Mark Hammond

Admiral Mark David Hammond is a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), who has served as Chief of the Defence Force since 9 July 2026. He joined the RAN as an electronics technician in 1986 and, after being accepted for officer training, graduated from the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1990. Much of Hammond's career has been spent in the Submarine Service. He has served on operations in the Indo-Pacific, commanded the Collins-class submarine , was Deputy Chief of Navy from 2018 to 2020, and served as Commander Australian Fleet from November 2020 to June 2022. He was Chief of Navy from July 2022 to July 2026, when he was appointed Chief of the Defence Force.

Naval career Hammond joined the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1986 as a junior sailor electronics technician and attended recruit school at . He was later accepted for officer training and, commissioned a midshipman, entered the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1988. Graduating from the academy with a Bachelor of Science in 1990, he was promoted sub-lieutenant and completed seamanship and navigation training before volunteering for the RAN Submarine Service. He qualified on submarines in 1994 and was appointed navigating officer in in 1996. He then became flag lieutenant to the Chief of Navy and, in 1998, completed the Principal Warfare Officer's Course and Submarine Warfare Course. He was appointed to the commissioning crew of as operations officer in 1999, returned to the Submarine Warfare Course as an instructor in 2001, and was made executive officer in . The citation for the award, in particular, praised his "demonstrated exceptional professionalism, leadership and dedication" and described Hammond as a "highly accomplished submarine commander". Hammond returned to Australia that March as Deputy Chief of Navy. After two and a half years in the role, he relinquished responsibility to Rear Admiral Christopher Smith in September 2020 and, on 17 November, succeeded Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead as Commander Australian Fleet.

In June 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, announced that Hammond would be appointed as the next Chief of Navy. In April 2024 Hammond was awarded South Korea's Order of National Security Merit, 2nd Class and, in October 2024, the Meritorious Service Medal by Singapore's Minister for Defence, Ng Eng Hen.

Hammond was promoted to admiral and succeeded Admiral David Johnston as the Chief of the Defence Force on 9 July 2026.