The Chief of Army Essay Competition and Chauvel Prize

2026 Chief of Army Essay Competition

The release of the Defence Strategic Review (2023) and the National Defence Strategy (2024) has presented a new focus and a new set of challenges for the Australian Defence Force (ADF), and the Army in particular. After 25 years of peacekeeping and low-intensity conflict, the Army needs to prepare for high-intensity conflict, most likely in a changing littoral environment

The theme of the 2026 Chauvel Prize is centred on not only the Australian Army’s ability to continually adapt to new and emerging challenges, but also how the Australian Army, as an organisation and profession can hard wire this ability to effectively sustain constant change.

The AARC is looking for original essays that address the following question.

'How can we rewire the Army to continually adapt to the changing character of war?'

A winning essay will not be focused on solutions to tactical problems, or focused only on training. It will need to consider how the Army as an organisation, and members of the Army as professionals, need to adapt to meet the challenges above.

The Chief of Army Essay Competition was open to serving ADF personnel (SERCAT 3–7) and Australian public servants employed by the Department of Defence.

Entries closed for the Chauvel Prize on Thursday, 30 April 2026.

Prizes

The winning entry will be awarded the Chauvel Prize, a $3,000.00 cash prize, and domestic travel to Canberra (at AARC cost) to brief the Chief of Army’s Senior Advisory Committee (CASAC) on the topic of the essay.

The runner-up will receive a $500.00 cash prize and domestic travel to Canberra (at AARC cost) to brief CASAC on the topic of the essay. Entries will be judged by the AARC.

Publication

The competition’s winning and runner-up entries will be published in the Australian Army Journal (AAJ). Judges will also identify submissions that are ‘Commended’ and these may also be published in the AAJ or on the AARC’s Land Power Forum.

Outcomes of the 2025 Chief of Army Essay Competition and Chauvel Prize

In 2025, the CA Essay Competition theme was on ‘State of the Australian Army Profession—The Past, Present, and future’. The competition posed three general questions:

Q1. How can the Army, as a profession, be optimised for littoral warfare operations?

Q2. How can the Army, as a profession, enable rapid mobilisation and expansion for conflict, if required?

Q3. How can the Army, as a profession, fully and effectively contribute to the ADF’s Integrated Force?

The winner of the 2025 CA Essay Competition and Chauvel Prize was:

Corporal John Wellfare, ‘The Professional Revolution to Transform Army into an Integrated Enabler’.

The runner-up essay for the 2025 Chauvel Prize was:

Major Robert Bruce, ‘Preparing the Army as a Profession for Mobilisation’.

Further, the Chief of Army commended three essays and a further six essays were considered suitable for publication and inclusion in a collected edition. Further details can be found on the Outcome of 2025 Chief of Army Essay Competition and award of the 2025 Chauvel Prize.