Peter Cosgrove - Military Service

Military Service

Cosgrove was educated at Waverley College, then followed his father, a Warrant Officer, into the Australian Army by attending the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1965. Early in his career, Cosgrove fought in Vietnam with the 9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, where he served with great distinction, receiving the Military Cross in 1971. In 1980 he was awarded the National Medal. In the mid-1980s he commanded the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.

Cosgrove came to national fame in 1999 when, as a Major General, he led the international forces (INTERFET) in a peacekeeping mission to East Timor. The mission's success made Cosgrove one of Australia's most respected and popular military leaders. He was promoted in 2000 to Lieutenant General as Chief of the Army (CA) and in 2002 to General as Chief of the Defence Force (CDF).

In 2004, then Foreign Minister Alexander Downer queried the judgement of Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty. Following a joint interview with then Defence Minister Robert Hill, Cosgrove was accused of "playing politics" when he said that, on this occasion, he disagreed with Keelty's point of view. However, Cosgrove expressed strong support for the Police Commissioner in his memoir published in 2006. On 3 July 2005, Cosgrove's three year appointment as Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) was completed, and he was succeeded by then-Chief of Air Force (CAF) Air Marshal Angus Houston.

There was some speculation that after retirement he would take up the post of Governor-General of Australia, or run for parliament. He has firmly ruled out all such possibilities. He consequently wrote an autobiography, My Story, which was a bestseller in Australia.