Over his 34 years as an Army officer,Major General Mike Smithsaw service in Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Kashmir and Papua New Guinea. His last assignment with the ADF was Deputy Force Commander for the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor. Since retiring from the ADF in 2002, his many roles have included CEO of Austcare, Founding Executive Director of the Australian Civil-Military Centre, National President of the United Nations Association of Australia, a Visiting Fellow at ANU and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University.