Bad Strategies: How Major Powers Fail in Counterinsurgency   Written by: James S Corum,  Zenith Press, Minneapolis, 2008,  ISBN: 9780760330807, 304pp. Reviewed by: Campbell Micallef Due to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the number of books written on the subject of COIN is matched only by the myriad of ‘experts’, whose emergence suggests that there exists a desire to isolate a strategic algorithm, or a ‘silver bullet’ methodology for success. This is understandable, considering recent …

Forgotten ANZACS: The Campaign in Greece, 1941   Written by: Peter Ewer, Scribe Publications, Carlton North, 2008, ISBN: 9781925321296, 419pp. Reviewed by: Glyn Harper This book deals with the dispatch of W Force to Greece in the early months of 1941 and its ultimate fate. Consisting primarily of the Australian 6th Division fresh from its triumphs in North Africa and the 2nd New Zealand Division, W Force was a token military commitment made by the British Government even though they knew it had little …

The Proud 6th: An illustrated history of the 6th Australian Division, 1939-45   Written by: Mark Johnston,  Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, 2008,  ISBN: 9780521514118, 269pp. Reviewed by: Phil Bradley There is a wonderful tradition in Australia to write battalion histories and, as a result, very few divisional or brigade level histories have been written. This can make it very difficult to follow the history of Australian divisions in the two World Wars, particularly in the Second World War, …

Killing Civilians: Method, Madness and Morality in War   Written by: Hugo Slim,  Columbia University Press, New York, 2008,  ISBN: 9780199326549, 319pp.   Reviewed by: Dr Narelle Biedermann Hugo Slim is a writer and scholar with a significant background in humanitarian operations. He could have easily chosen to take a preaching, moralistic stance in putting this book together. Instead, Killing Civilians  is a remarkable piece of literature that approaches a unique, yet vitally important element of warfare …

Abstract The operational level of warfare provides the logic and rationale that determines the tactical actions necessary to achieve strategic goals. The Australian Army’s approach to operational design—embodied in the Military Appreciation Process—has not kept pace, however, with the increasing scope and complexity of contemporary military operations. However, ‘design’—a new approach to operational planning now on the ascendant in the US Army and Marine Corps—promises to incorporate the elements of …

Abstract This article contends that the Army’s Adaptive Campaigning - Future Land Operating Concept has important implications for the Army’s doctrine, culture and officer education because, despite recent updates, current and developing doctrine has not yet fully reconciled some legacy linear concepts with Adaptive Campaigning ’s non-linear foundations. While doctrinal metaphors and planning methodologies such as ‘centre of gravity’ and the Military Appreciation Process have enduring relevance, the …

Abstract While organisational culture can act as an impediment to change, its relative conservatism plays an important role in guarding against change that may be ill-conceived and radical. The great strength of military culture, however, is that it is well suited to driving adaptation, particularly in time of war. Change within the military should therefore be seen as a process of adaptation and renewal, maintaining what has proven successful without being tied to tradition. This concept of adaptation is …

Abstract In 2008, the Australian Army launched its Adaptive Army initiative, an ambitious program that seeks not only to pursue a systemic approach to adaptation, but also to inculcate a culture of adaptation across all levels of the Army. Much of the success of this initiative will be contingent on the Army’s ability to monitor the progress of implementation and adjust— adapt — where necessary. That process of monitoring and adjusting requires clear measures of success and failure. This article analyses …

Abstract The Australian Army’s success in force generation and preparation and the conduct of contemporary and future operations will be determined largely by its capacity to learn and adapt. Only through a continual cycle of reviewing and adapting in response to a changing environment will the Army retain its ability to fulfil its operational charter while also creating a culture that is capable of encouraging innovation and creativity. The ‘Adaptive Army’ initiative is more than a simple reorganisation. …

Abstract This articles examines the provenance and utility of two metaphors commonly used to help describe the dynamics of contemporary combat. It argues that, although it shares the weaknesses of all metaphors in being partially inappropriate and incomplete, the ASDA cycle has greater contemporary relevance than the earlier Boyd or OODA cycle. In 2006, the first edition of the Australian Army’s concept Adaptive Campaigning,  capturing the lessons of nearly a decade of Army experimentation, introduced the …