![]() ![]() ![]() (Ludovic Marin/Pool/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images) The U.S.-British deal replaced a French one for diesel-powered subs. “We were paying a lot of money and it wasn’t obvious to me that we were getting value for money,” said Rex Patrick, a former member of the Australian Senate who has criticized the government’s submarine acquisition plans.Īustralian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, fourth from left, and French President Emmanuel Macron, second from left, aboard the HMAS Waller, a Collins-class sub, in Sydney in May 2018. The Americans’ recommendations have influenced a series of ill-fated decisions by Australian officials that could delay the arrival of any new submarines until 2040, almost a decade later than planned. Some Australian lawmakers and defense analysts have expressed doubts about whether the U.S. admirals who have worked for the Australian government declined to be interviewed or did not respond to requests for comment. Since 2015, those Americans have received consulting deals worth about $10 million combined, according to Australian contracting records posted online. admirals, the government of Australia has hired three former civilian U.S. To an extraordinary degree in recent years, Australia has relied on high-priced American consultants to decide which ships and submarines to buy and how to manage strategic acquisition projects. With only 26 million people, Australia would be by far the least populous member of the club. If Australia acquires nuclear subs, it will become the seventh country to do so. But Australia’s strategic importance looms large because of its proximity to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the world’s busiest shipping lanes, near the contested waters of the South China Sea. Navy, which has about 290 deployable ships and submarines, Australia’s fleet is small, with only 43 vessels. Navy declined to comment for this article.Ĭompared with the U.S. Officials at the White House and the U.S. Two of the admirals applied to work for the Australians within one month of their retirement from the military. Navy spent less than a week reviewing their paperwork before granting permission, the documents show. Government lawyers fought the release of the records, arguing that they were of little public interest and that disclosing basic details would violate the retirees’ privacy.įor three of the retired admirals on Australia’s payroll, the U.S. authorization to work for the government of Australia.īetween 20, the Navy received 95 applications from retirees to work for foreign governments - and approved every one, according to the documents that The Post obtained under FOIA. Records show that each of the six retired admirals followed the rules and received U.S. The law applies to retirees - generally those who served at least 20 years in uniform - because they can be recalled to active duty. military personnel as well as reservists must obtain approval from the Pentagon and the State Department before they can accept money or jobs from foreign powers. Navy and State Department under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain documents that shed light on the admirals’ involvement. The Australian government has kept details of the Americans’ advice confidential. Key findings from The Post’s series on veterans’ lucrative foreign jobs End of carousel Some of the retired admirals have worked for the Australian government while simultaneously consulting for U.S. Navy officials have benefited financially from a tangle of overlapping interests in their work for a longtime ally of the United States. secretary of the Navy has been a paid adviser to three successive Australian prime ministers.Ī Washington Post investigation found that the former U.S. admirals have worked for the Australian government since 2015, including one who served for two years as Australia’s deputy secretary of defense. Navy officials whom the Australian government has hired as high-dollar consultants to help transform its fleet of ships and submarines, receiving contracts worth as much as $800,000 a person, documents show.Īll told, six retired U.S. The Americans are among a group of former U.S. ![]() Navy civilian leaders are playing critical but secretive roles as paid advisers to the government of Australia during its negotiations to acquire top-secret nuclear submarine technology from the United States and Britain. ![]()
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