Stuart Smith (general)

Major General Stuart Lyle Smith AO, DSC (born 1 November 1963) is a senior officer in the Australian Army. He commanded the 1st Division from October 2012 until November 2015, when he was appointed Deputy Chief of Joint Operations.

Smith was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 1 November 1963 and educated at St Paul's College in Adelaide. His father, Bernard Lyle Smith, was a soldier in the Australian Army. In March 1969, Bernard, then an infantry sergeant in the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, was killed by a mine detonation during his second tour of Vietnam.

Smith graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1984. He was appointed Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in December 2001 and led the battalion on peacekeeping duties in Timor Leste in 2003. He commanded the 3rd Brigade in Townsville during the period 2009 to 2011 and coordinated the Australian Defence Force Disaster Response to Tropical Cyclone Yasi in North Queensland in February 2011. Smith assumed command of the 1st Division in October 2012, following his return from the Middle East as commander Joint Task Force 633. He led the division for three years, before handing over to Major General Paul McLachlan in November 2015. Smith was subsequently appointed Deputy Chief of Joint Operations.