12.—(1) There shall be—

(a) a Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces,

F17[(b) a Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) of the Defence Forces, and

(c) a Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) of the Defence Forces.]

F18[(2) (a) An appointment to the office of Chief of Staff shall be made by the President.

(b) Every person appointed to the office of Chief of Staff shall be an officer of the Permanent Defence Force.

(c) Every holder of the office of Chief of Staff shall hold that office for such term (not exceeding 5 years) as may be specified in the instrument of his or her appointment but shall be eligible for re-appointment on the expiration of that term.

(d) Where the holder of the office of Chief of Staff ceases to be an officer of the Permanent Defence Force, he or she shall also cease to hold the office of Chief of Staff.

(e) The President may, for stated reasons, remove the Chief of Staff from office.]

F19[(3) (a) In this subsection, "the Deputy Chief of Staff" means, as the context may require, the Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) or the Deputy Chief of Staff (Support).

(b) The Government shall appoint the Deputy Chief of Staff and may, for stated reasons, terminate his or her appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff.

(c) A person appointed to be the Deputy Chief of Staff shall be an officer of the Permanent Defence Force.

(d) Subject to this subsection, a person shall be appointed to be the Deputy Chief of Staff for such term (not exceeding 5 years) as may be specified in the instrument of his or her appointment but shall be eligible for reappointment on the expiration of that term.

(e) Where a person appointed to be the Deputy Chief of Staff ceases to be an officer of the Permanent Defence Force, he or she shall also cease to be the Deputy Chief of Staff.]