Frank Hassett

General Sir Francis George Hassett, (11 April 1918 – 11 June 2008) was an Australian general who rose to the position of Chief of the Defence Force Staff, the professional head of the Australian Defence Force, serving in this capacity from November 1975 until April 1977. Hassett joined the Australian Army in 1935 upon gaining entrance into the Royal Military College, Duntroon. Serving with distinction in the early stages of the Second World War, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1942 at the age of 23, and posted as a staff officer for the remainder of the war.

In 1951, Hassett was appointed to command the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in Korea, where he led the unit through some of the toughest fighting of the war. For his leadership and planning during the Battle of Maryang San, he was granted an immediate award of the Distinguished Service Order. Promoted to brigadier in 1960, Hassett commanded a brigade in Malaya for three years, before returning to Australia and serving in a variety of positions, culminating in his appointment as Chief of the General Staff with the rank of lieutenant general. Promoted to general after two years in this role, he was appointed Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, which was reorganised as Chief of the Defence Force Staff the following year. Hassett died in 2008 at the age of 90.

Early life and career Hassett was born on 11 April 1918, in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville. The son of a railway yard manager, he attended Canterbury Boys' High School before leaving at the age of 15 and gaining employment with the Department of Tramways. Seeking a position at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, he only gained entry after receiving special consideration from Colonel John Lavarack, the Chairman of the College's Selection Board. Hassett began his course at the college in March 1935, aged 16, later captaining the rugby XV.

Upon graduation, Hassett was posted to the Darwin Mobile Force and given command of a rifle platoon, and then of a Mortar Platoon.

Second World War At the outbreak of the Second World War, Hassett was posted as adjutant to the 2/3rd Battalion of the 6th Division with effect from 13 December 1939. The division sailed for the Middle East from Sydney on 10 January 1940, and disembarked in Egypt a little over a month later in preparation for service in the North African Campaign. Hassett was promoted to captain on 1 May 1940. After further training in Palestine and Egypt, the battalion took part in an attack on the Italian coastal fortress of Bardia. Two weeks later, the 2/3rd Battalion took part in the capture of Tobruk by the 6th Division. Tasked with laying white tapes for a start-line on the eve of the attack, Hassett found a weak point in the Italian front line, where he proceeded to lay the tapes. In an effort to complete the task before dawn, he began to walk instead of crawling and prodding for mines; one duly blew up, with Hassett suffering shrapnel wounds to his foot. He was subsequently Mentioned in Despatches for his actions. Having recovered from his wounds, Hassett was sent to the British Army Staff College at Haifa and was subsequently promoted to major. Shortly afterwards, he was posted as brigade major to the 18th Brigade in Syria. and awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

Inter-bellum Returning to Australia after the end of the war, Hassett was posted as an instructor at the Australian Army Staff College in Toowoomba. On 18 May 1946 he married Hallie Roberts, with whom he had four children. before returning to Australia in July 1952, where he was posted as the director of military art at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. Promoted to brigadier in 1960, he was appointed to command the 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade in Malaya, conducting counter-insurgency operations. During this time he also led participation in regional exercises with Thailand and contributed to developments in tropical warfare and counter-insurgency. and also awarded the Malaysian Pingat Jasa Kebaktian (Meritorious Service Medal) for his services in Malaya. Later that year, he was selected to lead the Army Review Committee, which became more colloquially known as the "Hassett Committee". The committee's far reaching reforms included moving from a geographical to a functional command system, which involved (in part) the replacement of the various State Army Command Headquarters with a national field force, training and logistics command system; a system that remains largely in place today. In 1971 Hassett was appointed Vice Chief of the General Staff and tasked with implementing the organisational reforms he had initiated, as well as supervising the end of conscription, the withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam, and the consequential organisational changes brought about by a reduction in Army manpower. he was promoted to general in November and became Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, the professional head of the Australian Military Forces. In June 1976 Hassett was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Ill health forced Hassett into retirement in April 1977;

Retirement Following his retirement, General and Lady Hassett settled into farming near Canberra, where he was later appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Australian Regiment.

General Hassett died at his home on 11 June 2008 after a long battle with illness.