Vice Admiral Justin Jones AO, CSC, RAN
Chief of Joint Operations
Vice Admiral Justin Jones was born in Adelaide, South Australia. He was educated at Geelong Grammar School and joined the Royal Australian Navy from Melbourne in 1988. He is a graduate of the Royal Australian Naval College and the Australian Command and Staff College, and holds a Masters in Management Studies, a Master of Arts (Strategy and Policy) and a Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies.
He assumed responsibilities as the seventh Chief of Joint Operations on 5 July 2024.
Vice Admiral Jones is a Principal Warfare Officer with dual specialisations in surface warfare and advanced navigation. He has served in patrol boats, guided missile destroyers, guided missile frigates, amphibious assault ships, and combat support ships. He has deployed operationally to the Middle East four times, been force assigned to 11 named operations, and deployed into the Indo-Pacific region on 13 occasions during his career.
Vice Admiral Jones had command of the guided missile frigate HMAS Newcastle from December 2008 to July 2010. In 2009, the ship was awarded the Duke of Gloucester Cup for overall efficiency and the Spada Shield for the surface combatant foremost in operations. Vice Admiral Jones then had command of the combat support ship HMAS Success from October 2014 to May 2016, which included a deployment to the Middle East and North West Indian Ocean assigned to Operation MANITOU. He resumed command of Success from 18 August to 18 November 2016 for an Indian Ocean deployment.
Vice Admiral Jones’s joint operations experience includes postings as Operations Officer to Commander Deployable Joint Force Headquarters (Maritime) in 2003-2004, Commander Plans (N5/N7) within Maritime Component Joint Operations Command in 2006, Director-General Operations (J3) Headquarters Joint Operations Command in 2020-2021, secondment as Commander of the multiagency task force Maritime Border Command / Commander Joint Agency Task Force Operation Sovereign Borders / Commander Joint Task Force 639 – Operation Resolute in 2022 – 2023, and most recently as Deputy Chief of Joint Operations.
Vice Admiral Jones was the inaugural Navy Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in 2010, contributing to the Lowy Institute MacArthur Foundation’s major publication Crisis in Confidence: major powers and maritime security in Indo-Pacific Asia. He has edited two books: A Maritime School of Strategic Thought for Australia: Perspectives in 2013, and the follow-on Australian Maritime Strategic Thought 2013-2023 published in 2023.
Vice Admiral Jones was the recipient of the 2006 Vice Admiral Viscount Horatio Nelson KB Trafalgar Bicentennial Sword of Excellence for leadership. In the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours, he was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross for outstanding devotion to duty as 2
the Commanding Officer, HMAS Success while deployed on Operation MANITOU. He also wears the Meritorious Unit Citation awarded to HMAS Parramatta, for performance in the North Arabian Gulf on Operation CATALYST in 2005-2006. Vice Admiral Jones was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the King’s Birthday 2024 honours list for distinguished service to the Royal Australian Navy, Maritime Border Command and the Australian Defence Force’s joint operations.
Vice Admiral Jones has completed the United States Capstone Course and Pinnacle Course, the Commander Joint Task Force Course, the Operations Based on Experience Course, the NATO Joint Synchronisation Course, and the United States Senior Officer Information Operations Application Course.
Vice Admiral Jones is married to Terrie, and they have two adult daughters and one grandchild. His personal interests include reading, fitness, team sport, watching musical theatre and, occasionally, playing the drums.
