ROBERT JOSKE MANAGEMENT CLIENTS
Lt General John Frewen AO DSC (Retd)
From Peacekeeping to Pandemic: A Legacy of Leadership
Lieutenant General John James Frewen, AO, DSC, is a distinguished former senior military officer with over four decades of service in the Australian Defence Force. A third-generation army officer, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1986 and began his career as an Infantry Platoon Commander. Frewen has held numerous leadership positions, including command of the Second Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, the Army’s 1st Brigade in Darwin, and all Australian Forces across the Middle East in 2017.
John Frewen is renowned for his exceptional leadership in complex international environments. He has served on operational service in Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In particular, his leadership of the initial Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands in 2003 has become a model of successful peacekeeping.
He is also a proven leader beyond the military domain. As principal deputy director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate, he supported cybersecurity and information risk management nationally. His pivotal role as Coordinator General of the National COVID Vaccine Taskforce achieved one of the world’s highest vaccination rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Frewen's final position in Defence was Chief of Joint Capabilities from September 2021 to July 2024, where he oversaw the ADF's Space and Cyber Domains and Joint Logistics Command. This role involved consolidating joint space and cyber forces for the first time, showcasing his ability to navigate emerging technological landscapes.
His academic achievements include a Bachelor of Arts and two Master’s degrees in Defence and Strategic Studies. He has been recognised with numerous honours for leadership, including appointments as a Member (AM) and then Officer (AO) in the Order of Australia and the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).
Transitioning to the private sector, Frewen brings unparalleled strategic planning, risk governance, and digital security expertise. His unique blend of military leadership and crisis management experience makes him an invaluable asset for speaking engagements and advisory roles in space, cyber, business and government sectors.
John is happy to take briefs for his speaking engagements and tailor his presentations to meet the needs of his clients. John is based out of Canberra.
Suggested Topics:
CONTESTED LOGISTICS
Australia’s next fight will be won or lost in the logistics battlespace, where supply chains are now the front line and our dependence on just-in-time global networks has become a strategic liability. The era of just-in-case logistics demands reserves, redundancy and sovereign industrial depth — in fuel, munitions, critical minerals and a hardened north — that we accept at higher peacetime cost in exchange for the ability to endure coercion or conflict. This is a timely, authoritative briefing on why logistics resilience is now inseparable from deterrence, and what Australia must do — with allies and industry — before the crisis arrives.
HEDGING OUR ALLIANCE
The US alliance remains precious and worth keeping, but the Trump administration’s unpredictability — annexation talk, NATO threats, the Ukraine suspension — makes planning for greater defence self-reliance an urgent national necessity. Real self-reliance means paying for shield, strike and intelligence capabilities that take decades and well beyond 3 percent of GDP to build, with no combination of alternative partners able to replace American reach, scale or Five Eyes intelligence. This is a sharp, authoritative briefing on how Australia hedges a vital alliance without walking away from it, and what deterrence at genuine scale would actually cost.
USE FORCE WISELY
Force without planning, legitimacy or allied consultation is on display in the US approach to Iran — and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz shows why that rarely ends well. The lesson is clear: military power works only when it backs diplomacy, not replaces it, with clear aims, legal grounding and genuine partners. This is a timely, authoritative briefing on how democracies can use force wisely and avoid paying for others’ strategic mistakes.
Representative:
Robert Joske Management Pty Ltd
Tel: + 61 2 93281444
Mob: + 61 412 211 510