His role was, with the aid of a Royal Marines driver and a local interpreter, to liaise with the Bosnian units in his area and with the corps headquarters in Sarajevo.
In December 1997, for instance, grenades were thrown into a Dutch logistics base in retaliation for the shooting of a Bosnian Croat indicted for war crimes.
[2][3] Stothart was appointed Staff Officer Policy to the Chief of the Defence Force in 2006 and assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) in December 2007.
[10] Stothart was deployed to Afghanistan in July 2013 and assumed command of Combined Team Uruzgan from Colonel Simon Stuart at Multinational Base Tarin Kowt on 7 August.
[2][3] Stothart was credited with making "significant contributions to the reform and improvement of career management and Army's people capability through his exceptional leadership, professionalism and dedication" during his two and a half years in the role, for which he was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours.
He was the senior Australian imbedded in the United States-led headquarters, and oversaw the delivery of strategic and operational plans to deny ISIS a chance of resurgence.
For fourteen months, he worked closely with the Department of Veterans' Affairs and Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation to improve the systems that support the transitional phase.