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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 …
The New Global Insecurity: How Terrorism, Environmental Collapse, Economic Inequalities, and Resource Shortages are Changing Our World , Written by: Fathali M Moghaddam, Praeger, Santa Barbara, California, 2010, ISBN 9780313365072 Reviewed by: Michael Lankowski, Strategic Policy Division, Department of Defence In The New Global Insecurity , Iranian-born psychologist Fatahali M Moghaddam makes an ambitious attempt to explain contemporary global security challenges through a comprehensive theory that …
How to Win on the Battlefield: The 25 Key Tactics of All Time , Written by: Rob Johnson and Michael Whitby, Thames & Hudson, London, 2010, ISBN 9780500251614 Reviewed by: Lieutenant Colonel Jason Thomas How to Win on the Battlefield is a useful introductory text to the basics of tactics. For the general military reader it is a well-researched introductory text written by three eminently qualified authors of military history. The book is well laid out with a chapter allocated to discuss a particular …
The Soldier: A History of Courage, Sacrifice and Brotherhood , Written by: Darren Moore, Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd, Crows Nest, Australia, 2009, ISBN 9781848310797. Reviewed by: David Goyne, Strategic Policy Division, Department of Defence ‘... man is the fundamental instrument in battle’ according to the nineteenth century French infantryman, Charles Ardant du Picq, who added, ‘Nothing can wisely be prescribed in an army—its personnel, organisation, discipline and tactics, things which are connected …
Zombie Myths of Australian Military History – The Ten Myths That Will Not Die , Written by: Craig Stockings (ed), University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 2010, ISBN 9781742230795. Reviewed by: Captain Dayton McCarthy This lively collection of essays aims to slay, or at the very least provide some context to, ten of the most resilient myths in Australian military history. The authors have a job on their hands as many of these myths form the staple subject matter for the bestselling books in …
The Ashgate Research Companion to Modern Warfare , Written by: George Kassimeris and John Buckley (eds), Ashgate, Farnham, 2010, ISBN 9780754674108, 468pp, Reviewed by: Gary Sheffield, Professor of War Studies, University of Birmingham, UK Recently I had the privilege of leading a party of British army officers on a battlefield study to France to examine the 1940 campaign. As we stood overlooking the places where Guderian’s XIX Panzer Corps crossed the Meuse and where the French armoured …
To Salamaua , Written by: Phillip Bradley, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 2010, ISBN 9780521763905, 390pp Reviewed by: John Moremon, Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Massey University, NZ The late Cam Bennett, whose Rough Infantry is one of a few memoirs of the Salamaua campaign, commented that he ‘found it extremely hard to write about the war in New Guinea’. It was not just that the tropical, jungle-clad, mountainous island was so different from Libya, Greece and Syria. It was also …
