Susan Coyle

Lieutenant General Susan May Coyle, (born 21 May 1970) is a senior officer in the Australian Army who has served as the chief of Army since July 2026. She joined the army as a reservist in 1987 and, following training at the Australian Defence Force Academy, was commissioned into the Royal Australian Corps of Signals in 1992. She has commanded the 104th Signal Squadron (2003–04), 17th Signal Regiment (2009–10), Task Group Afghanistan (2015) and the 6th Combat Support Brigade (2017–19), and has deployed on operations to East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Afghanistan. She was appointed commander, Joint Task Force 633, with responsibility for all Australian operations in the Middle East, from January to November 2020. She was the first woman to command the task force, which had oversight for 1,200 personnel under Operation Accordion. Coyle was head of information warfare from January 2021 to November 2022, commander, Forces Command from November 2022 to June 2024, and chief of joint capabilities from July 2024 to July 2026. She was appointed chief of Army on 8 July 2026, making her the first woman to lead a branch of the Australian Defence Force.