently referred toas the ‘Lady Officer’ by other UN personnel.

 Talisman Sabre is a biennial series of combined Australian and UnitedStates (US) training exercises focused on the planning and conduct of‘high-end’ warfighting.

4

2

3

Colonel Amanda Fielding, also profiled in this book.

5 Developed by Wing Commander (WGCDR) Jade Deveney, also
profiled in this book.

Major Brian Willsher and Squadron Leader Claire Pearson meeting local children on the road to the UN
Camp in Bor, South Sudan. (2016) 460 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force targeting intelligence unit
active within the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation.

6

7

87 Squadron is the Air Force’s Mission Intelligence Squadron.

The Australian UN contingent based in Bor, South Sudan - Major Brian Willsher (Left), Squadron Leader Claire Pearson (Centre),
Colonel John Carey (Right). (2016)

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

109

110

Personnel from the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces take notes during an Australian Defence Force led Gender in Military Operations course as a part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2022 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Winning the Peace

Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Lenaghan
A 180 Degree Turn on Gender Considerations
Mel worked in the Army’s Joint Movements Unit inDarwin during the first deployment of ADF personnel toEast Timor, under the auspices of International Force
East Timor (INTERFET)1. Having spent a significant
amount of time in Timor during a high school exchange,
Mel was fluent in both Indonesian and Tetum, which theArmy was quick to capitalise on:

Lieutenant Colonel (LTCOL) Melanie ’Mel’ Lenaghan
joined the Australian Army in 1995 via the Australian
Defence Force Academy (ADFA) at UNSW Canberra.
Although she had originally intended joining Air Force(and at one stage, thought she had!), Mel believes
that Army was definitely the right Service for her,given her career aspirations. After graduating fromthe Royal Military College Duntroon as a Transport
Corps Officer, Mel was somewhat unimpressed to beposted back to her hometown of Darwin, noting she
had joined the ADF to experience more of Australia
and the world. The timing of her return to Darwin,
however, unexpectedly shaped her Army career fromthat point forward.

‘I started training people in basic language skills, boththe movers and intelligence battalion, which had justformed. The intelligence battalion then asked me toassist in East Timor, which I was released to do. I
became an interpreter and worked in interrogations,
psyops [psychological operations] and anywhere else
I was needed. That’s when the intelligence folks said,“Why don’t you transfer to Intelligence Corps?” … andso I did.’
Mel has since returned to Timor-Leste on threeoccasions as an Intelligence Officer and feels incredibly
proud of her contribution to helping the people of TimorLeste to forge independence.
Over the years, Mel has worked in many specialist areasof Army Intelligence, including psychological operations,
exploitation and counterintelligence. She has undertaken
a number of different deployments, but a particular
highlight was a 2007 deployment to Iraq2, as the
Deputy J23 for the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device(Counter-IED) Task Force in Combined Joint Task Force(CJTF) Troy4.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Since qualifying as a GENAD, Mel has retrospectively
applied a gender perspective to some of her past roles,
including her deployment to Taskforce Troy:‘What I find interesting with the benefit of hindsight, is
how we didn’t factor gender into our analysis work at
all … when we were examining counter-IED traits andtrying to get to the bottom of what was happening andhow to stop it, not once did I, or anyone in my unit,
or anyone in the task force, ever consider gender. It
didn’t occur to a single person to think about genderas part of those counter-IED processes, analysis
and intelligence collection or even to improve ourunderstanding of the context and causes.’
Since the introduction of GPS to the ADF, Mel believes
there has been increased awareness of the need toconsider gender through Joint Intelligence Preparationof the Operational Environment (JIPOE) processes.
However, practicalities can stand in the way of goodintentions.
‘Most of the [intelligence] community knows gender issomething we should be considering, but realistically,
you’re working 21-hour days on some deployments
just to get the red hat5 stuff done so the capacity to
add additional layers of gender data collection andanalysis isn’t always there. That said, Lieutenant
Colonel Deb Warren-Smith did an enormous amountof work to get gender considerations into Army’s
intelligence training and so the next generation ofIntelligence Officers should automatically consider111

gender as a routine component of data collection andanalysis … it may take a generational shift, but we areheading in the right direction.’
Mel has some empathy with colleagues who may
diminish or resist the GPS global agenda as she herself
was initially resistant to the concept. She was ‘absolutely
fuming’ when, in 2016, she was ‘selected’ to be Vice
Chief of the Defence Force’s (VCDF) GENAD, without
ever nominating for the role.
‘The Chief of Staff basically said, “You’re the only
female around who meets the criteria,” and I was
thinking, “This is nonsense!’’’It was only after Mel, very reluctantly, went to Sweden
to undertake the NATO GENAD Course, that she had acareer-changing epiphany.
‘I think it was Day 1 when I thought, “Oh my God, thisis what we’re missing. This is why we keep having togo back into the same countries and why international
peacekeeping efforts haven’t always been effective.” It
was almost a physical feeling of realisation that this is
the piece we’ve been missing all along.’
Mel also found ther improved understanding of GPS
helped to solidify some of her own lived experiences asa woman in the ADF and was excited about applying her
newfound knowledge to the VCDF GENAD role.
In late 2017, Mel was offered the first ADF GENADrelated deployment to Operation OKRA in Iraq and she
jumped at the chance. While Mel was ‘officially’ deployed
as a J5 Planner, one of her primary tasks was to scope
the feasibility of establishing a full-time GENAD position
within the Headquarters. She certainly achieved this aim,with another five ADF GENADs being deployed into the
GENAD position which Mel established.

112

The deployment was one of the mostrewarding and frustrating experiencesof Mel’s career, particularly as she was
the first person to address GPS within
the Headquarters:‘Colonel Fielding put a lot of work
into getting the GENAD position
created and I really wanted to do
it justice. However, I arrived to a
Headquarters where around half thepersonnel felt ambivalent regarding
the GENAD role, while the other half
actively opposed what they thought
I was trying to achieve and did theirbest to impede any progress. It waspretty tough going in the beginning.’
Mel’s intelligence training proved
extremely useful to her work as
Lieutenant Colonel Mel Lenaghan travelling to a WPS engagement while on deployment as a Gendera GENAD, particularly in bringing
Advisor in Syria’
people onboard to GPS. She drew1
on techniques acquired through her
There are many examples of the operational benefits
interrogation and psychological operations training andgained by Mel’s work in Iraq. For example, her efforts tospent time analysing each individual to ascertain the best
improve outcomes for the widows of fallen Iraqi soldiers
approach, which worked extremely well:is addressed in detail in the report Local Action, Global
Impact, Defence Implementation of Gender, Peace and‘By the time I left, I estimate that about 90 percent ofSecurity 2012 – 20186. Mel also contributed a gender
the headquarters were on board with GPS … whichperspective
to operational planning and targeting in
was a huge achievement. I felt immense satisfaction
Iraq,
includingefforts to rebuild and restore relations
from turning around those people who were, initially,withcommunities
affected by the military destruction
the most set against gender as a consideration. But
ofassets.
then people post out and new people post in and you
have to start the process again. It’s this never-ending
battle to get everyone on board …’

Winning the Peace

From an internal Headquarters perspective, Mel felt
confident the new GENAD position was positioned forsuccess by the conclusion of her deployment:

‘They would know the requirements of the role, theywould already be invited to key meetings and theywould have information flowing in from the otherstaff functions within the headquarters and from thetroops on the ground … which should enable them tofocus all of their efforts towards doing their job as the
Gender Advisor.’

but the impact was so positive. It can be as simple
as making sure when we have a ship visit, we engage
with women from the local communities and ask
them about their priorities and understand what life islike for them. Recognising women’s contributions is
also a wonderful way to build strong relationships inour region.’

