Major General Michael Garraway of Australia assumed command of the Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai from Interim Force Commander, Major General Evan Williams of New Zealand, on 17 March 2024.

The ceremony was held at the MFO’s South Camp in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt and was presided over by our Director General, Ms. Elizabeth Dibble. Attending the event were dignitaries from Egypt and Israel, the Parties to the Treaty of Peace, Australia, New Zealand and other MFO Supporting States.

During the Change of Command ceremony, Director General Dibble thanked Major General Williams and New Zealand for making him available to the MFO again in October of 2023 as Interim Force Commander after previously serving three plus years as Force Commander. In particular, Director General Dibble thanked him for his leadership and for successfully steering the Force through the darkest days of the COVID pandemic and more recently for successfully balancing the Force between its duties and the safety of our personnel.

The MFO was honored to welcome Major General Garraway to the MFO as its fifteenth Force Commander and the third from Australia. Australia has a long association with the MFO and is one of our original Troop-Contributing States.

In addition to Australia and New Zealand, previous MFO Force Commanders have come from Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway.