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Strategic Command: General Sir John Wilton and Australia’s Asian Wars   Written by: David Horner, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2005 ISBN: 9780195552829, 400 pp. Reviewed by: Colonel John Blaxland Professor David Horner is a prolific writer and pre-eminent historian on Australian defence matters, having written a plethora of works that have significantly contributed to the store of corporate knowledge on the Army and the wider Defence organisation. Much of what he has written concerns higher-level …

On Shaggy Ridge   Written by: Phillip Bradley, Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN: 9780195551006, 240 pp. Reviewed by: John Donovan It is possible to argue that this book need not have been written, for the events covered have been fully described in the official history. However, one must admit that World War II official histories do not adorn many bookcases these days, and it seems probable that the copies in libraries spend very little time in the hands of borrowers. This book, then, joins others in …

I note with interest the debate over Michael Evans’s monograph, The Tyranny of Dissonance in the AAJ ’s new ‘Forum’ section. I have also recently attended a briefing by Professor Paul Dibb on what he describes as the enduring relevance of strategic geography to Australian defence planning. In light of what are apparently opposite views, I can’t help but think that the antithetical perspectives presented are due for a synthesis that supersedes the old strategic dialectic between the two positions, namely …

Introduction This edition’s Retrospect article is drawn from the October-November 1949 editorial of the Australian Army Journal. It is, nonetheless, of enduring relevance. It poses the perennial question ‘... what sort of Army do we want and what sort of men do we want in it?’ Times have changed, most significantly to the extent that we need appropriately to include women in our inquiry. Although the times have changed, the rigours, risks and privations of soldiering have not. In his memorable reflection …

Abstract This article examines the generational differences within the Australian Army. The author argues that Generation Y has experienced the Army’s highest operational tempo and that soon they will be able employ the lessons of that experience in command positions. He uses research and observations from generational studies to provide advice to the middle- and senior-level officers currently leading and mentoring this generation. The article concludes that as Australia’s demography shifts, Generation Y …

Abstract This article takes a critical look at the intellectual culture of the Australian Army, especially the lack of a culture of writing. The author observes that it is not that Army officers do not reflect and discuss what they experience, they just tend not to write about them. He argues that leaders at every level in the Army must contribute to reversing this trend. Less than two years after the end of the First World War, the new German Army under General Hans Von Seeckt underwent a deep-set and …

Abstract The structure of the Australian Army is the legacy of a long and distinguished history. The author argues that this force structure needs to be re-shaped to better provide high-readiness deployable capability options to Government. He advocates adopting on-line/off-line readiness cycles, consolidating Reserve units, reviewing the employment of foreign exchange officers, and reducing the number of formation headquarters. We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we …

Abstract Defence policy before the 1960s was to inter Australian troops in the foreign theatres where they fell. Repatriation of the remains of those killed before then was limited to three people: the ‘unknown soldier’, General William Throsby Bridges, and Lieutenant Keith Mackellar. The first two are icons of military honour, the third is the little-known brother of Dorethea Mackellar, who penned the line ‘I love a sunburnt country’. Keith Mackellar, like so many young men, left for war with a heart full …

Abstract Working with the media is an essential element of strategic planning for the military of today. This article examines the various roles of the media and the understanding required for today’s forces to become a media-savvy military. While the media may act as both collaborator and traitor, it is the military that requires a new way of thinking to consciously factor in the newest player in the battlespace: the embedded journalist. While every war is different, there is a constancy about many of the …

Abstract The conduct of military public affairs in complex environments is characterised by two prevailing themes: strategic communication to Australian audiences, and the need to build local consent and support within the area of operations. Public affairs, often underestimated at the beginning of deployments, can prove to be a vital ingredient in building and maintaining support from the local population as well as goodwill at home. The success or failure of a military mission can often rest with the …