Joint, combined amphibious operations constitute the most important and consequential novelty in the art of war. It involves coordinating air, land, sea (surface and subsurface) combat and logistic forces to achieve a significant advantage over an enemy force for a limited time and at a specified location. Its locus is dictated by, among other things, topography, hydrography, tides, weather, and the enemy disposition. Modern technological weapons enable the power of the defense to transition notions of …

In his introduction to Admiral Harry Harris’ Lowy Institute Presentation, Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove declared that 2016 could be characterised as framing an era of US power that arose in the aftermath of the Second World War. Such statements are made to be contested and Admiral Harris did just that. Committing the United States to the ‘economic miracle that is the Indo-Asia-Pacific’, Admiral Harris used his address to broadcast an intentional signal of US support to Australia and the region. …

‘You may not be interested in war but war is interested in you’  Attributed to Leon Trotsky                                                             When thinking about war and its effects most Australians believe that it occurs overseas and has no real influence on their lives. This is changing. Enabled by advances in technology and societies that demand greater interconnection, future war will exploit the information domain because humanity now populates a domain that war finds useful. Few Australians …

Military Texts Referenced: 1. From Victory to Stalemate: The Western Front, Summer 1944. Decisive and Indecisive Military Operations Volume 1 , University Press of Kansas, 2016, ISBN 9780700622931 2. From Defeat to Victory: The Eastern Front, Summer 1944. Decisive and Indecisive Military Operations Volume 2, University Press of Kansas, 2016, ISBN 9780700622955 Both by  C.J. Dick  a former British Army officer, senior lecturer at the Soviet Studies Research Centre and a senior fellow at the Defence Academy …

It’s great to see the humble subject of doctrine receive attention – and some innovative thoughts. In his recent post, David Caligari (/ rethinking-doctrine-an-opportunity-to-bring-doctrine-delivery-into-the ) presents a convincing argument for adopting a wiki-style approach to doctrine presentation. He points to the real strengths of this approach – fast updates, flexibility, greater consistency across publications and clear provenance for each ‘article’. We’d assume any official use of that kind of …

The Army has value. As a national institution, few rival the place of the Army in the nations psyche. This pride of place remains a source of strength for the Army and ADF, binding our people to our military through a national story of courage, mateship and sacrifice. This is a position of great privilege but as  James Brown high-lights , it is also a burden that obscures a deeper meaning of land power [1] . The national view of the Army is not a story of land power and the role of the land force in …

As Daesh’s  so-called ‘Caliphate’ continues to fracture in the Middle East, Australia and its neighbours must be prepared for further attacks like Marawi in South East Asia (SEA). Australia needs to shift its focus back to SEA and lead a regional Information Operations campaign to combat Daesh. As the Daesh inspired siege of the southern Philippines’ city of Marawi enters its 8th week, there has been a change in the strategic narrative in Australia with senior US  military leaders  and the  intelligence …

The words culture and strategy are full to overflowing with meaning, non meaning and contested ideas. I ask the reader to skirt this semantic swamp and accept culture as “the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a group” and strategy as “purposeful behaviour to realise an end.” Accepting these general definitions allows for a brisk consideration of the relevance the idea that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The specific phrase “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” has been variously attributed to …

History exists between twenty and sixty degrees north latitude. Intertwined within this parameter are five strategic challenges: the four potential state competitors of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, and the non-state challenge of violent extremist organizations filling power vacuums (commonly referred as the 4+1). Each of these nations leverages economic coercion, political influence, unconventional warfare, information operations, cyber operations, and military posture to advance their national …

We are the guns, and your masters! Saw ye our flashes ? Heard ye the scream of our shells in the night, and the shuddering crashes ? Saw ye our work by the roadside, the shrouded things lying, Moaning to God that He made them — the maimed and the dying ? Husbands or sons, Fathers or lovers, we break them. We are the guns!’  [1]    "The voice of the guns" by Gilbert Frankau Gilbert Frankau wrote the Voice of the Guns in 1916. His poem describes the physical and psychological dominance of artillery in the …