Floods hero lands Pentagon posting
TOWNSVILLE’S top Defence Force officer, who helped lead the city during its flooding crisis, will become the Australian military’s representative in the Pentagon.
Commander of the 3rd Brigade Brigadier Scott Winter will be posted to Washington in 2020, as the chief of the Australian Defence Force’s liaison officer to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, supporting Australia’s strategic interests and coalition planning.
Brig Winter will hand over the reins to a new brigade commander on November 28 after completing his first official two-year posting in Townsville, which he started in 2017.
“For me, the main achievements are far more peoplebased, seeing our junior leaders grow and develop,” he said.
“Watching the way the men and women of the brigade are always willing to step forward, muck in and get their hands dirty, and in general just be inspired by amazing young people dedicated to their jobs.
“The community, the ture, the climate – all of it.
“I am very sad to go.”
Earlier this year, Brig Winter commanded Joint Task Force 658 – North Queensland Flood Assist, which included a rotation of 2800 Defence personnel responding to the culflooding event in Townsville and North Queensland.
“What we are good at is smart young soldiers breaking into small groups of 10 or so, under the guidance of a corporal and achieving great things,” he said.
“There is no better display of that than the floods this year.
“It is their achievement, not mine – I am just lucky to have had the opportunity to have commanded them. I am very proud of my time in 3 Brigade.
“There is no better place in this country to be a soldier than right here in Townsville.”
Mayor Jenny Hill, who chaired the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group, said Brig Winter had trusted his junior leaders by delegating duties to them to work with civilian authorities.
“It tells me that he has faith in the ability of the officers he commands in ensuring they would do the best possible job, knowing they are well trained and believing in them being able to deliver the outcomes.” she said.
Cr Hill said the relationship between the army and the community had drastically become better, with Brig Winter leading a push for more community engagement.
“Because of his role with council we have a very strong relationship with Defence,” she said.
“Real efforts have been made by Defence to interact with the community and to ensure those relationships improve year on year.”