FINDLAY, Major General (Retired) Professor Adam George AO, PhDAwards:Major General Adam Findlay was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021. He was a student at the College from 1978 to 1983.
The citation reads:
Major General Findlay has led the Command through a period of cultural change and capability renewal. Through exceptional leadership, he has driven ongoing reform in Special Operations Command, while continuing to respond to high readiness operational requirements, counter-terrorism deployments, and international partner engagements. Major General Findlay’s exceptional leadership and commitment to transformation and renewal have resulted in significant capability improvements in the Australian Army.In 2017 Findlay was awarded Officer of the US Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious command of the Special Operations Joint Task Force – Iraq during the liberation of Mosul.
He was awarded the French Medal of Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur in 2021 for his valuable contribution to the formal establishment of the Special Forces relationships between France and Australia.
Prior to this, Lt Col Findlay was formally awarded Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on the Queen's Birthday Honours List for 2006 for his Command of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Parachute).
History:Findlay was a student at the College from 1978 to 1983. An active all-round sportsman he rowed in the 1st VIII in 1983, was School Swimming Champion in 1983, School Shot Put Champion 1982 and 1983, played in 1st XI Soccer 1980 to 1983, a member of the Swimming Team from 1979 to 1983, a member of the Athletics Team from 1980 to 1983, and at various other times represented the College in cricket, Australian rules and hockey. He was also a Wettenhall House Prefect.
Whilst a student at Geelong College in 1983 Findlay was awarded a Scholarship to Royal Military College, Duntroon (see picture). In 1984 he entered the Royal Military College and then graduated and was Commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps in 1987. He served as a junior officer in the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and The Special Air Service Regiment.
As a Major he commanded an Infantry company in The 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment and in 1998 deployed to Iraq as a biological weapons inspector with the United Nations Special Commission. In 2001 Findlay was appointed as the Brigade Major of 3rd Brigade and during this time he was deployed to Timor-Leste as a Peacekeeper in the United Nations Transitional Administration East Timor.
Adam Findlay receiving Royal Military College Award, 1983.
In 2003 he was promoted and appointed Commanding Officer of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Parachute) where he developed high readiness war fighting capabilities and deployed forces at short-notice to restore law and order in the Solomon Islands and East Timor. Following promotion to Colonel in 2007, he was seconded to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to brief the Prime Minister on Defence policy and operations.
In 2009 Findlay was deployed to Kandahar as the Divisional Operations Officer in Headquarters Regional Command–South coordinating all the planning and conduct of all military operations in southern Afghanistan. Promoted to Brigadier Findlay was deployed again to Afghanistan in 2012 as Deputy Operations at HQ International Security Assistance Force, responsible for all military operations, Afghanistan-Pakistan military-to-military relations and interaction with the Office of National Security at the Presidential Palace.
Upon return to Australia, in October 2014 he was appointed as the Commander of 7th Combat Brigade in Brisbane, responsible for raising high-readiness contingency forces for the first time in the history of the Brigade, and successfully deployed those forces for operations to Iraq, Afghanistan and the South Pacific. In 2016 Findlay was deployed to Iraq again to command all coalition special forces as the Commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force – Iraq, culminating in the liberation of Mosul in 2017.
In 2017 he was promoted to Major General and appointed as the Special Operations Commander – Australia, responsible for all special operation forces activities. Concurrently, he also initiated and led a significant process of organisational transformation and the cultural reform of Australia’s special operations.
Major General Findlay retired from full-time military service in 2021 after 37 years with the Australian Army, and has been appointed as a Professor of Practice, Defence and Regional Security at the Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, Queensland. He has been happily married for over thirty years to Professor Elisabeth Findlay, an academic art historian, and they have two adult children.
Professor Adam Findlay was awarded his PhD from the University of New South Wales in 2014 and has studied as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford. He has received numerous academic awards, including the Student of Merit at both the Royal College of Defence Studies in London and the Australian Army Command and Staff College. He has also successfully completed professional leadership training in the United States and was selected for attendance at the Capstone and Pinnacle courses for General Officers at the National Defense University in Washington, and successfully completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
Sources: A. Findlay 2021; Ad Astra Dec 2006; 'Geelong Collegians at the Second World War and Subsequent Conflicts' compiled by James Affleck p566.