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The Land Power Forum blog is published by the Australian Army Research Centre in order to generate discussion and debate about the future of Army.

It is a forum for informed analysis, commentary, thoughts and ideas. Contributions are welcomed from stakeholders, subject matter experts and those interested in future land warfare.

Articles
Looking from the end of the street towards buildings either side on fire, with a little boy in a Superman suit walking toward them holding a Ukraine flag.
Observations from the Ukraine War
Land combatLandpower lessonsMajor power competition

Ukraine’s struggle to repel Russian’s military onslaught has highlighted that hope exists for small nations to resist a much larger potential aggressor. Peter Balind shares his observations about the emerging lessons.

Royal Australian Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III prepares for takeoff at Nackaroo Airfield, Bradshaw Field Training Area near three United States Marine Corps MV-22B tilt rotor aircraft as part of Exercise Loobye.
The Australian Army’s Coming Strategic Role
Accelerated WarfareEmerging TechnologiesStrategyTransforming Land Power

Will Army need to transform its philosophy, organisation, and cultural hierarchy if its to achieve the full potential of long-range strike weapons? Dr Albert Palazzo is convinced that it will.

An Army approach to Transforming Landpower
Land combatPeople, Culture and EthicsArmy in MotionTransforming Land Power

Transforming land power involves comprehensively changing Army's ability to project force in and from land in peace, crisis and in war. MAJGEN Chris Field provides a conceptual framework within which Army can achieve such change.

File image of the Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 tank, the nominated replacement for the current Main Battle Tank, was provided by the US Government for Defence public affairs usage.
LNG: Keeping Australia in the Fight
Emerging Threats and OpportunitiesLand combatStrategyTransforming Land Power

Connor Cruickshank makes the case for increasing land capability by better utilising the potential of liquefied natural gas in combat vehicles.

Cover of Spotlight Brief 1/22 centered with a small shadow
Spotlight Brief 1/22
Major power competitionUrban conflictLandpower lessons

This Spotlight Brief provides an introduction and context to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. It discusses Ukraine’s strategic circumstances and provides an overview of the chain of events which led to it. The Brief aims to provide a wide audience with a basis of knowledge to better understand the relationship between Russia and Ukraine and why the conflict occurred.

Corporal Jeromy Ringshaw from Charlie Company, Army Recruit Training Centre, marches as part of a formed body during basic training at Kapooka, New South Wales.
Role and structure of a Reserve Force
TrainingForce DesignStrategyTransforming Land Power

The ADF should develop a land force mobilisation capability by investing more effectively in the training of the ADF Reserve Force. Stephen Chamarette discusses why.

A Shadow Unmanned Aerial System from the 20th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, is launched at Townsville Field Training Area, Queensland.
Combat Power Beyond 2022
Emerging Threats and OpportunitiesLand combatStrategyTransforming Land Power

In response to the challenges posed by rapidly advancing technology, Bruce Cameron recommends changes to the ADF's core philosophy of war and new principles for the guidance of commanders.

USAF C17 on runway in Afghanistan
How Washington misunderstood ‘Strategy’ in Afghanistan
Landpower lessonsStrategic AnalysisLeadership

Anant Mishra reflects on the fall of Kabul and the opportunities lost by Washington to build a strategy for Afghanistan based on civil-military integration.

Man riding a cart pulled by a donkey in a village
A Challenge from Insurgency to the Nation-State
Irregular WarfarePeople, Culture and Ethics

Tunisia is challenged by a dual insurgency, with affiliates of al-Qaeda and ISIS exploiting grievances within the population and leveraging Islam to mobilise support. In this essay, originally published in the Irregular Warfare Essay Collection, Clarence Hovell offers insights into security sector reform, policy renewal and the role of the population in addressing the challenges of insurgency.

Promo image with the Cover of The Darkest Year
Book Review - The Darkest Year
Book reviewLandpower lessonsMilitary history

This book presents a collection of essays covering the experiences of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. It is the fourth in a series of books, each covering a year of the war. This volume delivers the same high standards of scholarship as its predecessors and is highly recommended by its reviewer, BRIG Chris Roberts AM, CSC (Retd).

