John Caligari

Lieutenant General John Graham Caligari (born 21 August 1960) is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He served as Chief Capability Development Group from October 2014 until his retirement in August 2015.

Early life Caligari was born in Brisbane, Queensland, on 21 August 1960 to Barry John Caligari, an Army officer, and his wife Christine Graham (née Wilkie). He was educated at Marist College Canberra and the International School of Kuala Lumpur, and entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1979 where he undertook training to become an officer in the Australian Army.

Military career Upon graduating from Duntroon in 1982, Caligari was assigned to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and was posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR), an infantry unit that his father, Barry Caligari, was commanding at the time. In January 2009 he was appointed Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force 633 – Afghanistan, as part of Operation Slipper, a position he filled for six months. For his "distinguished service" in both of these roles, Caligari was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Promoted to lieutenant general in October 2014, Caligari was appointed Chief Capability Development Group (CCDG) in succession to Vice Admiral Peter Jones. In this role he was responsible for the Department of Defence's Capability Development Group; the branch tasked to develop and gain government approval for future defence capabilities. After ten months in this role, Caligari retired in August 2015 as part of a Defence restructure that necessitated cuts to senior management. His position of CCDG was identified as redundant at 'three-star' rank level, and has been scaled down.

Personal life His father, Barry, retired as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion in 1983. Caligari and his father hold the distinction of being the only father-son duo in the Australian Army to have commanded the same battalion. Caligari's father was his son's commanding officer for two months when he graduated from Duntroon in 1982. 26 January 2002, CO 1 RAR Battalion Group on Operation TANAGER, East Timor, 2000–2001.

Commendations Chief of Defence Force Commendation – December 1993 – Operations Officer, 1 RAR on Operation SOLACE, Somalia 1993