1. PAR
Lieutenant Clarke joined the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in mid‐November 2013; he was
posted to what is arguably the busiest sections within the mission – the joint operations centre
(JOC). Clarke has been employed within the JOC as an operations staff officer throughout his tour
and has had to learn fast, adapt quickly and respond with speed to a fast paced operation whose
operational picture alters rapidly. Clarke has certainly been placed outside his comfort zone and
to his absolute credit has dealt with everything that has been thrown at him with professionalism
and style and, with capacity to spare.
He has adapted extremely well to not only the operational environment but also equally well to a
multinational UN environment which has him working alongside civilians, police and military from
all three services. He has proved himself to be a hard‐working, diligent, capable and professional
officer who is proving to be a quite excellent ambassador for Australia. Despite not being the
senior ranking officer in the operations section his work ethic, high standards and natural flair
mean he has taken on a leadership role beyond his current rank and he mentors and counsels
some of the other national officers, often who are of senior rank. He has dealt with high ranking
South Sudanese dignitaries as well as senior UN personnel and VIPs and he does so with tact and
diplomacy. He has singlehandedly organised and managed several CASEVAC operations and
despite his inexperience has shown how he can turn his hand to any challenge. Clarke is certainly
not one to shy away from responsibility and he is currently punching above his weight in this
appointment.
Beyond his normal duties, Clarke has developed several excellent processes and procedures which
are now being used; this is no mean feat within a UN system that is highly bureaucratic and often
averse to change. He appears to thrive on challenges and continually impresses me with his
enthusiasm and determination.
Clarke is keen to become a submariner (electronics) and whilst I can’t comment on his suitability
for this, I have little doubt, based on his character, that he would be an ideal choice. I can
however offer that his extremely strong work ethic, his honed tact and diplomacy and his maturity
beyond his years would make him an exceptionally strong candidate for further UN posts and my
choice would be for him to serve as a Military Liaison Officer where his ability to work under
pressure in austere conditions using just his wits would suit him down to the ground.
As to promotion, Clarke has only recently promoted and hence has a few more years before he
will be considered but I would suggest that this professional, enthusiastic and capable officer is
one to watch for the future – I am confident he will not disappoint.
D R H SUNDERLAND
Lieutenant Colonel (UK) MA, MSc
Deputy Chief Joint Operations Centre UNMISS Juba

2.
LEUT Clarke has thrived whilst employed as an Operations Officer within the Joint Operations
Centre (JOC) of the United Nations Mission In South Sudan (UNMISS). This Multinational, Tri
service environment has provided many challenges for Clarke including comfort zone hardships,
cultural indifferences, language and accent barriers (particularly with non‐native speakers of the
English language) and dealing with the UN bureaucracy. Clarke has often demonstrated leadership
without authority over peers and officers senior in rank as necessary to ensure the smooth
operation of the JOC team and in an instructional role for new joiners. His job required him to
liaise with Senior Staff within the UNMISS organisation to coordinate CASEVAC’s on a weekly basis
as part of the 24 hour duty roster, this often required Clarke to think laterally and enable the
coordination of various parties who often otherwise refused to communicate due to perceived
procedural indifferences until coerced.
LEUT Clarke was placed in charge of the Special Flight Request (SFR) processing along with his
standard JOC duties. This position was poorly managed when Clarke first filled the position and a
system of recording and tracking each flight needed to be developed. Clarke used his expertise as
an Electrical Engineer specialising in Web Application Development to develop a web based
system for the entry of new SFR’s and the ability for requesting units to track their submissions.
This system was well received by the UNMISS community. Clarke demonstrated other such
examples of problem solving in his UN employment through taking on the role of IT representative
for the unit, ensuring all new joiners had the required IT services and liaising with relevant IT
personnel and dealing with other relevant parties as required, solving a variety of problems as
they arose.
Clarke was an integral part of the Risk Assessment process attending meetings and advising and
developing procedures for Aircraft Threat Assessment into High Risk areas. This was a critical role
following the loss of life and air assets in the December 21​st ​
Helicopter shooting over Jonglei State.
LEUT Clarke has proven to be accepting of his peers and very accommodating to his superiors. He
is well recommended for employment in future UN mission.