Brigadier Amanda Williamson

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

Brigadier Amanda Williamson is the Commander of the 13th Brigade and commenced this role in December 2023. BRIG Amanda Williamson was raised and schooled in Perth, WA. She graduated
from the Royal Military College in 1994 and was appointed to the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps.

During her career, BRIG Williamson has commanded soldiers at Platoon, Company, and Battalion levels, domestically and overseas, in both full-time and part-time capacities. BRIG Williamson has served in a range of logistics and staff appointments including as part of the capability team responsible for the inaugural raising of the Tactical Assault Group (East) and a subsequent secondment to the 4th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (Commando) to support the raising on a new Company in 2004. In 2005, she served as the Staff Officer to the Deputy Special Operations Commander
Australia, for which she was awarded the Special Operations Commander Commendation for outstanding service.

In her part-time capacity, some of her career highlights have included 12 months service as the Military Assistant to the Director General Special Operations Capability, SOCOMD, and a 12 month
deployment as the NATO representative of the Special Operations Forces Liaison Element (SOFLE-S) Kandahar. This opportunity saw her responsible for the oversight of Special Operations effects in Southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. For her service, she was awarded a United States Bronze Star and Lithuanian Medal of Merit (equivalent to a Commendation
for Distinguished Service) for service to ISAF and Lithuanian Special Forces.
A graduate of the Australian Defence Force School of Languages (Indonesian), she has served as an
ADF interpreter for numerous agencies including a diplomatic role in Jakarta and hosting official Indonesian delegations in Australia. In a civilian capacity, she has worked at the Federal government
level for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) where she was appointed as the inaugural Australian COL Williamson has
had two opportunities to live and work in Jakarta. Firstly, based in the Australian Embassy Jakarta working for both the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and on a subsequent occasion, she was appointed by DFAT as the inaugural Australian Co-Director of the Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction (AIFDR) – a joint Australian-Indonesian $70M Government initiative, aimed at reducing the impact of natural disasters in Southeast Asia.
BRIG Williamson holds a Bachelor of Asian Studies, a Master of International Relations, Master of Defence and Strategic Studies and tertiary qualifications in leadership and emergency management. She is a graduate of the Royal Military College, the Defence Force School of Languages, the Australian War College suite of courses, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.