Profile
Brigadier Alder is a career intelligence officer with extensive command, operational and strategic intelligence experience in joint, whole of government, international and multi-national environments for most of the past 20 years. He also has contemporary experience in training and capability development. He commenced service as the Vice Director for Intelligence, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii in January 2025.
Brigadier Alder began his Army career in 1995 at the Australian Defence Force Academy and commissioned into the Australian Intelligence Corps from the Royal Military College - Duntroon in 1998. His early years at the tactical level included leading intelligence operations in human intelligence and exploitation, and deployments to Bougainville as the S2 for Operation Bel Isi, and to Iraq in support of Operation Catalyst as a specialist intelligence commander for Overwatch Battle Group West.
Brigadier Alder completed sub-unit command as the Senior Instructor, Intelligence Operations Wing, Defence Intelligence Training Centre. As a post staff college major, he served as S2 1 Brigade. This included deployment to Afghanistan as the J2 for Combined Team Uruzgan. As a lieutenant colonel, he served as the Assistant Director Current Intelligence, Headquarters Joint Operations Command; the Intelligence design lead in Land Force Design, Army Headquarters; and as the Commanding Officer of the Defence School of Intelligence. He undertook a further deployment as a lieutenant colonel as the Deputy Director of the Joint Intelligence Support Element for Headquarters Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR).
As a colonel, he served as the Director of Military Art, Royal Military College - Duntroon, from 2019-2020, where he was responsible for the design, development and delivery of Army’s officer commissioning training. He then served as Director Threat Platforms in the Defence Intelligence Organisation, between 2021 and 2023, where he coordinated threat platform assessments to inform capability development and multi-domain countermeasures. Most recently, Brigadier Alder has fulfilled the role of Director of Army’s Land Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare (LISREW) program, leading capability projects to optimise LISREW for long range strike and littoral manoeuvre.
Brigadier Alder is a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff College, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and alumni of the McKinsey Executive Leadership Program. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours First Class (History) and Masters degrees in Defence Studies and Arts (Strategy and Management).
Brigadier Alder’s honours and awards include a Conspicuous Service Cross for his leadership as the Commanding Officer of the Defence School of Intelligence. He was awarded a United States Bronze Star for his service as J2 for Combined Team Uruzgan, and a United States Joint Service Commendation for his deployment to CJTF-OIR.
Brigadier Alder is married to Wendy and together they have three children: Chloe, Timothy and Sophie. He is passionate about sport, particularly Rugby Union, is an avid reader, and enjoys outdoor activities with his family and friends.
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