Mel successfully advocated to have GPS as one of the
primary lines of effort for Defence’s work in this region.
‘When I suggested that GPS be a line of effort, myboss at the time said, “Brilliant, do it. Let me know
how these can be used.” There is now direction
stating that gender has to be considered throughevery single activity involving the Southwest Pacific,
which is a really important enabler.’

That said, Mel feels that six months was an insufficientperiod for the deployment, primarily due to the sheer
magnitude of the task within that context. She also
acknowledges the incredible GPS work being done byagencies and organisations in Iraq and the importanceof engaging with other actors working on GPS, who may
be in a location for a much longer period and therefore
able to deliver longer-term outcomes.

Mel notes many of the societies in Australia’s region havea strong culture of family, which should be consideredwhen seeking to build positive relationships with thosecountries. She cites a recent example of inviting Tongan
government officials and their families to a special
ceremony onboard an Australian Navy ship:

Post deployment, Mel has maintained a strong focus on
GPS, including in her position as the Deputy Director –Shaping and Influencing, in Defence’s Military Strategic
Commitments Division. Her portfolio encompasses
shaping and influencing the Southwest Pacific and‘After the religious ceremony, there was a special
morning tea ceremony, where women wererecognised for their roles in Tonga … I was told some
women were very emotional because the recognition
made them feel valued … it was such a small gesture,

Canadian Armed Forces officer Major General Jennie Carignan, Commander of NATO Mission Iraq, greets Australian Army soldiers from Task Group Taji 10 atCamp Taji, Iraq.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

Mel undertakes awareness-raising and social media
activities in support of Project Didi7, a small organisation
which seeks to transform the lives of Nepalese womenand girls affected by s​ ex trafficking and abuse. The work
helps Mel to remain connected to GPS in a real andpractical way and she enjoys working with ‘amazing men
and women’ who are similarly motivated to improve thelives of Nepalese women and girls.

Endnotes
1 The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was an Australia-led
multinational non-United Nations peacemaking taskforce which
addressed the security and humanitarian crisis in East Timor after
the 1999 plebiscite to become an independent country.

2 Author note: Mel anie received a US Bronze Star for her efforts
during this high-risk deployment.

3

The J2 is the intelligence function within the Joint Headquarters.

4 Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) Troy was the same task force
featured in the 2008 war movie, ‘The Hurt Locker.

5

A term that refers to adversary / enemy focussed intelligence6 https://www.defence.gov.au/JCG/Women_Peace_Security/docs/
Implementation_GPS_Report.pdf

7 For more information about Project Didi, visit www.
projectdidiaustralia.org/

113

The Joint Task Force 658 (JTF658) Personnel Capability Officers at RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia. From the left, Flying Officer Katilyn O’Brien, Squadron Leaders September Clare, Irene Leurs, Nicola Frost, Brett MacDonald andCatherine Plenty, and Flight Lieutenant Kevin Barnes.

114

Winning the PeaceSquadron Leader Catherine Plenty
Making Good Operational Sense
Cath’s first exposure to UNSCR 1325 and the
GPS global agenda was through a 2014 Australian
Civil-Military Centre (ACMC) working groupaddressing the Protection of Civilians (POC), which
incorporated elements of GPS. She attended theworking group as a representative of the Personnel[J1] Function in Headquarters Air Command (HQAC),
in her capacity as Staff Officer Military Administration
Capability Development:‘The aim of the working group was to review
guidelines on the Protection of Civilians for Defence
and the Australian Federal Police. As the day
progressed, I remember being struck by the logic andgood sense of both the protection and GPS portfolios.
At my request, Air Command allowed me to continue
working with the ACMC as the HQAC representative
for the Defence Implementation Plan and I continued
to expand my knowledge through attending meetings
and workshops with the ACMC. I also completed
additional military courses like the Introduction to Joint
Operations and Joint Operations Planning Course.’
Squadron Leader (SQNLDR) Catherine ‘Cath’ Plenty
joined the Air Force in 1991 and was commissioned
as a Personnel Capability Officer in 2000, after
completing a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in English
and Indonesian) at the Australian Defence Force
Academy at UNSW Canberra.

At a time when GPS was still a fairly novel concept inDefence, Cath expended much energy ‘fighting thegood fight’ and managing misconceptions about what
UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions meant within amilitary and operational context. Cath notes in 2014
there was a high degree of confusion between GPS andother ‘gender agendas’, such as equality, quotas, targets
and measures to increase women’s representation in
the ADF. Cath’s strongly held conviction that GPS ‘madeProfiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

good operational sense’ helped sustain her through themore challenging aspects of the role.
Between January and July 2016, Cath had theopportunity to apply her new knowledge and skillset ina deployed position, as the J531 GENAD to Operation
Accordion JTF633HQ2. She was the third ADF member
to assume the dual J53/GENAD role, but the first withspecialist training on GPS. As Cath had influenced
Air Force’s decision to provide personnel for the J53/
GENAD rotational position3, it was apposite that appositethat she was selected for the role:‘In 2014 and 2015, I completed extensive training anddevelopment work with the ACMC, which included
building a solid professional network both insideand outside of Defence. In late 2014, when the J53
GENAD role was being established in JTF633HQ, I
was on secondment in HQAC Personnel Operations
for the Operation OKRA4 stand up. I was part of
the review to decide whether Air Force was goingto accept this J53 position as a rotational liability.
While the J135 at the time was reluctant to accept
the liability, I advocated for Air Force to get on board
because I knew if we didn’t accept the rotation, we’dbe left behind. When they were looking for somebody
to deploy, I put my hand up … as I’d been working on
GPS for some time, it was a logical choice.’
Cath was excited about going into the role but found
the reality of working as a sole operator in a relatively
unknown field, with minimal resources and ability to115

