Automated Detection of Pre-Incident Indicators in Australian Emergency Response and Defence Capabilities In a world where the landscape of threats and vulnerabilities is constantly evolving, it is paramount for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to recognise that seemingly innocuous events may harbor deeper implications. The fundamental importance of this realisation lies in the fact that these innocuous events, often dismissed as insignificant, can potentially serve as the first ripples in a larger, …

‘Army’s Role in Train, Advise and Assist Missions’ Australia’s strategic environment is complex, increasingly contested and rapidly evolving. Major power competition, militarisation, disruptive technological change and other evolving threats pose challenges to Australia’s national security. These developments test Army’s capacity to generate highly trained, disciplined and fit tactical units; preserve its capacity to operate within the integrated force; while simultaneously delivering Army forces in …

Rethinking Army’s Organisation The Defence Strategic Update (DSU) of 2020 highlighted that “[m]ajor power competition, coercion and military modernisation are increasing the potential for and consequences of miscalculation” [i] . Competition between great powers has always risked state on state conflict and the DSU reminds us of this. Since Federation, Australia’s defence thinking has been heavily influenced by competition and conflict between states. Australia’s commitment to both World Wars shaped Army’s …

In April, the AARC launched a ‘ Short Thoughts Competition ’. The purpose was to encourage authors to communicate ideas about land power to Army’s senior leadership and a wide range of readers, and in the process help to inform and shape Army’s future, under the theme of ‘Transforming Land Power’.  The number and quality of responses reflected positively on the authors’ willingness to take on the challenge of helping to shape Army’s future.  Contributors ranged from current serving to retired ADF members, …

  John P. Kotter , the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus, at the Harvard Business School, argues that successful transformation requires time to succeed, usually measured in years. Kotter emphasises that successfully transformation includes eight distinct stages, worked through in sequence. [i] The success of any given stage of transformation depends on the work done in previous stages. A critical mistake, or skipping a step, in any of the stages, can have a devastating impact. Kotter …

This article was originally published on 7th of October 2021. Do you have something to say about the future of Australian Army land power?  The Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) invites your contribution to our series of publications; the Australian Army Journal, Occasional Paper Series and the Land Power Forum.  The AARC fosters thought leadership to enhance Australian land power.  We work to raise the level of professional debate on war, military force, future land capability development, and its …

One of the most effective techniques employed by the ADF for the detection of explosive materials is the use of explosive detection dogs (EDDs). Despite the advancements in explosive detection instrumentation, the use of EDDs has remained a reliable method to detect explosives due to the dogs’ capacity to discriminate a wide range of vapours, along with the accompanying high sensitivity of their olfactory system. However, the long-term reliance on EDDs has led to increased scrutiny of canine explosive …

Welcome to the Australian Army’s Land Power Forum (LPF) and the Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) website . The Forum is a place for writers – and readers – to consider the future of the Australian Army and the use of ‘land power’ within the constellation of joint capabilities. It is also an important gateway to other research products developed by or for the AARC, and the Army’s Future Land Warfare Branch. These include:  the Australian Army Journal , Occasional Papers and Research Reports , and the …

Australian Army Occasional Paper No. 10 Will the military modernisation measures that Army takes today prepare our ADF men and women for the leadership and ethical challenges of tomorrow?  In AARC Occasional Paper 10 , we stand in the shoes of soldier Smith facing the prospect of their first combat operation in 2024.  This Land Power Forum article is an abstract from that Paper. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) ethos is derived from that of our broader society. And in turn, Australians define something …

The content in this article is an extract of  Spotlight Brief 6/21 . Cyber Threats and Vulnerabilities to Conventional and Strategic Deterrence Joint Force Quarterly – Jul 2021 Information technology has contributed to a transformation in military capabilities and power. An information technology counter-revolution is now underway, whereby digitally dependent militaries have become increasingly vulnerable to new types of threats. Mark Montgomery and Erica Borghard break down how adversaries of the United …