A leading Australian military adviser who worked for the federal government, the RAAF and Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove in East Timor has been arrested in the US on child pornography charges. Dr Adam Cobb was taken into custody on Friday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for receipt and distribution of child pornography after allegedly uploading images of child pornography to the social networking site, Tumblr. If convicted he faces 20 years' jail in the US. Dr Adam Cobb was taken into custody on Friday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for receipt and distribution of child pornography after allegedly uploading images of child pornography to the social networking site, Tumblr . The 45-year-old was in the US working as a research professor and director at the prestigious US Naval War College in Rhode Island. Cobb took up the position at the US Naval War College in June last year after holding senior military and government roles in Australia and the US, including a recent strategic policy and planning position at US Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida. 'I can confirm that he was a civilian employee and director of the Mahan Advanced Research Project at the US Naval War College,' Captain Christopher Dicomitis, a Rhode Island State Police detective, told AAP on Sunday. Cobb appeared in the US District Court in Providence on Friday and was refused bail. An investigation began in January when The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children reported an individual in Rhode Island had uploaded child pornography to Tumblr. The internet connection at Cobb's Portsmouth home was identified as the origin of the images. Cobb was in the US working as a  director at the prestigious US Naval War College in Rhode Island after holding senior military and government roles in Australia, including the RAAF . Laptops and mobile phones were seized from his home, while photos and videos of two females were also discovered on a storage device and a computer allegedly belonging to Cobb. Educated at the University of Sydney, Australian National University and University of Cambridge, Cobb built a reputation as a leading military thinker. According to his biography on the US Naval War College website, Cobb worked on the 1999-2000 East Timor crisis with Major General Cosgrove, who at the time was commander of the international peacekeeping mission. 'Overall, my commanders and I found Dr Cobb's work a valuable contribution to our understanding of important issues before us,' Maj Gen Cosgrove wrote in a review of Cobb's work as lead analyst for the Australian Parliament Defence Office. In Australia he was special-director, strategic policy with the RAAF; senior defence adviser for the Australian parliament; an Australian parliamentary fellow; and research fellow at Australian National University's strategic and defence studies centre. Cobb has also worked at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC and was on the staff of former speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Dr Adam Cobb had worked for the federal government, the Royal Australian Air Force and Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove (pictured) in East Timor .
Dr Adam Cobb, 45, was arrested in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Friday .
He allegedly uploaded images of child pornography to  Tumblr website .
The 45-year-old held senior military and government roles in Australia .
He was in the US working as a research professor and director at the prestigious US Naval War College in Rhode Island .
If convicted of the child pornography charges he faces 20 years' jail .