Wade Stothart

Major General Wade Bradley Stothart, (born 1969) is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He joined the army via the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1987 and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. He has commanded the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2007–09), ANZAC Battle Group and Combined Team Uruzgan (2013), and deployed on operations to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Timor-Leste as part of Operations Tanager and Astute, and to Afghanistan and Kuwait. He served as Head People Capability and, later, Head of Military Personnel from December 2021 to December 2024. Following his retirement from the army, he was appointed director of the Office of Australian War Graves in October 2025.

Military career Officer training to Operation Astute Stothart entered the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) as an Australian Army officer cadet in 1987. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989. Following additional training at the Royal Military College, Duntroon—where he was classmates with fellow future generals Jake Ellwood, Craig Furini and Kathryn Toohey—Stothart was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps in December 1990 and posted to the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR). His early career consisted of a series of regimental and training appointments. Serving with Multi-National Division (South-West), Stothart was posted to Vitez and made a liaison officer to the 1st Bosnian Corps. His role was, with the aid of a Royal Marines driver and a local interpreter, to liaise with the Bosnian units in his area and with the corps headquarters in Sarajevo. The deployment included moments of tension between Bosnian Croats and the British and Dutch NATO forces with whom Stothart served. In December 1997, for instance, grenades were thrown into a Dutch logistics base in retaliation for the shooting of a Bosnian Croat indicted for war crimes. The incident led to heighten security arrangements in Vitez and a temporary restriction on Stothart's movements between Bosnian units.

Stothart returned to Australia in March 1998 and was subsequently appointed a company commander in the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR). In October 2000, he deployed with the battalion on a six-month rotation under the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, where 1RAR was responsible for providing security to the East Timorese in an area that stretched some 1500 km2. Shortly following his return to Australia in 2001, Stothart was awarded a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Deakin University. He then completed the Australian Command and Staff College in 2002, graduating with the Governor-General's Prize and a Master of Management from the University of Canberra. The following year, he deployed with 3RAR for six months as ANZAC Battle Group – Rotation Four on Operation Astute, part of the International Stabilisation Force in Timor-Leste.

Senior commands: Uruzgan to People Capability Major General Gus McLachlan (centre) oversees the transfer of command of Combined Team Uruzgan from Colonel Simon Stuart (left) to Colonel Wade Stothart (right) at Multinational Base Tarin Kowt on 7 August 2013.

Stothart was deployed to Afghanistan in July 2013 and assumed command of Combined Team Uruzgan from Colonel Simon Stuart at Multinational Base Tarin Kowt on 7 August. Combined Team Uruzgan consisted of personnel from Australia, Singapore and the United States and was tasked with helping further the independence of the Afghan government, people and security forces in Uruzgan Province. During his tour, Stothart oversaw the withdrawal of coalition forces from Uruzgan and, on 3 December, transferred the responsibility of security for the province to the Afghan National Security Forces. Stothart returned to Australia later that month and, for his "distinguished command and leadership" in Afghanistan, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in the 2015 Australia Day Honours.

Stothart completed the Defence and Strategic Studies Course in 2014, graduating with the Vice Chief of the Defence Force Prize and a Master of Politics and Policy through Deakin University. The following March, he was promoted brigadier and posted to Army Headquarters as Director General Career Management – Army.

In December 2017, Stothart deployed to Kuwait as the Director Joint Plans and Assessment (CJ5) in the headquarters of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. He was the senior Australian imbedded in the United States-led headquarters, and oversaw the delivery of strategic and operational plans to deny ISIS a chance of resurgence. He returned to Australia at the end of his twelve-month deployment in December 2018 and was appointed Director General of Army People Capability. In December 2021, Stothart was promoted to major general and succeeded Major General Natasha Fox as Head People Capability, with oversight for the recruitment, retention and transition of personnel and the workforce structure of the Australian Defence Force. The position was subsequently reorganised and retitled to Head of Military Personnel in 2023. Stothart relinquished the role in December 2024 and,

Office of Australian War Graves Stothart was appointed director of the Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG) in the Department of Veterans' Affairs in October 2025. The OAWG maintains Australian war graves, war cemeteries and memorials to the missing, both in Australia and overseas.

Personal life Stothart is married to Group Captain Susan Stothart, a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force. They have two sons.