influence, quite challenging. She found her theoreticalappreciation of GPS and excellent pre-deployment
training, was insufficient to get the traction she wanted:‘My deployment was in the early days of GPS and thefrustrations that come with a lack of understanding
were to be expected. I could have chosen a more
directive and assertive approach but engagement andrelationship building is vital … it is important to selectthe appropriate approach to move towards your goal.
In theory, you have the time to think about what thebest outcome would be, “How would I approach
this?” In real life, you have the added complexityof humans and the lived experience. It’s difficult toprepare for challenges which occur both inside andoutside the wire.’
Although there was minimal guidance for the GENAD
aspects of Cath’s position, she tried to find ways tovalue-add by considering, ‘How can I create positive
GPS effects in this role?’ and ‘Where are the wins?’ and‘How do I make GPS become business as usual?’ Thissystematic approach led to some positive outcomes.
One successful initiative was the establishment of aleadership development group, where invited speakers
delivered talks or training on different operations. Cathensured that GPS was one of the topics on the agenda.
Another of Cath’s responsibilities was delivering GPS
training to personnel coming through the Middle East on
operations. She made every effort to ensure the training
was appropriately targeted to the audience:‘When I was designing the training products, I was
motivated by the view, “How do I sell this to a juniortechnician turning spanners on an aircraft who
probably hasn’t even heard of GPS? Why should
they care?” This training development work led to an
opportunity to deliver GPS training at CTF1506 and a

116

Deployed siblings, Flight Lieutenant Eamon Hamilton and Squadron Leader Catherine Plenty, catch up during operations in the Middle East region.
1

multinational legal conference held in Bahrain attended
by approximately 15 different nations from countries
with varying views on GPS. That was a really beneficial
experience and a chance to get others engaged in
the concept.’

during the period of her deployment, Cath was asked todebrief the personnel involved in the rescue operation
about the gender aspects of the mission. The debrief
provided some useful insights and lessons learnt whichwere passed back to HQJOC for its future reference.

Through engagement and building relationships, Cathwas able to enhance the work of the J5 [Planning]
function and different operational units, such as Special
Forces. When two Australians were kidnapped in Africa

Another of Cath’s goals was to establish Gender Focal
Points (GFP) in all ADF units operating across the Middle
East. Unfortunately, this aspiration proved more difficult,due to the lack of support by other personnel. Despite

Winning the Peacethe challenges, Cath has no regrets about her deployedexperience and hopes to undertake another GENAD
role in the future:‘My experience was different to what I anticipated.
The challenges were difficult, but the big win was therichness of the experience, the lessons I learnt andthe knowledge, tools and training I could share. I now
view the world through a gender lens unknowingly.
When I am thinking about operations, I automaticallythink, “What is happening culturally?” … “Who isvulnerable or at risk?”, “Where is the power and who
has the influence?” From a planning perspective,
I think about, “Who are we preparing to engage?
What does that engagement need to look like? andWhom will we be engaging with?” I think asking
these questions makes me more effective in theplanning role.’

Endnotes The J53 is responsible for planning all operations that are likely orcertain to occur.

1 Headquarters Joint Task Force 633’s mission is to support thesustainment of ADF operations, enable contingency planning andenhance regional relationships in the Middle East Region.

2 A rotational position is when each service (Navy, Army and Air
Force) take turns to fill a position.

3 Operation OKRA is the ADF’s contribution to the international
effort to combat the Daesh (also known as ISIL) terrorist threat in
Iraq and Syria.

4 The J13 is responsible for coordinating personnel to support
operations.

5 Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) is a large multinational task
force of Coalition nation warships patrolling the Indian Ocean tocounter terrorism and uphold maritime law and order.

6

As somebody who was involved from the earliest
days of the capability, Cath’s observation is that the
ADF is moving rapidly towards a fully mainstreamedand ‘business as usual’ approach to GPS. She has
no hesitation encouraging other personnel to pursue
GENAD positions and hopes the ADF maintains its
current progress trajectory:‘I would hate to see the ADF become complacent,or reduce the training, employment opportunities,
and cross organisation engagement required for
our ADF capability to continue to be effective. We
need to keep the momentum going and provide theresources needed to continue the progress. I would
highly recommend the GENAD role to anyone withthe desire/passion to undertake a role that is an
inherently good thing, while also making good sensefrom an operational perspective.’

Deployed siblings, Squadron Leader Catherine Plenty and Flight Lieutenant
Eamon Hamilton, catch up for a quick chat during operations in the Middle
East region.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

117

(L-R) Colonel Eamon Lenaghan, Director Military Commitments - Army, Ms Julie McKay, Gender Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Force; Captain Jennifer Wittwer, RAN, Director National Action Plan for Gender, Peace and Security; Superintendent Mike Hawley,of the Australian Federal Police International Deployment Group; and Lieutenant Colonel Darleen Young, Gender Advisor Army Operations, during the 2015 ADF Peace Operations Seminar at the Australian Defence College, Canberra, on 25th March, 2015.

118

Winning the Peace

Commander Jennifer Wittwer,
CSM, RAN
An Unwaivering Commitment to the Gender,
Peace and Security Global Agenda
Jen’s initial exposure to GPS was through the 2012
NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives (NCGP),
which she attended as the Australian representative.
‘…The timing was fortuitous because the Australian
National Action Plan [NAP] had just been released, butthere was very little knowledge about the NAP within
Defence. When I came back, I apprised the Deputy
Chief of Navy [DCN] of insights from the conference
and wrote an article which was published in theAustralian Defence Force Journal in 2013.’

Commander Jennifer (Jen) Wittwer, CSM, RAN
has been working in the gender space for over a
decade. Her first formal gender related position
was as the Navy’s first Strategic Women’s Advisor
from 2011-2012, however, for the past ten years,
Jen’s focus has been directed towards progressing
the UNSCR 13251 through a range of different
military and civilian roles. She was also the first ADF
member deployed to the NATO International Security
Assistance Force operation in Afghanistan in 2013.

