Phillip Bennett

This article is about the Australian General Phillip Bennett. For the US politician, see Philip Allen Bennett .

Sir Phillip Bennett (1992)

Sir Phillip Bennett (born December 27, 1928 in Perth , Australia ) is an Australian general and former commander in chief of the Australian armed forces and governor of Tasmania .

Life

Bennet grew up in the East Freemantle district of Perth and attended the Royal Military College in Canberra , which he left in 1948 with the rank of lieutenant . He was then transferred to the occupation forces in Japan . From September 1950 he took part in the Korean War, where he was wounded shortly afterwards. In 1951 he was honored for his bravery ( Mentioned in Despatches ). From 1957 to 1958 he served with the Commonwealth Forces in the United Kingdom , Malta and Cyprus . From 1962–65 he was the chief instructor of the officers' school inPortsea . From 1968 Bennett fought in the Vietnam War and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order .

After several posts in the headquarters of the Australian Army, Bennett was commander in chief of the armed forces in 1984 and remained so until his retirement in 1987. He was then governor of Tasmania until 1995.

Since his retirement, he has served as Chairman of the Australian War Memorial Foundation and President of the Order of Australia .

Awards

• Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (1969)
• National Medal (1977)
• Officer of the Order of Australia (1981)
• Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1982)
• Commander of the Legion of Merit (1983)
• Order of National Security Merit ( South Korea ) (1985)
• Companion of the Order of Australia (1985)
• Knight of the Order of Saint John (1988)
• Australian Active Service Medal 1945–1975
• Korea Medal
• United Nations Korea Medal
• General Service Medal
• Vietnam Medal
• Australian Service Medal 1945–1975
• Defense Force Service Medal
• Australian Defense Medal
• Vietnam Campaign Medal
• Pingat Jasa Malaysia ( Malaysia )
• Centenary Medal (2001)