Ian Wing
Associate Professor, PhD
PhD (UNSW), MDefS (UNSW), BA Hons (UNSW), GDip Mgt, GDip Info Mgt,
Dip Pers and Rsc Mgt, psc, JP, GAICD, FAIPIO, CPP
Ian Wing
Bio
Described on national radio as “one of Australia’s best known experts on the intelligence community”, Associate Professor Ian Wing has over twenty years of experience in intelligence, security and counter-terrorism. His military career included postings with the United States Army and the Special Air Service, and tours of combat duty in East Timor and Iraq. He served eight years with the Defence Intelligence Organisation and seven consecutive terms as the President of Australia’s Intelligence Institute. He now teaches intelligence and national security at Charles Sturt University. Ian’s career has revolved around counter-terrorism and, in contrast to the expertise claimed by some academics, he has a wealth of first-hand experience.
Ian has consistently called for the broadening of the national security debate to include non-military threats and he recognised terrorism as an existential threat before it became fashionable to do so. He was the first commentator to propose a national counter-terrorism call centre and this concept was subsequently implemented as the “National Security Hotline”. He continues to press for the improved coordination of national security that would result from the creation of a National Security Centre and the appointment of a national chief of intelligence.
Details
Ian Wing is an Associate Professor of the Australian Graduate School of Policing. His career has combined the disciplines of intelligence and counter-terrorism within the military, national security, private enterprise and academic sectors. Ian has participated in a wide range of law enforcement operations involving terrorism and border protection; and worked on security for a number of major events, including the Sydney Olympic Games and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. He represented Defence in the National Intelligence Group, the Australian Government Counter-Terrorism Committee and the International Counter-Terrorism Coordination Group. He was a co-author of the Australian Government’s Guiding Principles for Law Enforcement Intelligence.
His military career as a Commissioned Officer included the Special Air Service, Special Operations Headquarters, the US Army Intelligence Center, 3RAR (Parachute), the ADF Intelligence Centre, the Australian Defence Studies Centre, the Land Warfare Studies Centre and eight years with the Defence Intelligence Organisation. His intelligence expertise includes Afghanistan, Cambodia, Papua-New Guinea, East Timor, Iraq, satellite imagery and terrorism. He has worked throughout Asia, the South Pacific, Europe and the United States. He has represented Australia and the United Nations at conferences in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Tanzania and Japan. In 2000, he was Australia’s Senior United Nations Military Observer in East Timor, commanding United Nations personnel of 11 nationalities. In 2005, he was appointed the Chief of Operations of the CIA’s Iraq Survey Group (later the Combined Intelligence Operations Center) in Iraq, commanding 230 Coalition troops. He was decorated with the award of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in combat.
Ian is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Command and Staff College, the Australian Defence Force Academy and the University of New South Wales. He is a winner of the UNSW Defence Studies Prize, the Chief of the Defence Force Scholarship and numerous essay prizes. He has taught intelligence courses in Australia, Indonesia and the United States and is a graduate of the leading Australian and US intelligence training programs. He holds visiting appointments with UNSW, at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Macquarie University and the Land Warfare Studies Centre. He is a member of the Research Network for a Secure Australia and the Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security. He is an Australian Committee Member of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Certified Protection Professional of ASIS International. He is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers and the Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism.
Ian’s career has also included protective security guarding and venue crowd control. In 2002, Ian was the Director of Corporate Intelligence of Distillery Software, an international leader in intelligence and investigations management. From 2001 to 2007, Ian was the President of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers (AIPIO) and he is now an elected Fellow of the Institute.
His other interests include rugby union, scuba diving, white water rafting, sea kayaking, boxing, mixed martial arts, movies, reading and music.
Teaching
- Teaching short courses in intelligence, security and leadership
- Teaching residential courses in Australia and South-East Asia
- Supervising Masters and Doctoral dissertations
- Developing new Masters and Doctoral courses
- Frequent speaker at conferences throughout Australia and overseas
- Lecturer at other academic and official institutions
- Convenor or Master of Ceremonies of ten international conferences
Research
- Intelligence and National Security Policy
- International Relations and Strategic Studies
- Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism
- Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency
- Peacekeeping, Intervention and Armed Conflict
- Special Forces, Private Military Companies and Mercenaries
- Leadership, Management and Ethics
- Interrogation and Torture
Recent publications
Curriculum Vitae
- Ian's full CV is available on request
