David Shackleton (admiral)

David John Shackleton
Born (1948-03-02) 2 March 1948
Leeds, United Kingdom
Allegiance  Australia
Service/branch  Royal Australian Navy
Years of service 1966–2002
Rank Vice Admiral
Commands held Chief of Navy (1999–02)
HMAS Brisbane (1992)
HMAS Derwent (1989)
Battles/wars Vietnam War
Awards Officer of the Order of Australia
Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)

Vice Admiral David John Shackleton AO, RAN (born 2 March 1948) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), who served as Chief of Navy from 1999 to 2002.

Early life

Shackleton was born in Leeds, United Kingdom, on 2 March 1948 to Ernest Shackleton and Elise Wilson. The family immigrated to Australia in 1959 and settled in Adelaide, where Shackleton was educated at Croydon High School.[1]

Naval career

Shackleton joined the Navy in 1966 under Supplementary List (Executive) Scheme, and saw service in Vietnam while qualifying as a seaman officer.[2] He was given command of the destroyer escort HMAS Derwent in 1988,[3] was the Maritime commander for the opposing forces during Exercise Kangaroo 1989, and reached the rank of captain in 1989. He commanded the destroyer HMAS Brisbane from 1991 to 1992,[3] and was promoted to commodore in 1993.

He is a graduate of the RAN Staff College and the Joint Services Staff College, and has earned a Masters of Business Administration (Executive) from Monash University.[3] He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

He was promoted to rear admiral in 1998,[2] and then vice admiral and Chief of Navy in 1999.[3] He initiated various organisational changes across the Navy.[3]

He was a senior Navy witness to the Senate Enquiry into the Children overboard affair.[4] He was appointed as an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2000,[5] and Commander in the United States Legion of Merit in 2001. He retired from the RAN in 2002.[3]

References

Military offices
Preceded by
Vice Admiral Donald Chalmers
Chief of Navy
1999–2002
Succeeded by
Vice Admiral Chris Ritchie
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