On 28 September 2004 the IISS hosted a Special Round Table Discussion with Commodore James Goldrick AM, CSC, RAN, Commandant, Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra.
Commodore Goldrick took command of the Australian Defence Force Academy in September 2003. Earlier, he served as Director General, Military Strategy, Department of Defence; Director of the RAN Sea Power Centre; and Chief Staff Officer to the Chief of Navy. A Principal Warfare Officer and anti-submarine warfare specialist, he has seen sea service around the world with the RAN and on exchange with the Royal Navy, including the patrol vessel HMS Alderney, the frigates HMS Sirius, HMAS Swan and HMAS Darwin and the destroyer HMS Liverpool. He twice commanded the frigate HMAS Sydney and later served as the inaugural Commander Australian Surface Task Group. During this posting, he commanded the Australian task group deployed to the Persian Gulf in early 2002 and also served as commander of the multinational naval forces conducting maritime interception operations to enforce UN sanctions on Iraq, including units from the RAN, the United States Navy, the Royal Navy and the Polish Armed Forces.
Commodore Goldrick has also lectured in naval history and contemporary naval affairs at professional institutions in the US and Australia. He has written several books, including Reflections on the Royal Australian Navy (co-edited), 'Mahan is Not Enough' (co-edited) and 'No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka'.
At the IISS, Commodore Goldrick spoke on 'Future Issues Facing Medium Navies'. This meeting was off-the-record.
