![\"Matthew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/41bbd81bdfa5a98f70781cb78575df66d9219510.png\")
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Updated April 13, 2026 \u2014 12:26pm,first published 11:58am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Navy chief Mark Hammond will become the new head of the Australian Defence Force in a significant reshuffle that also includes the appointment of the nation\u2019s first female army chief.<\/p>\n Hammond, a former submariner, will take up the role in July following the resignation of current defence force chief David Johnston after two years in the role.<\/p>\n Susan Coyle, the current head of joint capabilities, will become army chief, replacing Simon Stuart following his retirement.<\/p>\n Defence Minister Richard Marles said Coyle\u2019s appointment was \u201ca deeply historic moment, one that should be noted\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Susan said to me, \u2018You cannot be what you cannot see\u2019,\u201d Marles said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Susan\u2019s achievement will be deeply significant to women who are serving in the Australian Defence Force today and women who are thinking about serving in the Australian Defence Force in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Coyle, who joined the Army Reserves as a soldier in 1987 before holding a series of senior roles, is the first woman to lead a branch of the defence force \u2013 army, navy and air force.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Albanese said Hammond had enjoyed a distinguished career, including 40 years in the navy, including as a submarine commander.<\/p>\n Marles said Hammond had \u201cbeen right at the heart\u201d of the plan to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact, and had done an \u201cincredible job\u201d as navy chief since 2022.<\/p>\n Related Article Hammond and Albanese formed a strong working relationship, including on trips together to the US.<\/p>\n Johnston is retiring as expected after being appointed to a two-year term as defence force chief in 2024.<\/p>\n Former submarine commander Matthew Buckley will replace Hammond as the chief of navy.<\/p>\n The government has yet to appoint a new secretary for the Department of Defence to replace Greg Moriarty, who is heading to Washington to become ambassador to the United States.<\/p>\n More to come.<\/p>\n Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Lieutenant](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3807243b9ffab585303fbac76b1d4f3bbe2f424f.jpeg\")
Lieutenant General Susan Coyle has just become the first woman to lead the Australian army. Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0467b935e496b745afb0722fec04eb7d99dda822.jpeg\")
Mark Hammond is the new head of the Australian Defence Force.Oscar Colman<\/p>\n![\"Nobody](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ba1a9599b075727829622da5cb1c079573eb934f.jpeg\")
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Matthew Knott<\/a> is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated April 13, 2026 \u2014 12:26pm,first published 11:58am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":603311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-603310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/603311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}