During her post committee briefing with DCN, Jen,inspired by the experiences of international GENADs
in Afghanistan and Kosovo, indicated her aspiration
to become a GENAD on operations. She voiced herambition without ever thinking it could eventuate, andwas therefore surprised by how quickly her dream
became a reality:‘I don’t know how the stars aligned, but about amonth later, DCN advised me that Australia had
won the Gender Advisor position in ISAF2 Joint
Headquarters and Navy had the first rotation. The
position wasn’t even advertised, he just said, “You’regoing. You’re the right person for this role.”’Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

The short notice meant that Jen didn’t have time toundertake the standard NATO GENAD training at
the Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operationsin Sweden3. To prepare for the role she undertook
NATO and UN online training courses, familiarised
herself with relevant resolutions and read as widely as
possible. Jen also conducted research into the current
situation in Afghanistan and NATO’s mandate for the
GENAD position.
Jen faced a number of challenges during her time in
Afghanistan, but one of the most significant was arriving
to a Command structure with minimal knowledge about
the GENAD role. There had been a high degree of staff
turn-over in the Headquarters and the GENAD position
had been vacant for around 12 months. She spentmuch of her deployment educating personnel within
the headquarters about the GENAD role and scope ofthe function:‘My main achievement was reconstructing a GPS
global agenda within the headquarters. I had to startfrom scratch to ensure commanders consideredgender through operational planning and otherprocesses. I also undertook community engagementwith female police and army officers throughvarious activities … so there was the ability to meet119these women, talk to them and find out what theirconcerns were.’
Another of Jen’s tasks was to ensure all personnel
arriving at the Headquarters were familiar with GPS,the work of the Gender Office and had a basic
understanding of cultural considerations wheninteracting with Afghan women. The incoming-briefs to
new personnel provided an opportunity for Jen to outline
key considerations and answer any questions about
GPS and NATO’s expectations of the GENAD role:‘After every brief or presentation, I’d get pushbackquestions like, “Why are we imposing Western style,gender equality on Afghan women?” It could bevery frustrating because some people wouldn’t even
try to understand what it all meant … one of mybiggest challenges was dealing with high levels ofignorance around gender and GPS … which kind ofblew me away.’
On her return to Australia in August 2013, Jen was
posted to another challenging role as Defence’s
inaugural Director of National Action Plan for GPS. This
position was created by the Chief of the Defence Force(CDF) as a strategic coordination point for Defence’s
many responsibilities under the newly released NAP.
Jen’s most significant achievement in this role wasdelivering Defence’s Implementation Plan which provided
direction for progressing actions within the NAP:
‘It’s great to see how much it has evolved … there
have been impressive moves forward in terms of how
advanced we [Defence] are, not only in implementing
the NAP, but really grasping the principles of gender,
peace and security … while also contributing highcalibre Gender Advisors to international operations.’

120

Like many of her colleagues working in the
GPS field, one of the challenges of Jen’s newrole was the incorrect perception that her work
was directly related to Defence’s concurrent
cultural reform mandate and internal efforts toincrease female representation:‘Peoples’ initial reactions were along thelines of, “Why are we giving all of thisattention to women? Is this another type ofaffirmative action?” They didn’t understandthe role of GPS within the operational space.
While actions taken under the Broderick
Review do align with the participation pillarof UNSCR 1325, the focus of Australia’s first
NAP was primarily external … with somereference to internally advancing women’s
participation in both the federal policeand military.’
Trying to explain these nuances to membersof the ADF community proved difficult
during the initial period of building the GPS
capability. However, Jen feels there has
been solid progress as the ADF has trained
greater numbers of GENADs and better
communicated the difference between GPS
and internal reform programs:‘…while there’s a better understanding
now, there is still a need to ‘fight the fight’and explain within a military context, GPS
is about operations and capability, notaffirmative action. As more and more people
become aware, it’s getting easier to be a
Gender Advisor … but the early days werepretty tough.’Winning the Peace

Jennifer Wittwer, CSM, speaking at the International Women’s Day event held at theAustralian Defence Force Academy, Canberra.

While still in the NAP role, in 2016 Jen coordinated
the ADF’s secondment position at UN Women in New
York. This was intended as a mechanism for the ADF
to contribute to global GPS activities and bring thoseexperiences back to Defence. Jen then undertook the
ADF’s first rotation into the role. The UN experience
was an instructive learning opportunity for Jen, entailinginternational advising, training and consultation activities
pertaining to GPS within the security sector:‘For example, if a Gender Impact Assessment was
being done, which was the case in the Ukraine, I wasable to provide the kind of technical expertise thatthe consultant doing the Assessment wouldn’t know,
because they had never served in a security sector
agency. Another example was delivering training to
Jordanian Peacekeepers on violence against womenin conflict. My position gave UN Women a fresh anddifferent perspective they just didn’t have in their staff.’

At the conclusion of her UN secondment in 2018, Jen
made the difficult decision to transfer to the Reserves
so that she could pursue her civilian career aspirations.
She has since continued to apply her GPS knowledge
through various consulting engagements to UN
organisations and notes there is no shortage of demandfor people with a GPS skillset:‘GPS is a growing field … we are part of a really
big global network of countries and organisations
working on this. If you don’t have people continually
advocating, if you don’t keep gender at the forefront, itgets forgotten. It’s not a ‘set and forget’ type of reform… it’s something that requires ongoing attention.
Australia and Defence must continue to be rolemodels within our region but, more broadly, acrossthe world.’
In addition to publishing several articles and blog pieces
on GPS and gender inclusion, Jen has also written abook about her experiences in the ADF, which was
published in 20204 and authored a chapter on GPS
implementation in the 2019 Oxford Handbook on
Gender, Peace and Security.

Endnotes
1
2

Jen Wittwer, CSM with Ms Tamar Tavartkiladze, UN Women Jordan and Colonel Maha Nasser, Director of Military Women’s Affairs, Major Shayma, Gender
Advisor, and other colleagues from the Jordanian Armed Forces, December 2019.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on GPS.
 International Security Assistance Force, a NATO-led mission in
Afghanistan.

3

She completed this course in August 2013.

4

The book is entitled ‘Against the Wind.’121

Flight Lieutenant Chloe Lowndes at a school community relations visit, Bengkulu, Indonesia, April 2018.

122

Winning the Peace

Flight Lieutenant Chloe Lowndes
Enhancing Pacific Partnerships
After completing her degree in Environmental Scienceat Griffith University and completing Officer andSpecialist Training, Chloe was posted to RAAF Base
Williamtown and undertook deployments to Vanuatu
and Tonga providing Humanitarian Assistance andDisaster Relief (HADR) and public health support as an
Environmental Health Officer. It was difficult catching
Chloe for an interview for this profile due to her role as
the Environmental Health Liaison Officer to Operation
Bushfire Assist 2019/2020, the Australian Defence
Force’s (ADF) contribution to the catastrophic bushfires
that ravaged Australia.
Chloe’s first exposure to GPS was through the ADF’s
first Operational GENAD Course in 2017. The training
confirmed Chloe’s belief that GPS was closely alignedwith her career interest in HADR and disaster mitigation.
She was afforded an opportunity to apply her new
GENAD knowledge during Exercise Pacific Partnership2018 (PP18)1. PP18 had a strong focus on HADR from ahealth care and disaster mitigation planning perspective,
which aligned with Chloe’s broader health skillset:
Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT) Chloe Lowndes joined
the Air Force as an Environmental Health Officer bymeans of an undergraduate program pathway. Her
desire to join the Air Force stemmed from an interestin travel, adventure, providing assistance and adesire for every day to offer different experiences andopportunities.