Promo image for Wellington and the Lines of Torres Vedras
Book review - Wellington and the Lines of Torres Vedras
Book reviewLandpower lessonsMilitary history

For anyone wishing to know about the engineering feat that defeated the third French invasion of Portugal in 1810-11, BRIG Chris Roberts (Retd.) commends Mark Thompson's recent book, 'Wellington and the Lines of Torres Vedras'.

Logistics Specialist Seaman Courtney Lucarelli, from Youngstown, Ohio, directs landing craft air cushion (LCAC) 21, assigned to Naval Beach Unit 7, to depart a beach as a part of a large-scale amphibious assault training exercise during Talisman Saber 17. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sarah Myers/Released)
Littoral Warfare in the Indo-Pacific
Amphibious/joint/interagencyEmerging Threats and OpportunitiesOur Region

With the USMC undergoing major reforms in both warfighting doctrine and operational structure, Peter Dean outlines the importance of continued US support to key allies such as Australia.

A panel of Australian Army Warrant Officers take questions from the audience at the 2021 Senior Enlisted Conference in the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
‘Transforming Land Power’ Series Competition
Landpower lessons

The Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) invites you to contribute to the 2022 AARC Short Thoughts Competition, ‘Transforming Land Power’. This is your opportunity to help further Australian land power debate and for ADF and APS members to win a trip to the Chief of Army Symposium 2022 (CAS 22), Adelaide Convention Centre, 10-11 August 2022.

Promo for Friends are Good on the Day of Battle
Book Review - Friends are Good on the Day of Battle
Book reviewLandpower lessonsMilitary history

The 51st (Highland) Division earned a high and fearsome reputation during the Great War. In his book, 'Friends are Good on the Day of Battle,' author Craig French provides a pragmatic assessment and deeper insights into the training, composition, and character of the 51st (Highland) Division than other histories have done, and along the way he challenges some long held views.

LT Misty Evans (31/42 RQR) briefs QPS and QFES personnel on ADF search activity.
Integrated Campaigning - Part 2
LeadershipJoint warfarePeople, Culture and Ethics

Developing on his analysis in Part 1, Nick Bosio offers five characteristics that the ADF must nurture and build if it is to achieve the tenets of Integrated Campaigning.

A small housing structure in Mozambique Africa with a young child in the foreground; cover of Irregular Warfare Essay collection at bottom right
“You can’t start a fire without a spark”
Irregular WarfareHuman SecurityPeople, Culture and Ethics

Brooke Barling reviews the events of the Mozambique Civil War and Rhodesian Insurgency through a theoretical lens known as the 'Triangle of Rebellion'. In doing so, she considers the conditions that exist in the region that could fuel future conflict and offers some lessons for Australian policy makers.

Promo image - 2034 A Novel of the Next World War
Book Review - 2034: A Novel of the Next World War
Book reviewEmerging Threats and OpportunitiesMajor power competition

Dr Al Palazzo recommends this fictional work, '2034: A Novel of the Next War', for inclusion on military reading lists. A timely reminder that nuclear weapons cannot be used without risking the end of human civilisation, the book draws attention to the timeless human values that lie at the heart of all conflict and that remain critical to the understanding and waging of war.

Promo image for A Military History
Book Review - A Military Transformed?
Book reviewLandpower lessonsMilitary history

'A Military Transformed?' by Lociceerio et.al. provides valuable insights into the factors that enable or impede adaptation, innovation and reform in military organisations. In the opinion of the book's reviewer, BRIG Chris Roberts (Retd.), these insights are as relevant today as they were in the periods covered by the book's 14 historical studies.

A Royal Australian Air Force airman talks to the C-27J Spartan aircraft crew as they prepare to depart High Range training area near Townsville, Queensland, during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019.
Integrated Campaigning - Part 1
LeadershipJoint warfarePeople, Culture and Ethics

Nick Bosio examines how Integrated Campaigning works at the tactical, operational, and strategic level. He argues that the concept of Integrated Campaigning offers an underlying logic thread that should guide Australian military professionals to think and solve problems.

Argentinian Station Antarctica South Pole
Australia’s Antarctic Frontier: Our Unchecked Indo-Pacific Strategic Faultline – Part 2
StrategyEmerging Threats and OpportunitiesMajor power competition

Building on his earlier post, Kurt Brown makes a case of elevating Antarctica in Australia's strategic discussions and investment decisions, and for reinforcing the Antarctic Treaty System.

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