In 1973, the Secretary of the Department of Defence, Arthur Tange, submitted a report to the Government that recommended the unification of the separate departments supporting each service into a single Department of Defence and the creation of the post of Chief of the Defence Force Staff.
V roce 1973 náměstek ministra obrany Arthur Tange předložil vládě zprávu, která doporučovala sjednocení separátních ministerstev do jednoho ministerstva obrany a vytvoření funkce vrchního velitele štábu obranných sil (Chief of the Defence Force Staff).