‘PP18 was the 13th year of the Exercise and included
over 800 military and civilian personnel from theUnited States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia,
France, South Korea, Peru, Sri Lanka, Malaysia
and Japan. The mission was conducted over four
primary ports, including: Bengkulu [Indonesia]; Port
Kelang [Malaysia]; Trincomalee [Sri Lanka] and Nha
Trang [Vietnam]. There were four main lines of effort
including medical/health, engineering civil action,

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

community relations and HADR … each of these had
a GPS dimension, which resulted in an incredibly busy
deployment, especially as the sole GENAD.’
Chloe’s broad undertaking for the GENAD role was toensure GPS was considered and included in all PP18
countries and events and to enhance engagement,
participation, empowerment and capacity building of
women and children in each mission country. From thisbroad guidance, Chloe conducted a Gender Analysisof the relevant countries and provided further advice
to the Exercise Planners who had spent around two
weeks in each mission country. She then advised thecommand/planning staff on potential gender issues andconsiderations which appeared relevant to the mission:‘Unfortunately, there were no other US trained/specificstaff to provide country specific gender analysis …
so it was up to me to examine all mission events prior
to engaging with each country and advise how GPS
could be further developed in the mission. I found it
difficult to overlay these considerations into alreadyplanned events and in hindsight, it would have been
beneficial to have GENAD involvement throughout thescoping and planning phases of the mission.’
Despite the challenges, Chloe developed a range ofactivities designed to enhance GPS outcomes overthe course of the Exercise. She delivered two largescale presentations to approximately 200 personnel
aboard the United States Naval Ship Mercy explaining
the concept of Gender in Military Operations. She123

also ensured each country mission supported the
involvement of local women and addressed capacity
building pertaining to women and children. This primarily
involved addressing gender considerations in HADR
and ensuring that military-to-military planning (which
consisted almost entirely of male planners) purposefully
considered the requirements and needs of women andchildren in different HADR response scenarios.
Chloe also attempted to engage, to every extent
possible, in the community relations aspect of
the Exercise, which included visiting schools andorphanages, engaging with medical subject matter
experts and attempting to educate/foreshadow any
issues that may arise to the mission Commander andplanning staff:‘The community relations aspects were a highlightfrom PP18 for me, both personally and professionally.
Seeing the impact the community engagement had,
especially with women and school children interactingwith international military members, seeing positiverole modelling of women in uniforms and providing
education, recreation and public health is something I
was proud to be a part of.’In terms of outcomes, Chloe considers the practicalbenefits of her involvement on PP18 was her ability to
educate and influence personnel regarding GPS and inproviding advice on how gender considerations should
be factored into military planning processes; particularly
in relation to HADR operations.
‘Prior to this mission, very few members had evenheard of GPS, the National Action Plan or a Gender
Advisor so simply being there and providing formal
as well as informal/coincidental education resulted inincreasing awareness, which clearly aligns with the124

mission outcomes. Another aspect was demonstrating
the importance of purposefully engaging women in
HADR planning and response, particularly in countries
where women may not automatically have a ‘seat at
the table’ during planning discussions.’
A range of different GPS-related activities occurred in
the countries involved in PP18. A GPS Symposium
took place in Indonesia, which brought together
PP18 mission members, including Indonesian military,
government and civilian organisations to provide
education and information exchange on how women
can be included and build their own capacity in HADR.
The information provided was correlated and input into
the local government and military response plans for the
Bengkulu province.
The GPS activities in Sri Lanka were particularly
impactful from Chloe’s perspective:‘I would consider the presentation and impact I
was able to create in Sri Lanka through their HADR
symposium the ‘biggest win’ across the PP18 mission.
My presentation to a majority male military planner/
responder audience on gender consideration in HADR
was basically a call to consider the needs of and how
their wives, children and mothers would respond andkeep safe in a disaster scenario while they were out
planning and responding for the rest of the country.
The presentation resulted in many questions, providing
content on planning/logistic considerations for theirplanning doctrine and also writing “gender considered
inputs” for the Tabletop and Field Training Exercises
which followed the symposium. I was invited to act
as a mediator for the Tabletop activity and two female
Sri Lankan military members were included in theplanning team as a direct result of my inputs to thesymposium.’

Winning the Peace

After such a successful GENAD experience on PP18,
Chloe has gone on to complete a UN endorsed Masterof Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development andwill continue to thread both her environmental health and
GENAD subject matter expert advice into all operational
planning and delivery. The remit of both these elements
continues to work well together, especially in HADR
as the environmental health focus is on hygiene andsafety which are instrumental factors that specifically
impact women in disaster situations. Even as recently
as supporting the Bushfire response across NSW and
ACT, gender considerations were involved in the decision
making process for the provision of potable water tofamilies with young children and the delivery of genderspecific supplies/aid.

Flight Lieutenant Chloe Lowndes (left), hands out prayer rugs to Indonesians for afternoon prayer during a women’s peaceand security symposium aboard Military Sealift Command Hospital ship USNS Mercy.

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

125

Flight Lieutenant Chloe Lowndes presenting at Sri Lanakan Navy HADR Symposium, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, May 2018.

Flight Lieutenant Chloe Lowndes working with a female Indonesian translator on board USNS Mercy during theGender in Military Operations Subject Matter Exchange in Bengkulu, Indonesia, April 2018.

End Notes:
1126 xercise Pacific Partnership is an annual Humanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA) program sponsored by theE
Commander US Pacific Fleet, which aims to strengthen alliances and promote multilateral security cooperationand multilateral disaster management, with a focus on the South East Asia region.

Winning the Peace

Captain Jenny Lee
A Civil-Military Approach

Captain (CAPT) Jenny Lee is a humanitarian andinternational GPS expert, who has spent the past
two decades working in the field of human rights, inboth an Army and civilian capacity. Some of Jenny’s
earlier civilian humanitarian work pre-dated therelease of UNSCR 1325 and as a result, she has seen
the positive impact of the GPS global agenda from a
range of different perspectives.

‘In the late 1990s, a lot of our human rights work
involved investigating war crimes … there was arealisation that not considering gender perspectives
in International Human Rights Law had a significant
adverse impact for the very people who wereseeking justice … even decades after World War II.
UNSCR 1325 provided a helpful starting point fortrying to find legal recognition and avenues for survivorsof conflict related sexual violence, pending the 2008
release of UNSCR1820 which specifically recognises
sexual violence as a war crime.’

noting the significant progress made by ACMC prior to
Jenny’s arrival.

It was Jenny’s passion for humanitarian work which
inspired her to join the Army Reserve as a Signals Officer
in 2003, with the dual motivation of serving her country
while enhancing her humanitarian capabilities on field
operations. To this end, in 2015, Jenny served as theSpecial Operations Command GENAD during Exercise
Talisman Sabre, which afforded her a deeper appreciationof how GPS considerations might be factored into a highend war fighting context.

