The following is the text of an address given by the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General David Morrison, to the Royal Australian Navys Sea Power Conference in Sydney on 31 January 2012. Lieutenant General Morrison stated that the introduction into the Australian Defence Force of new amphibious capability is anything but routine. The Landing Helicopter Docks cannot be thought of as merely a transport ...Read more >

In September 1943, the 9th Australian Division, having been recalled from an arduous desert campaign in the Middle East which included the eight-month defence of Tobruk against Rommels Afrika Korps, was hastily refitted, retrained and despatched northward to fight the Japanese in the dense, fetid jungles of New ...Read more >

Scenarios are an important tool in the strategic planning process, and are increasingly used in both the Defence and business world. This paper describes some potentially useful scenario analysismethods for systematically selecting and developing future scenarios. ...Read more >

Despite the mandates of a rapidly changing world, the U.S. military today is still dominated by Cold-war era weaponry, organizational hierarchies, doctrine, and planning based on the expectation of massive Soviet-style land warfare. Nevertheless, one thing is absolutely certain: a U.S. military transformation will occur. The real issues are when, how, and with what ...Read more >

The purpose of Adaptive Campaigning-Future Land Operating Concept (AC-FLOC) is to provide the conceptual and philosophical framework and force modernisation guidance to the Army in order to ensure that it remains postured to meet the demands of the future. It is developed firmly within the higher guidance and parameters provided by Defence White Paper 2009 (WP ...Read more >

This discussion paper seeks your views on a wide range of issues, including how we can together minimise cyber risks so we can maximise social and economic opportunities in the digital economy. We greatly value your views on how we can get the right balance between Australias social, economic and security ...Read more >

In a 2007 presentation to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), General John Abizaid, former commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) and commander of coalition forces in Iraq, stated that Iraqi insurgents were threatening the humanitarian neutral ...Read more >

This guide was an investigation of the latest developments in US Army thinking about the design of operations and campaigns. The purpose of the investigation was to see whether the Australian Army ought to adopt the US Army methodology within its own doctrine. As with most investigations of this kind, it revealed much more than just the relative merits of American thinking on designing operations and ...Read more >

Contemporary military organisations regard the possession, dissemination and inculcation of a doctrine of warfighting as an absolute necessity. This doctrine plays a central role in the development of warfighting techniques and is an important—if not the most important—factor in determining a force’s capabilities and ...Read more >

The topic of this paper is the Military Appreciation Process (MAP), which is the structured procedure employed by the Australian Army for operational planning. The paper argues that, while the MAP is generally very effective, it could be further improved by better application of human factors. Specifically, better use of the personal role of the commander, intuition, and creativity will result in both higher quality plans and more efficient conduct of the planning process. The paper draws ...Read more >

• Conducting a peace operation (PO) is one option available to the international community to assist in the prevention, resolution or containment of a conflict. • Contemporary PO involve political, military and humanitarian organisations striving to meet a common objective. • PO make use of diplomatic, civil and military means, normally in pursuit of United Nations (UN) Charter purposes and principles. • Consent, impartiality, the use of force and legitimacy and are the fundamental ...Read more >

• The space domain is a different operating domain to the air domain. • The physical principles governing the operation of vehicles in space are unlike those governing vehicles in the Earth’s atmosphere. • While the Australian Defence Force (ADF) relies heavily on spacebased assets, the environment in which they operate is extremely harsh. • International law with respect to space is predicated on five international treaties and a number of ...Read more >

•A peace operation (PO) is one response option available to the international community to assist in the prevention, resolution or containment of a conflict. •PO are conducted in support of political and diplomatic efforts to establish and maintain peace. •The fundamental principles guiding a military force in PO are consent, impartiality, the use of force and ...Read more >

•Doctrine informs training and training must be founded on doctrine without becoming prescriptive. •Defence’s individual and collective training regime is based on a strategic level analysis of military strategy. •Defence’s doctrine provides the intellectual basis upon which Defence conducts ...Read more >

The aim of this publication is to guide the development of leadership in the ADF. This document describes the basic leadership tenets, principles, behaviours and considerations necessary for leadership in the ADF. While well founded leadership principles are included, the document’s purpose is to inform current military thought rather than present dogma for rigid ...Read more >