The Australian Army is grappling with the problem of developing an appropriate cyber workforce. As the Army becomes an increasingly digitised force and reliance on the cyber domain increases, the demands on the cyber workforce will  continue to grow . To meet these challenges Army must think beyond the traditional cyber workforce model and beyond the workforce currently housed within niche units. Much work is being done throughout the Army to identify the most appropriate cyber workforce. The aim of this …

In defeat and victory armies have an obligation to learn from the past in order to prepare for the future. This has never been a strength of the Australian Army, unfortunately. However, there is opportunity to change and set the Army on course to prepare for an increasingly uncertain future. The energetic response of the German Army to learn from its defeat in the First World War is a striking example of a professional military force setting out to prepare for the future. By contrast, there has been little …

The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to establish …(is) … the kind of war on which they are embarking; neither mistaking it  for,  nor trying to turn it into, something that is alien to its nature. This is the first of all strategic questions and the most comprehensive. Clausewitz, On War ADF doctrine currently describes the types of conflict in terms of a spectrum from ‘peace’ to ‘war’, where the level of violence discriminates between the two …

The conduct of Information Warfare (IW) [1]  and operations in the Information Environment (IE) [2]  are not new phenomena. Arguably the concepts, contemporary lexicon aside, are as old as conflict itself. IW operations are those that are designed to have a cognitive effect, resulting in the successful imposition of one’s will. IW includes both words and actions; the importance lies in how the words or actions are processed, perceived or interpreted by the target audience, be they friendly, neutral or …

In July 2017, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) issued a change to United States doctrine, elevating information to its current position as the seventh joint function. This was done in recognition of the power information has to support military operations, particularly in the wake of modern technology and social media. There is nothing new in recognising the power of information, or in seeing  information as both a resource and a weapon.  It is in transitioning this intellectual …

Part 2 of this blog will explore how the Joint Force might win without fighting by leveraging the ideas put forward by the Chief of Army (CA) in his Accelerated Warfare (AW)  statement  and conducting operations in the Information Environment (IE). [1] The CA notes the changing operating environment that is seeing the rules-based global order under pressure from evolving geopolitics, technological disruption at historic levels, and actors who are proving adept at adjusting to this accelerated context. In …

There is a tidal wave of new research and practice in the area of enhancing human performance. In this post, I wish to highlight three approaches which might be useful to Army: Bulletproofing; brain science and bravery research. Bulletproofing The ‘ Bulletproofing ’ concept, developed by  David Asprey , began with his enquiries into the humble cup of coffee; why did it cause ‘highs and lows’ in concentration and could anything be done to fix this? His solution was  Bulletproof Coffee , followed by a …

Miniaturised Ammunition Fuzes The  US Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Centre (ARDEC)  are advancing Component Miniaturization for ammunition fuzes. Projectiles require a fuzing mechanism to detonate a munition only when specific conditions are met (such as after the projectile has been fired from a weapon). Current fuze technology uses mechanical safe and arming timing mechanisms to slowly rotate detonators into position to then initiate the explosive train to detonate the munition. …

The largest conventional land battle since the capture of Baghdad in 2003 has been ongoing since October 2016. The purpose of this article is to provide Army a first-look on lessons identified from the advisors engaged in supporting our Iraqi partners to excise the Da’esh malignancy from Iraq. This list is raw and provided to stimulate thought. Armed Airborne Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR): The king of the urban battlefield.  The most effective weapon on the current battlefield is a …

In the movie  Batman versus Superman , Batman concludes that the era of a single superhero is over. To face the threats of the future, he realises he needs to assemble a super team, people with widely different skills but who, in common, are good and strong of heart. Reinvigorated by the example of Superman’s purity, Batman sets off to create the  Justice League .  DC Comics continue this theme in the related film  Suicide Squad . Here we see an eclectic bunch of oddballs and societal rejects, who – …