Through the delivery of workshops, conference sessions
and other training, Jenny gained valuable insights into
how different agencies, sectors and even individuals
conceptualised GPS:

Jenny is renowned in the GPS community, both
domestically and internationally, from her achievements
as the Assistant Director of Concepts at the Australian
Civil-Military Centre (ACMC), within ADF’s Joint
Capabilities Group. Jenny undertook this civilian rolefrom 2016 until mid-2019, while concurrently serving in
the Army Reserve. Jenny’s predecessor at the ACMC
was Ms Amy Sheridan, who is widely considered to be
one of Australia’s pioneers on GPS, particularly within
the civil-military context. Jenny feels very fortunate tohave assumed the role at ACMC following Amy’s tenure,

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

The ACMC role involves progressing the GPS agenda
from a military, policing and civil society perspective,
with the Protection of Civilians (POC) also forming part ofthe portfolio. Jenny believes the practical exposure she
received from Army enhanced her credibility at ACMC,
where she was required to work collaborate a wide rangeof different military, police and civil society stakeholders
during a period of intense GPS activity.

His Excellency Mr Paul Robilliard, Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom ofThailand, presents Captain Jenny Lee with her certificate during the closing
ceremony for PIRAP JABIRU.

127

An Australian Government Civil-Military Cooperation team and school teachers from Cogon Central School in Ormoc pose for a group photo during Operation PHILIPPINES ASSIST.

128

Winning the Peace‘Everyone had a different understanding of GPS
and the four pillars, as well as different priorities,
resources and lines of action. Even across the fourarms of Defence1 there were differing priorities
and approaches. My role was to facilitate mutual
understanding and find the common ground thatwould enable the various actors to work together.
At the end of each workshop, people walked awaywith an improved understanding of the differing
perspectives of other organisations engaged on GPS… which is a good outcome of any dialogue.’
Navigating the sensitivities associated with competing
priorities and divergent ideologies was not without its
challenges, particularly where the dialogue involved
security sector personnel and humanitarian actors fromcivil society:‘The militarisation of GPS has always been asource of tension between military and non-militaryorganisations … very few ADF personnel can articulate
GPS in a way that is comfortable for civil society2…
but when GPS was addressed in a Security Council
Resolution, it became a security issue and security
means engaging the military and/or the police. If you
ask Defence to address a security issue, they will takethe Defence approach.’
Over a three-year period of conducting multiple
workshops and training hundreds of Australian andinternational personnel, Jenny observed that theconversations became more robust, in-depth andhonest, which she views as a positive outcome ofenhanced understanding and trust. From a long list ofachievements, Jenny considers the conceptualisationand delivery of the first Association of South Eastern
Nations (ASEAN)-Australia GPS dialogue3 in 2019 to be
the most noteworthy:‘Over a casual coffee catch-up, the lead from the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet4 andI were brainstorming ways to address some of civilsociety’s key concerns … especially those which could
not be incorporated into the next National Action Plan.
We came up with the idea of inviting ASEAN tohigh-level GPS discussions with Australia to pick upsome of those issues … and that was the start of the
dream. From there, ACMC developed the concept
brief, with an aim to get the different actors: civilsociety; government; Defence; and police from ASEAN
nations together, to have a dialogue on GPS, including
progress, shortfalls, challenges and ways of making
GPS better in the future. Our government basicallysaid, “Do it,” and so we did!’
Another highlight from her tenure at ACMC was advisingand assisting different agencies to deliver against
their NAP commitments and witnessing the rapid rateof progress:‘It has been a real honour seeing Defence’s progress,
which is unprecedented anywhere in the world insuch a short period of time. I’m not just talking about
rhetoric. I’m talking about tangible actions. The
leadership was engaged, there were robust debates
on what GPS means for the ADF and there weretangible outcomes in a very short period of time.’
While progress in the ADF has been strong to date, likemany of her colleagues, Jenny cautions against losing
the momentum gained over the past five or so years:‘This is probably the most important time for Australia
and the ADF because we were very enthusiastic at thestart, but this is when the hard work has to begin ...
we’ve grabbed the low-hanging fruit, but now what?
Are we asking the right questions? Have we reflected

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

on where we went wrong and on how we might
improve going forward? We also need to develop
strategies addressing how to ‘pass the baton’ onto thenext generation who may be able to bring new ideas
and different perspectives. We need to step back,pass on our knowledge and experience and afford
others an opportunity to build on that. For completely
understandable reasons, some people don’t want to
let it go, but we need fresh ideas to carry this forward
and to sustain the momentum.’At the time of writing, Jenny is in abeyance from her
work as an Army Reserve Signals Officer, to focus onher civilian career as a humanitarian. After leaving the
ACMC, Jenny joined ASEAN Coordination Centre for
Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management(the AHA Centre) as their Senior Military Coordination
Specialist. Jenny feels incredibly proud of her significant
contribution to building GPS in Australia and irrespectiveof her future endeavours, will always be considered an
integral member of Defence’s GPS community.

Endnotes
1

Army, Navy, Air Force and civilian.

2 Jenny is referring to the military using language which positions GPS
as a mechanism for improved understanding of the battlespace andenhanced operational effectiveness, rather than language which
focuses on empowering and protecting women and girls.

3 The first dialogue commenced in 2019.

4 Sian Phillips, the then-National Action Plan lead within the Departmentof Prime Minister and Cabinet.

129

130

Captain Nathan Bradney with female staff of the Sector East Headquarters during the Sector
East HeForShe day.

The Sector East Command Team take a group photo following the Sector East HeForShe day training.

Sector East staff recite the pledge during the Sector East HeForShe day.

Captain Nathan Bradney coordinates the reciting of the pledge during the Sector East HeForShe day.

Winning the Peace

Major Nathan BradneyEngaging Men on GPS
It was in his capacity as an Intelligence Officer that
Nathan found himself, somewhat unexpectedly,
working as a GENAD within the UN Mission in South
Sudan (UNMISS):‘I was posted to Canungra1 when the opportunity
arose to deploy to South Sudan, on what the ADF call
Operation ASLAN, as a sector intelligence analyst. I
took over from Claire Pearson, who had establishedthe GENAD role as a secondary duty at a time when
there were no GENADs in any of the other sectors, oreven in force headquarters. That was how I fell into
the role.’

Major Nathan Bradney is an Army Intelligence Officer
and at the time of our interview, was the Australian
Defence Force Counter Violent Extremism Liaison
Officer in the United States. He joined the Army in2007 and graduated from the Royal Military College
Duntroon to the Royal Australian Corps of Transport,
prior to transferring to the Intelligence Corps.

