Rear Admiral Ken Doolan AO RAN (Ret’d) (Ex-Officio)
Rear Admiral Ken Doolan AO RAN (Ret’d) completed 41 years service in the Royal Australian Navy in December 1993. He served in the destroyer HMAS Vampire during the Confrontation with Indonesia in 1966 and in the guided missile destroyer HMAS Perth in 1970–71 during the Vietnam War. He was the first Commanding Officer of the amphibious heavy lift ship HMAS Tobruk and commanded the guided missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane in the mid-1980s. During the Gulf Crisis and Gulf War of 1990–1991, Ken was Maritime Commander, Australia, and in that role was Operational Commander of all Australian combatant forces deployed to that conflict. After serving as a member of the National Defence Committee of the Returned and Services League (RSL) of Australia for many years, he was elected National President of the RSL in September 2009. Ken is married to Elaine and they have three children and three grandchildren.