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Information Warfare (IW) [1]  is a whole of government challenge in which Joint Forces must play an integral part. Preparing for and conducting IW is difficult and requires a change to the way the Joint Force currently conducts warfare. The Joint Force is predominantly organised, equipped, trained and prepared for the challenges of the physical domain. The Information Environment (IE) [2]  and IW present unique and unexpected challenges and complexities to the Joint Force that are outside of this more …

This is Part 2 of a blog on Information Warfare (IW), in case you missed it, you can read  Part 1 here . Through IW operations, actions and activities, the Joint Force will have the ability to shape and influence the decision-making and behaviour of the target audience in order to achieve mission success across the range of military operations. In order to effectively and efficiently compel the target audience to fulfil our will throughout the IE, traditional manoeuvre concepts should be evolved. Given the …

For the future Land Force, the ability to counter Information Warfare (IW) [1]  and operations in the Information Environment (IE) [2]  will be just as important as the ability to conduct them. This blog will look at countering IW influence activities using social media. Social media platforms are forums where information influence takes place, where narratives can be easily spread and countered, and where IW influence activities are already commonplace. The 2017 Director of National Intelligence  report …

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 …