Andrew Bottrell graduated from the Royal Military College in 1987 to the Royal Australian Corps of Transport.

He has held numerous appointments in Land/Forces Command, Training Command, and Joint Logistics Command, as well as senior staff appointments in both Strategic Operations Division and Army Headquarters. He also served on exchange at the US Army Training and Doctrine Command in 2003-04, and most
recently completed an industry secondment to several multinational corporations in the UK and US throughout 2017-18.

Major General Bottrell’s operational service includes tours to the Antarctic (1989/90 & 1990/91), East Timor (1999 and 2006), Iraq (2007) and Afghanistan (2013). He was the Logistics Component Commander for Operation ASTUTE in 2006 while serving as Commanding Officer 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion. While deployed to Iraq in 2007 he was the Staff Officer Grade One Joint Effects on Headquarters Multi-National Division (South East), responsible for coordinating the transfer of Basra Province to Provincial Iraqi Control. In 2013, he was deployed to Afghanistan to coordinate the drawdown of Australian forces.

On promotion to Colonel he was appointed Director of Logistics – Army, responsible for the sustainment of all Defence land materiel. He attended the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies in 2010, and on promotion to Brigadier was appointed Chief of Staff, Army Headquarters during 2011-12.

Following his deployment to Afghanistan he assumed command of 17 Combat Service Support Brigade, which he held until early 2015 when he was promoted to Major General and appointed as Commander of the Joint Agency Task Force for Operation Sovereign Borders; Australia’s whole of Government counter-people smuggling operation.

Major General Bottrell holds graduate and post graduate qualifications from RMIT, Deakin University, Canberra University, and most recently was a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. He was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 2003 for his work at Strategic Operations Division and a Bar to the
Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2007 for his role as the Logistics Component Commander on Operation ASTUTE. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his role in coordinating the redeployment of Australian forces
from Afghanistan in 2013.

In December 2018, Major General Bottrell assumed the role of Head Land Systems Division, within the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group.

Major General Bottrell is married with two adult children. His hobbies include fly fishing, rugby union and swimming.