First female Regimental Sergeant Major of the Australian Army

Warrant Officer Kim Felmingham has been appointed as the first female Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army – RSM-A – in Australia.

CAPTION: The RSM-A’s pace stick is handed from incoming Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart to incoming Regimental Sergeant Major–Army Warrant Officer Kim Felmingham during the Chief of Army handover parade at Russell Offices in Canberra on 1 July 2022. Photo by Kym Smith.

The appointment became effective on 1 July 2022.

Outgoing RSM-A Warrant Officer Grant McFarlane, completing his tenure as Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army, thanked his soldiers for their support and service during his tenure.

“It has been an honour and privilege to serve with you, and I wish you all the best for your future endeavours,” Warrant Officer McFarlane said.

He formally passed the RSM-A’s pace stick to incoming Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army Warrant Officer Felmingham during the parade that also saw the Chief of Army responsibilities change hands.

WO Felmingham has most recently been the Command Sergeant Major of Forces Command, since December 2019.

She enlisted in the Australian Regular Army in July 1986 and became a medical attendant in 1990.

She has had a balance of trade, instructional, regimental and operational appointments throughout her career.

Her first appointment as a Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) was in 2006.

Subsequent appointments have provided her the opportunity to gain extensive experience from the tactical to strategic levels of command.

She has extensive all-corps training experience, instructing at each level of Army’s All Corps Soldier Training Continuum from the Recruit to the Regimental Sergeant Majors Course, and the United States Army Sergeants Major Course.

Warrant Officer Felmingham has deployed on operations at every rank level from junior NCO to Warrant Officer.

Warrant Officer Felmingham has had significant professional development opportunities across combat and combat-service-support environments, including attendance at the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy in 2007, Faculty Advisor, Military Operations Division in 2008, RSM JTF 633 in 2013 and attendance at multiple international seminars and leadership conferences in the United Kingdom, Canada, Korea and the United States of America.

In 2018, Warrant Officer Felmingham attended KEYSTONE at the National Defence University, Washington DC, which provided her development in current United States strategic interests, Department of Defense capability, foreign policy and military strategy.

Warrant Officer Felmingham was awarded the Nursing Service Cross in 2000, the United States of America Meritorious Service Medal in 2010 and the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2018.

A career highlight for Warrant Officer Felmingham was her appointment as the Regimental Sergeant Major, 2nd Division, where she was an ambassador for reform and change due to the division’s unique, integrated, diverse and dispersed workforce.

Warrant Officer Felmingham is a Director on the Board of the Army Amenities Fund which provides amenities and related services to Army members and their families.

 

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