Abstract This article reviews the 2006 US Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual along with two major historical works on counterinsurgency. The author does not seek to present a precis of each work. Instead selected threads from each work are drawn out to pose the question: Are these works milestones that further our understanding of counterinsurgency or millstones that place impossible burdens on us? While other books and operational experiences have contributed significantly to the corpus of …

Abstract In the second half of 2009, two Australian officers served at the Headquarters of the United States Marine Corps 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade (2d MEB) in Southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan. During this period the 2d MEB conducted significant offensive and counterinsurgency operations. This article focuses on one of these operations—EASTERN RESOLVE II—to act as a snapshot of 2d MEB activities and to draw lessons from the USMC experience for Australian Army audiences. In August 2009 the 2d …

Congratulations to the Army Journal and Lieutenant Colonel Jason Thomas for publishing the article ‘Adaptive Campaigning – Is it Adaptive Enough?’. 1 I found the article both thought provoking and informative. I must declare some interests in writing this letter. First, as Director Future Land Warfare and Strategy (FLWS) in 2008–09 my Directorate authored Adaptive Campaigning – Future Land Operating Concept , which is the subject of criticism in Jason Thomas’ article. Any flaws in Adaptive Campaigning are …

Titles to Note Listed below is a selection from the review copies that have arrived at the Australian Army Journal . Reviews for many of these books can be found online in the relevant edition of the Australian Army Journal at: < http://www.defence.gov.au/army/lwsc/Australian_Army_Journal.asp > Honor and Fidelity: The 65th Infantry in Korea , 1950-1953, Gilberto N Villahermosa Brent, Scribe Publications, ISBN 9780160833243, 329 pp. Reporting the War: Freedom of the Press from the American Revolution to the …

Lance Corporal Adriaan Van Staden enlisted in the Australian Army Reserves in 2019. Originally posted to the 9th Battalion Royal Queensland Regiment, he is now serving in the 16th Battalion Royal Western Australia Regiment. Adriaan is interested in the development of warfare in modern conflicts, especially the use of drones and artificial intelligence. … Adriaan van …

The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine   by David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts Harper Collins, London, 2023, 444 pp ISBN 9780008567972 Reviewed By:  Adriaan van Staden   Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine is an expansive analysis of the evolution of global warfare since the end of World War Two. It delves into how conflicts, both large and small, have been transformed due to political, technological, and societal shifts, moving from state-on-state battles to asymmetric and hybrid …

Abstract ‘Wool Gathering in the CO’s Office’ is an article in two parts. Firstly it proposes a model for the Psychological Contract between Army and its personnel, and postulates that a fundamental role of commanders is to uphold this contract. Secondly, it provides a series of discrete observations about the practice of command at unit level. The author’s aim is to share his experiences in order to assist future COs and provide them with a head start on their own journey of command. I was privileged to …

Abstract The Australian Overwatch Battlegroup (West)-3 provided operational overwatch to two Iraqi provinces in 2007. A small but important part of the battlegroup staff was a CIMIC (civil-military cooperation) team that supported the Commander with civil-military liaison and the planning of consent winning activities. The superficial ‘hearts and minds’ commentary that accompanies the public face of CIMIC projects often belies the true extent, nature and contribution of CIMIC. In essence, every CIMIC …

  War , Written by: Sebastian Junger, Fourth Estate, London, 2010,  ISBN 9780007362134, 286pp   Reviewed by: Major Andrew Shum Even for the non-scholars of recent military history, there are names of places that can immediately conjure up visions of the courage, sacrifice, hardship and unbridled terror felt and endured by those operating on the ground. The quagmire of the Somme, the sweltering desert of Tobruk and the bloodied beaches of Normandy are synonymous with all of these characteristics and more. …

    Vietnam on Canvas – Ken McFadyen, an Artist at War , Written by: Sandra Finger Lee, Barrallier Books, Canberra, 2010, ISBN 9780980663303   Reviewed by: Brigadier David Webster Sandra Finger Lee’s book admirably combines Ken McFadyen’s art and the story of his service with the Army in Vietnam as an official war artist; though there is much more to this book than the title suggests. For me, the portrayal of the artist’s life, from the time he was appointed as a Vietnam war artist at the age of 35 through …