Nathan notes both the sector Headquarters and Claire
herself were keen for the ADF-filled position to retain the
GENAD function, so Nathan served two roles as both anIntelligence Officer and GENAD. This technically means,in NATO and UN parlance, that he was more of a Gender
Focal Point (GFP) than GENAD, because his Gender,
Peace and Security (GPS) work was on a part-timebasis. However, as the sole person working on GPS
in the Headquarters, his work was more aligned with
the GENAD role and all of the additional responsibilities
this entailed.
Due to the timing of his deployment, Nathan was unable
to undertake formal GENAD training at the Swedish
Armed Forces International Centre (SWEDINT), which, at
the time, was the only formal GENAD training for military
personnel. So in order to prepare, Nathan undertook UN
and NATO online gender awareness training courses andread as widely as possible:

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations‘The biggest problem I had when preparing for the role,
was that the only literature or guidance I could findabout how to be a GENAD was written by females forfemales to engage with females … often that advice
was not pitched at the type of engagements I would
be doing. I figured early on that I would be challenged
by the local culture and gender norms if I focused oninteractions with women and girls. So I refocused on
gender issues within the uniformed force and founda predominantly male audience … a pivot to maleengagement strategies was necessary. I leaned onjournal articles and research into topics like masculinity
in education and gender in the security services.’
Nathan observes one of his primary challenges washaving only minimal guidance regarding the GENAD
role and how the position was intended to enhance
operational outcomes:‘There was no document or guidance at the force
or sector level which described any sort of genderrelated policy or strategy about what we were trying
to achieve. The best that I had was the strategic-levelguidance which is detailed in UNSCR 1325 and related
resolutions and guidance regarding what DPKO2
envisioned the peacekeeping missions would do in thisspace ... but there was nothing addressing how weshould operationalise the UN’s strategic intent for thisparticular mission. I undertook my own gender analysis
and planning activity … and I used this to write theSector Gender Strategy as a way of outlining what wewere going to do and how we were going to do it.’131‘Before I built relationships with people, almost all
the women I engaged with were resistant to theidea of a male GENAD, to the point of being openly
offended. The hardest and most sceptical audience
were Western nation women in uniform … I foundsome female allies early on, such as the HIV/AIDS
and Protection of Children Officers and later the ForceGENAD ... we helped each other by supporting eachother’s activities, allowing us to better engage a multigendered audience. Along with strong resistance fromwomen, men were flabbergasted and resistant that I
could somehow represent ‘women’s’ issues. Ironically,
I spent most of my time engaging men about maleissues and in many ways my gender helped me toengage with my audience.’

In addition to developing the Sector Gender Strategy,
another one of Nathan’s notable achievements
was creating momentum around the ‘HeForShe’
campaign, a UN initiative designed to build solidarityand momentum in relation to gender equity. Nathan
felt the campaign’s focus on encouraging people of
all genders to become positive agents of change wasclosely aligned with the participation goals of GPS andthe broader gender equality mandate.

Captain Bradney with the principal of Bor School discussing ongoingcommitments to the Girls Football Program.
1

As indicated by other ADF GENADs who have worked
in South Sudan, many staff within the Headquarters
were sceptical and quite resistant to the work of
GENADs. Nathan believes this stemmed from strongly
held views in their home countries regarding women’s
empowerment and participation in society outside
the home. To counter this resistance, Nathan used
the approved Sector Gender Strategy to mitigate
some of the active resistance in some pockets ofthe Headquarters and to bypass the former approval
process for every gender-related activity:‘The strategy was an enabling tool … I didn’t
constantly need the Commander or his Deputy toapprove things... because the Commander had
already given approval for gender to be a line ofoperation. That meant that a lot of friction points,
for example, directing subordinate units to provide
specific gender data from patrols ... could just happen
under the authority of the [Gender] strategy.’132

When he first started promoting the HeForShe
campaign, Nathan had only been deployed for a monthand the sector Headquarters were still reluctant toembrace the notion of the GENAD position and weregrappling with how to best progress the GPS Mandate:‘I tried to use the HeForShe campaign as a platform
to run training days at both unit and Headquarters
level … I also ran a couple of awareness events, I
did a radio Interview ... but the big one [achievement]
was getting personnel from each military and police
unit, around 150 people on parade with the Sector
Commander out front … and I recorded him, in frontof representatives from the entire sector, giving apledge for gender equality, which we disseminatedon YouTube.’
Post deployment, Nathan has maintained an active
presence within the GENAD community, including
participating as a panellist on the ADF’s Operational
GENAD course. Nathan was able to offer somehelpful perspectives and advice, particularly to othermen working in the GPS field as GENADs or Gender
Focal Points.
He acknowledges that his gender created both
opportunities and challenges in the UNMISS role:

Winning the Peace

Captain Bradney with children from BOR Elementary school.

Endnotes The location of the Defence Force’s School of Intelligence inQueensland.

1 Department of Peace Keeping Operations, which is located in UN
Headquarters.

2

Epilogue
Captain Jennifer Macklin,
CSC, RAN
GPS in Defence – the Next Chapter
History never repeats itself, but it does often
rhyme – so wrote Mark Twain – and the current
conflict in the Ukraine is a brutal reminder ofthe devastating impact of conflict on womenand children. Predicted to become the largest
humanitarian emergency in Europe since WorldWar II, women and girls bear the brunt of theconflict through displacement, food insecurity,
diminished economic opportunity, sexual andphysical violence, exploitation and abuse, alack of medical and maternal health care andthe destruction of schools. Despite this, womenremain largely excluded from formal decisionmaking processes related to humanitarianefforts, peace-making and other areas directly
impacting their lives.
It would be easy to replace the country Ukraine,with Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan or any
number of conflicts or disaster zones discussed
in this book. As Gender Advisors, we know that

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

war, conflict, displacement, disaster, disease
and illness are inherently gendered, withwomen and girls disproportionality impacted
and disadvantaged at all stages of a crisisand often for many years later. We understandthat gender dynamics and inequalities
impact communities, governments, societies
and economies in an interconnected andcompounding way. So the purpose of this book
is to share our experience and knowledge of
gender in military operations and international
engagement and to send a clear message:
wherever Defence operates, we must ensure agender perspective is applied. This will result in
nuanced interventions which ‘do no harm’ anddo all we can to mitigate the negative impacts
on conflict and disaster on the population.
An increasingly fraught global geopoliticallandscape and the ever changing nature of
warfare, requires an enhanced understanding133

Captain Macklin, CSC, RAN – Director, Gender Peace and Security, mentoring Gender Advisors of the future, Lieutenant Karen Dwyer and Squadron Leader Amanda Gosling.

134

Winning the Peace

of the complex power dynamics within communities,
societal gender structures and the after effects of militaryand government interventions. In this regard, Gender,
Peace and Security has emerged as a powerful input
into intelligence gathering, operational planning and as a‘soft-power’ tool for international engagement. The toolsof our Gender Advisors, comprising sophisticated skills
in gender analysis, strategic communication, influencing
and engagement, continues to enhance Defence (andwhole of government) outcomes throughout regional,
international and domestic operations.

