 In 1982 , McNamara became the first Air Force member to directly command all three of Australia 's armed services as Chief of the Defence Force Staff ( CDFS ) , which had replaced the earlier senior position in the defence force , Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee . He also became only the second RAAF officer to be raised to the rank of air chief marshal . As CDFS , McNamara had to work to repair strained relations between the Defence Department 's military and civilian components . He sought to accomplish this through a restrained management style and respect for the department 's public servants . At the same time , he maintained the need for military and civilian personnel to be easily distinguishable , and reversed a trend for armed force personnel to wear suits " in the office " and uniforms only " on parade " , which was the preference of Secretary of Defence Arthur Tange . The military and public service wings of the department still clashed over the question of enlarging the CDFS 's role to achieve more coherent defence planning . Shortly after McNamara completed his term as CDFS in 1984 , the position was redesignated Chief of the Defence Force ( CDF ) , to more clearly reflect its authority over the Australian armed services . 
