As Army transforms to meet contemporary security challenges, it must optimise for littoral manoeuvre operations by the sea, land and air as part of the integrated force. Drawing on lessons from the ADF's operational history within the region and beyond, this volume of the Australian Army Journal applies focus to Australian operations in the littorals. Chief of Army’s Foreword On the morning of 4 September 1943, soldiers from the 9th Australian Division disembarked from landing craft and waded ashore on …

    This edition of the Australian Army Journal (AAJ) examines the foundations of professional mastery and doctrine, and reinforces the proposition that how we think inevitably affects how we perform. Opening with articles by Mark Gilchrist, Mark Mankowski and Nick Bosio, the journal considers how the ADF can maximise the effectiveness of joint operations, particularly in the context of Australia’s rapidly evolving strategic circumstances. Nicholas Mahr, Mark Sargent and James Casey challenge elements of …

Achieving that Long-Desired Information Advantage Foreword This thoughtful and candid article from Jason Logue addresses challenges and opportunities within the Australian Defence Force (ADF) regarding the evolution of operations in the information environment. While he focuses on his experiences within the ADF, his characterisation, observations and views are consistent with US challenges based upon my almost 30 years of experience as US Department of Defense Information professional. Essentially, Grey …

With the advancement of technology and the accelerated rate of disruptive engagements, militaries are exploring swarm-related capabilities across several lines of effort, spanning from concepts to research and physical trials. In response, this AARC Occasional Paper outlines the current state of swarm and counter-swarm research and technologies through a high-level review of academic, industry and coalition partner efforts. … Swarming and …

Editorial Despite the ADF’s withdrawal from operations in Afghanistan, the Army’s operational tempo remains high. Several important strategic policy documents were released over the past year, and the maintenance of professional discourse is vital for a military force to ensure it is ready for future operational challenges. This edition of the Australian Army Journal is an integral part of our past, present, and future contributions to the discourse on the profession of arms. In the first article of this …

The Chief of Army opens this edition of the Australian Army Journal recognising Army's intellectual capital as a driver for innovation and change. This Journal covers diverse topics - from the relevance of the Basic Fitness Assessment in preparing soldiers for operations, analysis of the Australian Defence Force Gap year Program, to a history of staff development in the Australian Army. Foreword We stand at another inflection point in our Army’s history. In April this year, our government delivered clear …

In Occasional Paper 16, Resetting the Australian Army , Dr Albert Palazzo identifies the key aspects of the Defence Strategic Review and their importance to Army, highlighting that the overall message is positive for the land force. Using a number of historical reviews to illustrate how Army has responded to government directed defence policy re-assessments in the past, Palazzo points to a trajectory for contemporary capability renewal. … Occasional Paper release - Resetting the Australian …

  In Occasional Paper 19 , the authors focus on geostrategic trends and atrocity risks, analysing the relevance of these trends to Australia's strategic interests. In this Post, the authors summarise the results of the project which led to the paper's development and they highlight the significance of the challenge facing states seeking to prevent atrocity crimes. … Occasional Paper release - Geostrategic Trends and Atrocity …

  While militaries publicly declared an interest in robotic and autonomous systems (RAS), no documented wide-scale deployments of weapon systems exist. Occasional Paper 20, Understanding how to scale and accelerate the adoption of RAS , co-branded with RAND identifies a promising range of RAS technologies with military implications and evaluates the potential barriers to their widespread adoption. … Occasional Paper 20 release - Understanding how to scale and accelerate the adoption of …

A Retrospective on the Coastal and Riverine Conflict in Vietnam   Editors: Thomas J. Cutler and Edward J. Marolda Naval Institute Press , 2023, 262 pp Hardcover ISBN: 9781557507839 Reviewed by Blair Tidey   The subject of this book is historically the most recent large-scale example of coastal and riverine warfare. Significantly, it covers a geographic region in which the Australian Army is most likely to use these capabilities, in cooperation, competition and conflict. While the specific historic context …