Commander Benjamin Dalton

Commander Ben Dalton joined the Navy from Newcastle and graduated from the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1996. He is a Maritime Warfare Officer and over the course of his career, has participated in several deployments and operations throughout the Indo-Pacific and Middle East regions. Recent postings have been to Military Strategic Commitments, Career Management-Navy, the Royal Malaysian Navy Tactical Training Centre, and Executive Officer HMAS Stuart. Other career highlights have included a two-year seagoing exchange to Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana, Operations Officer in HMAS Toowoomba, Fleet Gunnery Officer, and a posting to the Plans/Exercises Directorate at the United States Navy THIRD Fleet Headquarters in San Diego.

Commander Dalton is a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff Course (Joint) at Weston Creek, holds a Master of Military and Defence Studies from the Australian National University, and a Master of Capability Management from the University of New South Wales. He was awarded a Commendation for Distinguished Service in 2010 and a Chief of Defence Force Commendation in 2021.

Commander Dalton assumed Command of HMAS Ballarat II, a Western Australia-based ANZAC Class Frigate, in December 2022.