Member LTCOL Kerry Leslie Clifford

RN, GradCertEmerg, GradDipMid, MHA, MPH, MRCNA, MCN, AFCHSE

LTCOL Kerry Clifford has had a long and varied service history encompassing Naval, Military and Nursing careers.

After serving as a communications specialist in the Navy and whilst serving part-time in the Military Police, Kerry trained as a Registered Nurse at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane 1986-1988.  He commissioned into the full-time Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps in March 1992 and was initially posted to the 1st Field Hospital (Ingleburn) where he undertook ward duties before being appointed Officer in Charge of the Outpatients Department.

He subsequently served with the 1st Parachute Surgical Team where he moved through Training Officer, Evacuation, Administration and Second-in-Command roles.  During this posting he completed a Graduate Certificate in Emergency Nursing, a Graduate Short Course in Aviation Nursing and the RAAF suite of Aeromedical Evacuation Courses.

Kerry gained a GradDip in Midwifery from the University of Western Sydney (Milperra) whilst on long service leave 1997-1998.  On completion, he was posted to the Army Aviation Centre at Oakey as Senior Nursing Officer and later as Officer Commanding Health Services.  He deployed on Operation TANAGER (East Timor) in support of 5/7 RAR (Mech) as Senior Nursing Officer to the Battalion Group at Balibo in 2000.

Kerry was subsequently posted to the 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion, Townsville, as Evacuation Platoon Commander and immediately redeployed to East Timor to support the 1 RAR Battalion Group.  He was promoted to Major in 2002 and took up a posting as SO2 Health Development working on capability development at Land Headquarters in Sydney until December 2003.

Kerry successfully completed long term schooling for a Masters in Health Administration through the University of New South Wales in June 2005. He has subsequently completed a Masters in Public Health through the same school, including a major project examining the relationship between armed conflict and infectious disease.

His immediate past posting was as Officer Commanding Clinical Support Company and Base Hospital, 1st Health Support Battalion, Holsworthy.  He deployed from this unit in 2005 in support of 21 Construction Squadron on Exercise PUK PUK 2005 in Papua New Guinea, where he provided primary care and specialist advice to the refurbishment of a PNGDF base hospital.

Kerry was successfully panelled as the first RAANC officer to attend the Australian Command and Staff College in the 2007 course.  He was, however, promoted to his current rank on 01 November 2006 in order to take up a posting as SO1 Allied Health in the Directorate of Strategic Workforce Development, Defence Health Service Division., where he provides staff input into ADF health workforce strategic policy.

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