Not all security force assistance provided by Australia is focussed on states in conflict or categorised as 'fragile', Athol Yates considers the distinctive characteristics of training with developed and advance states, including the necessary adjustments to Army's approach.

While the Australian Army may respond to the Defence Strategic Review by continuing its ad hoc and bespoke, pathway to train, advise and assist (TAA) missions, Chris Field argues an alternate pathway. Specifically, he makes the case for a standing Australian Army Security Force Assistance Battalion (SFABn) to achieve TAA missions.

William Leben reflects on the many shared challenges facing the ADF and the UK military as they both respond to strategic disruptions.

In this Land Power Forum post, Thomas Davis explores how the Australian Army's role in train, advise and assist missions contributes to strengthening regional stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. He focuses on the opportunities to leverage these missions to achieve strategic deterrence.

John Wellfare discusses the benefits of collaboration as a key tenet of train, advise and assist missions in the Indo-Pacific region. The mutual benefits of such operations are achieved most effectively when we truly view regional neighbours as joint partners.

Building solid relationships conducive to mutual force preservation is at the forefront of international missions. Luke Jones considers elements of relationship building - including strategic dialogue, training, and cultural awareness - through the aperture of train, advise and assist missions.

With a focus on resistance strategy, Andrew Maher reflects on the modern relevance of historical lessons from Australia's WWII capacity building efforts in China.

Australia’s model of 'Good Soldiering' involves the development of trusting teams, where ideas can be contested, and each soldier is expected to contribute to a force with an intellectual edge over potential adversaries. Matthew Malcolm considers how an Australian approach to 'Good Soldiering' might encounter challenges arising from the educational heritage of nations in our region.

Beth Eggleston outlines the findings of her recent research into how humanitarian civil-military coordination can be enhanced to support climate-change related operations and the delivery of life-saving assistance.

A Staff Ride to Borneo conducted by the Australian Army Research Centres offered a rich learning experience for Greg Strahan. As he observes in this Post, the discussions that took place around the contemporary significance of historical events was made profoundly more beneficial by the opportunity to walk the ground and share insights among the diverse group of participants.

In Part Two of this Land Power Forum series focussing on littoral manoeuvre, Dayton McCarthy discusses the relevance to Australia of a denial strategy requiring Army to be ready to deploy into the near region to effect and/or enable multi-domain fires.

Chris Roberts reviews Peter Hart's book 'Burning Steel', a splendid account of a British Territorial Army tank regiment - the 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry - during World War Two.

The Chief of Army opens this edition of the Australian Army Journal recognising Army's intellectual capital as a driver for innovation and change. This Journal covers diverse topics - from the relevance of the Basic Fitness Assessment in preparing soldiers for operations, analysis of the Australian Defence Force Gap year Program, to a history of staff development in the Australian Army.

James Eling reflects on the Land Forces 2022 conference held in Brisbane late last year and the opportunities for innovation highlighted by exhibitors. The emerging technologies showcased will shape the direction of future warfare.

The 2023 Defence Strategic Review states that ‘Australia’s army must be transformed and optimised for littoral manoeuvre’ as part of the ADF transition from a balanced force to one focused on applying a strategy of denial. In this Part 1 of a four-part Land Power Forum Littoral Series, Dayton McCarthy examines some key characteristics of the littoral environment in Australia's nearer region.

In response to the Defence Strategic Review's twin-fold guidance to clarify the area stretching from ‘maritime Southeast Asia into the Pacific’ as the ‘primary area of military interest’, and for Army to become adept at littoral operations, the Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) has produced a four-part series to promote further discussion. This series will be published on the Land Power Forum over the coming weeks.

This article briefly discusses the central ethical tensions between the objections raised against the use of lethal autonomous weapons generally and the potential of lethal autonomous weapons to mitigate some of the key challenges of urban warfare. Originating from the premise that the ethics of war is an ongoing negotiation between recognising the necessity of war and minimising its destructiveness, the article argues that the ethics of using lethal autonomous weapons in urban warfare cannot be appropriately weighed without a reasonable sense of what operational impact they are likely to have.

The Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) invites your contribution to the Winter Series of the AARC Short Thoughts Competition with the theme: ‘Army’s Role in Train, Advise and Assist Missions’. This is your opportunity to help further Australian land power debate. Submissions will be published in the Land Power Forum (LPF) and Defence authors of the most meritorious entries will be invited to attend an Army sponsored event in 2023 and will also be awarded a book voucher.

This article reviews the readiness of three Army force packages: the Armoured Battle Group, Ground Based Air Defence and the Reconnaissance Battle Group. Mark Mankowski asks whether the deficiencies that were identified in these force options twenty years ago have now been addressed.

In this Occasional Paper, Dr Albert Palazzo provides an introduction to the concept of land warfare, including its nature, character and how it adapts to the evolving strategic environment. Intended as a primer, this work aims to provide a start-point for a career-long journey of study and reflection on the topic.