Given these complex times and the nature of theenvironments in which Australia operates, Defence
must continually grow and develop gender expertise
to deliver on Australia’s strategic imperatives. Thismeans enhancing the GPS capability through ongoingeducation and training, doctrine and policy development,

Captain Macklin, CSC, RAN – Director Gender Peace and Security, delivering a speech for the 20th Anniversary of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (Canberra).

Profiles of Australian Gender Advisors on Military Operations

135Captain Jennifer Macklin, CSC, RAN, presenting the Australian Federal Police pre-deployment training, 2021.

136

Winning the PeaceGender Advisor input on exercises and deployments,
international engagement and collaborating with key
partners to build strong regional and international
networks. We must also ensure we measure our impact
and effectiveness through reporting and lessons learnt.
Australia’s strategic focus on improving the outcomes for
women and girls, as outlined in UN global commitments,
White Papers and National Action Plans has driven thedevelopment and growth of Defence’s GPS capability
over recent years. Hence, the GPS Directorate isideally placed to ensure Defence integrates a gender
perspective across the breadth and complexity of
Defence. The GPS vision is to be an exemplar in
the operationalisation of the global women peaceand security agenda. Delivering on this vision andsupporting Australia’s strategic commitments will requireongoing commitment and the specialist resources
required to maintain a small, but highly agile and effective
network of GENADs and GFPs.
Australian Gender Advisors are part of a growing
global community of practitioners and specialists
who seek to positively contribute to the global genderequality agenda. These international networks provide
opportunities to share lessons, leverage best-practiceand enhance the growing body of knowledge on
how GPS contributes to operational outcomes andultimately, national and international priorities. We willcontinue to work in partnership with allies and partners,
non-government and government organisations andstakeholders to progress the global Women, Peace andSecurity agenda.
It is with enormous pride that I reflect on the many
experiences captured in this compendium of Gender
Advisor and Focal Point profiles. To date, the significant
contribution made by this small cohort of specialist staff

has been largely unrecognised – possibly due to thenewness of the capability and the degree to which therole remains misunderstood.
This book seeks to remedy this oversight by highlighting
the important contribution of Australian Gender
Advisors over recent years. Each unique story clearly
demonstrates the degree to which Gender Advisors
have enhanced operational and engagement outcomes
across a wide spectrum of Defence activity; regionally,
internationally and domestically. The Gender Advisor’s
unusual combination of skills, deep understanding ofgender constructs, enhanced access to non-traditional
community stakeholders and ability to engage andinfluence have been pivotal to their success. It is adifficult role and I admire the tenacity and commitment ofeach contributor to this book.

in military operations and international engagement is
critical to addressing this challenge – both through ourown capability enhancement and by making a positive
difference to the communities we interact with andoperate in.
We are at the end of the beginning of the GPS story in
Defence. The pioneering work of those who establishedthe GPS capability under the first NAP on WPS andthe contributions of those in this book, are worthy ofrecognition. Their courage, advocacy and leadership,
has established a strong foundation for taking theGender, Peace and Security Mandate forward over the
next decade.

In 2020, a new identity was developed for the nascent
Gender, Peace and Security Directorate to educate
Defence about our vision. The GPS crest features theLatin phrase ‘utraque unnuum’, which means ‘stronger
together’. It is only through gender bilateralism – men
and women working and walking this path together –that we can effectively reduce harmful gender norms andimprove outcomes for men, women, boys and girls infragile, disaster affected and conflict settings.
I hope that in future years, when we publish a secondcompendium of Australian Gender Advisor profiles, thestories will reflect a growing number of men embracing
Gender Advisor roles. We need to be ‘stronger together’and stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ during these times ofchange and turbulence.
Gender inequality remains the greatest moral challengeof the 21st century. Our work in Defence on institutional
gender mainstreaming, integrating a gender perspective

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137

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms
ACMC. Australian Civil-Military Centre.

Gender-based violence (GBV). Violence that is directedagainst a person on the basis of their gender or sex.

ADF. Australian Defence Force.
CDF. The Chief of the (Australian) Defence Force.

Gender Focal Point (GFP). GFPs are personnel who areresponsible for integrating a gender perspective into their corefunction/element as a secondary duty.

Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). CRSV is sexual
violence within a conflict or post-conflict context. CRSV differsfrom normal violence as it is utilised as a deliberate tactic andweapon of war.

Gender in Military Operations (GiMO). GiMO as a termthat encompasses how gender considerations are factored
throughout all phases of military operations.

JOC. The role of Joint Operational Command is to plan, control
and conduct operations, activities and actions as directed tomeet Australia’s Strategic Objectives.
NAP. National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security
outline key priorities and how each country implements andassesses their progress on the requirements of UNSCR 1325.
NATO. North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
POTC. The ADF’s Peace Operations Training Centre.

DFAT. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Gender. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles
ascribed to women and men, and relationships between
and among them, as opposed to biological and physicalcharacteristics. Gender roles vary according to socio-economic,
political, and cultural contexts.
Gender Advisor (GENAD). A GENAD is the technical specialist
responsible for advising the senior commander and staff on
implementing a gender perspective into the planning, execution,
and assessment processes of operations. The GENAD role isusually undertaken on a full-time basis by trained specialists,
and may be situated in strategic, operational and tactical level
headquarters.
Gender analysis. A gender analysis entails systematicallygathering and analysing sex and age-disaggregatedinformation/data about a population, in relation to a specificoperational context.

138

Gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming is the processof assessing the implications for women and men of any
planned action, including legislation, policies or programs, in allareas and at all levels.
GPS. Gender, Peace and Security (GPS) is the term used todescribe the Australian Defence Force’s commitment to theglobal Women, Peace and Security mandate. While Women,
Peace and Security is the term used by the United Nations
and other countries internationally to describe this mandate,
the ADF language acknowledges that women, girls, men andboys are all affected differently in conflict, instability and disasterbecause of their gender roles.
Gender perspective. A gender perspective examines theimpact of gender on people’s opportunities, social roles andinteractions. Including a ‘gender perspective’ requires anunderstanding that women and men have different experiences,needs and interests.

Winning the Peace

RAAF. Royal Australian Air Force
RAN. Royal Australian Navy.
UNSCR 1325. United Nations Security Council Resolution
1325 was unanimously adopted by all United Nations Member
States in October 2000. The resolution formally addresses thesignificant and disproportionate impact of armed conflict on
women and girls, and the important contribution that womenmake to conflict prevention, resolution and the sustainmentof enduring peace. UNSCR 1325 stresses the criticality ofwomen’s meaningful leadership and participation as active
agents of peace and security.
WPS. ‘Women, Peace and Security’ is widely used to describe
the global agenda relating to UNSCR 1325+. GiMO is inclusiveof the WPS agenda but contextualised for military operations.

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