In this book review, Nick Bosio reflects on the importance of military history to any professional effort to master operational and strategic art. While focussed on US military engineering, Bosio observes that 'Clearing the Way: US Army Engineers in World War II' touches on three factors that any military professional needs to understand: the heritage of war-fighting skills and techniques; how different parts of the profession integrate to support the force as a whole; and what lessons can be learned from history to inform the resolution of contemporary military issues.

In a talk hosted by 2(AS) Division and streamed by The Cove on Tuesday 28 May, Major General Stephen Day, DSC, AM will speak on the topic of Generalship and how bold staffs can support their leaders to understand the nature of conflict. The presentation will foster greater awareness of the role of military staffs in a warfighting headquarters and lay the foundation for understanding how Generals win and succeed.

In response to the release of the National Defence Strategy (NDS), a seminar was hosted by 2(AS) Division on the topic of accelerated preparedness, titled Scalability Insights for Defence.

While militaries publicly declared an interest in robotic and autonomous systems (RAS), no documented wide-scale deployments of weapon systems exist. This paper co-branded with RAND identifies a promising range of RAS technologies with military implications and evaluates the potential barriers to their widespread adoption.

Reflecting on recently introduced ADF-wide policy on respite, author Phillip Hoglin identifies areas for further improvement. He outlines factors that contribute to enduring challenges to the achievement of consistent respite policy, with reference to both Australian and overseas experience. Hoglin identifies a spectrum of applied and academic approaches to address these issues and, based on his analysis, provides several workable options for consideration by the ADF.

The Ukraine war has thrust small drones into the spotlight as an integral component of combined arms warfare. Matthew Krupczak contends that commanders must consider the doctrinal implications of both current and evolving off-the-shelf drone technologies and procure countermeasures.

Andrew Maher presents an operating concept for the ADF that involves supporting regional nations to resist the imposition of control from autocratic actors. Constituting a strategy of deterrence by denial, he asserts that the 'unconventional deterrence' capability that would result from such efforts complements Australia's existing approach to deterrence and is firmly aligned with the direction set by the Defence Strategic Review.

Zena Assad considers the concept of swarming. She reflects on how the term has evolved from its origins in the field of biology to its modern application to describe characteristics of robotic systems. Noting the effect of rapid technological advancements on the capacity of such systems to self-organise, she identifies the challenges in setting operational goals for these capabilities as well as offering solutions.

The Defence Strategic Review has prompted significant re-consideration of the role of Army in the defence of the nation. To guide Army’s new purpose, an understanding of Australian Defence and Security Strategy is fundamental, as is recognition of Australia’s strategic interests. This short articles introduces some of these strategic interests and a PME program being run by 2 (AS) DIV in 2024.

Mark Mankowski's builds on his argument that the division is the appropriate highest echelon of command for the Australian Army. Having considered in Part 1 the measures he considers necessary to reinforce, Army’s largest unit of action, in this post he discusses the requirement for more formations in an enabled 1st (Australian) Division.

In Occasional Paper 19, the authors focus on geostrategic trends and atrocity risks, analysing the relevance of these trends to Australia's strategic interests. In this Post, the authors summarise the results of the project which led to the paper's development and they highlight the significance of the challenge facing states seeking to prevent atrocity crimes.

In this Land Power Forum Post, Mark Mankowski argues that the division is the appropriate highest echelon of command for the Australian Army. Based on this assessment, he considers the need to reinforce the division as Army’s largest unit of action.

Submission topics included technology innovations, strategic RAS applications and tactical employment of RAS to address a diverse range of challenges Army may face in future. These contributions provide meaningful opportunities for Army to continue preparing its land forces.

The ADF has a long history of defence international engagement within our region and beyond. In Occasional Paper 18, Dr Michael O'Keefe seeks to extend the policy literature through a case study of international engagement with Fiji by detailing how a successful approach from 2014-2017 contributed to the achievement of Australian foreign policy goals.

The authors of this post make the case for wheeled robots as a military capability. Using the example of a 6 wheeled robot, the authors explain the principles of terramechanics and its relevance to maximising traction, energy efficiency and manoeuvrability.

Khuong Nguyen explores the potential of emerging autonomous technologies at scale to help meet Army's domestic and international strategic challenges. Drawing on overseas case studies, he examines opportunities for accelerated adoption of emerging robotic technologies.

‘How do you achieve more with less, possibly when your forces are already committed?’
In this LPF Post, Hannah Woodford-Smith proposes a model to enable assessment of asymmetry between employment of conventional forces and autonomous solutions.

The Land Power Forum littoral manoeuvre series on securing points of entry (POE) closes out with this fifth and final post. In it, Charles Knight identifies and explores functional capability enhancements that offer the potential to increase the capacity of a smaller force to secure an urban POE more effectively.

As Army transforms to meet contemporary security challenges, it must optimise for littoral manoeuvre operations by the sea, land and air as part of the integrated force. Drawing on lessons from the ADF's operational history within the region and beyond, this volume of the Australian Army Journal applies focus to Australian operations in the littorals.

Alexander Lenart reflects on the benefits of participating in the Australian Army Staff Ride to Borneo. He finds that the lessons learned from the 1945 Oboe operations still resonate today.