Three Block Community Support: An Australian Defence Force Capability

Introduction

During humanitarian and disaster relief responses, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) may be required to work on several different levels at once. In one moment in time, our ADF members support communities, volunteers, emergency responders and their leaders. In the next moment, they provide teams for evacuation, clean-up, clearance and repair tasks. Finally, they utilise their core skills, such as sea, land and air mobility, logistics, communications, medical and engineering—all on the same day and all within three city blocks. This can be described as ‘three block community support’, a notion adapted from the concept of ‘three block war’ introduced by General Charles Krulak of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). In ‘The three block war: Fighting in urban areas’ (1997) and ‘The strategic corporal: Leadership in the three block war’ (1999), General Krulak asserted that, given the complexity of many situations that Marines face, they may have to operate on three different levels—full-scale military action, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid—within the space of three city blocks:

In one moment in time, our service members will be feeding and clothing displaced refugees, providing humanitarian assistance.

In the next moment, they will be holding two warring tribes apart—conducting peacekeeping operations—and, finally, they will be fighting a highly lethal mid-intensity battle—all on the same day … all within three city blocks. It will be what we call ‘the Three Block War’.

General Krulak emphasised that Marines must be trained to operate in all three conditions simultaneously. In particular, his ideas encouraged in the USMC ‘a solid developmental philosophy to create junior leaders capable of operating in complex environments and maximising the use of mission command’.

This paper proposes that three block community support be used as a current and future capability for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, including Defence Assistance to the Civil Community5 (DACC). It describes how three block community support was used during Operation Bushfire Assist 2019–2020 and proposes tactical, operational and strategic ideas for enhancing the ADF’s future three block community support through procedural, organisational and cultural change.