Mr Leo Christopher Purdy

I was appointed as the Chief of Army Military Fellow at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence force Academy in 2022. As the Military Fellow my primary focus is to support the professional education and development of Australia's next generation of military leaders. 

I commenced my military career at the Australian Defence Force Academy as an Officer Cadet, completing a Bachelor of Arts. Upon graduation from the Royal Military College Duntroon, I was allocated to the Royal Australian Armoured Corps where I served in various regimental, training and staff roles. As a military instructor I taught the theory and practical of application of armoured combat and combined-arms warfare. I held a number of staff appointments including operational planning, concepts and doctrine authoring as well as various capability management and development roles. I am also a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff College and the Australian National University where I completed a Master of Arts. I served for 22 years in the Australian Army deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan and border protection operations. Prior to commencing as the Military Fellow, I worked in private industry as a consultant and as an independent defence analyst.