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The Battle of Long Tan: Australia’s four hours of hell in Vietnam   Written by: David W. Cameron Penguin Random House Australia, 2017, 392pp, Reviewed by: Major Lindsay Amner Military history is generally written by the winners. If the losers write their version of history, they will generally add a bit of glory to their actions so they appear glorious losers rather than just losers. But whichever side writes the history, it is generally told from only one side, from the cultural perspective of the writer. …

The Australian Imperial Force   Written by: Jean Bou & Peter Dennis Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2016 ISBN: 978-0195576801, 320 pp, Reviewed by: William Westerman This is the final volume of a five-book history of Australia in the Great War published by Oxford University Press during the war’s centenary years. Previous volumes have explored the war against the Germans, the war against the Ottomans, the war in the air and the home front. This book completes the picture, doing away with battle …

Command Culture: Officer Education in the U.S. Army and the German Armed Forces, 1901-1940, and the Consequences for World War II     Written by: Jörg Muth University of North Texas Press, Denton, 2013,  ISBN: 978-1574415339, 376 pp,   Reviewed by: Captain Dale O’Shannessy The quality and performance of military forces throughout history is often founded foremost on a compelling narrative. Narratives about naturally-gifted soldiers and officers, who possess superhuman courage, what historian Michael Howard …

In peace, the function of tactical air support of land operations is apt to fade, but in war its urgency will increase. 1 - Field Marshal Viscount Slim Abstract Any history of the campaign in Burma highlights the vital importance of air power to the eventual victory over the Japanese by the 14th Army. The purpose of the paper is to explore how the Allies achieved air-land integration (ALI) during the Burma campaign during the Second World War. The key research question was to establish why ALI was so …

Abstract ‘Sua Tela Tonanti’ is the motto of the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps (RAAOC), which is translated as ‘To the Warrior his Arms’. This task has increased in difficulty over time. The growing sophistication of Army platforms, the higher tempo of Army operations, and the high diversity of Army operational locations has greatly complicated the task of bringing the warrior their arms. Thus, Army logisticians currently face considerable difficulties in decision-making. These primarily stem from …

Abstract In 2006 the Government of the United States of America lodged a reservation against the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR (2005)) that effectively nullified certain provisions with respect to the operations of USA Armed Forces. The aim of the IHR (2005) is to detect, prevent and control public health events of international concern; it does not contain provisions that explicitly relate to the militaries of States Parties. While public health …

Abstract Extremism poses a danger to any society and can be detrimental if unchecked. In the post-web era, extremist groups have started using information networks to influence public perception, gain silent sympathisers, and radicalize youth. One such group–the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)–deftly uses information networks to intimidate rival groups, terrorize populations, radicalize youth, and recruit foreign fighters from Western countries—thus posing a threat to the security of regions in …

Abstract This paper presents a template of what to do and how to think if you want to influence others to join you in tackling complex problems in conditions of uncertainty, ambiguity and risk. It reports a study that (1) identifies what junior and mid-level military professionals perceive as being ‘good leadership’ from the perspective of followers, and (2) examines the evidence in favour of a leadership style that balances task and people requirements as the desired leadership mode within the military …

Abstract How does a small nation defeat an insurgency that has well-armed land, naval and air forces, that possesses a powerful and ruthless ideology, excels at information operations, extensively employs suicide bombing and terror tactics both nationally and internationally, controls a large territory and has strong global financial and moral support? How can a conventional military defeat hybrid warriors by learning and innovating in asymmetric warfare? Sri Lanka defeated the Tamil Tigers after more than …

Abstract Why is strategic thinking so difficult to cultivate within organisations? It is a general observation that organisations rely on either the emergence of strategic thinkers within the organisations or poaching proven strategic thinkers from other successful organisations. Public organisations, like the military, are often restricted in their potential pool of strategic thinkers. Would it not make more sense to grow a strategic thinking capability as one would build an offensive or defensive …