Assessing Civilian Employer/Manager Support for Employees’ Part-time Military Service Over the past decade, there has been an increasing recognition of the importance of the Australian Army Reserves for Defence capability and greater utilisation of individual reservists and reserve units for major conflict deployments and humanitarian operations. However, as foreshadowed in the Australian Defence Strategic Review recommendation for “[a] comprehensive strategic review of the ADF Reserves…” there are …

Context Australia’s strategic geography will continue to present new challenges and opportunities into the future. The nation will remain an enormous landmass with a small population at the bottom of Asia. Yet, no longer is our region a strategic backwater with geographic depth. Our historic geographic advantage is being eroded by grey zone actions, the reach and lethality of modern weapons, the potency of anti-access and area-denial (A2AD) systems, and the broader modernisation of other nations’ military …

    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 …

AAJ Vol XXI, Number 3 Timeline Deadline for article submissions: Monday, 24 March 2025 Planned Publication Date: November 2025 Submission form at the bottom of this page Description Have you ever wanted to write on issues important to Army? Is there something that Army could ’do’ better? Or is there something you wish people understood about Army now and in the future? The Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) invites submissions for the third edition of the Australian Army Journal (AAJ) for 2025. The AAJ …

A Professional Military Education program   Introduction The Defence Strategic Review (DSR) has provided a blueprint for a substantial increase in Australia’s military capacity in response to an evolving strategic environment. It recognises that Australia’s closest international partner, the United States of America, is no longer the leader of a unipolar world. Also acknowledged is an increase in international competition and threats to the rules-based order, both of which requiring a response by …

An Enabled 1st (Australian) Division A Division is one of the four best commands in the Service-a platoon, a battalion, a division, and an Army…A division, because it is the smallest formation that is the complete orchestra of war and the largest in which every man can know you. [i] Field Marshal Viscount Slim On 07 July, the Chief of Army (CA) stated, ‘We are setting conditions today to enable Army’s transformation. We are reorganising to reinforce our division headquarters to better command and control …

An Enabled 1st (Australian) Division Part One of this article outlined the historical structure of an Australian divisional. This structure was reviewed in light of the Chief of Army’s July 2023 pronouncement regarding the 1st (Australian) Division. The key capabilities currently missing are the enabling brigades that empower the division to conduct independent operations. The capacity to conduct independent operations is an important requirement due to the contemporary threat environment posed by large …

Army’s Role in the Strategy of Denial: Point of Entry Security in the Urban Littoral Environment Context The Defence Strategic Review (DSR) directs Army, as part of the multi-domain and cross domain Integrated Force , to contribute to the strategy of denial. The DSR lists several functions that the Integrated Force must be able to undertake to achieve this strategy and these can be usefully understood as part of a paradigm of ‘anti-access/area denial’ (A2/AD) [1] . Within them, Army – the generator of land …

‘The Primary area of Military Interest’ – Understanding the Urban Littoral Environment in the Near Region Context The 2023 Defence Strategic Review (DSR) states that ‘Australia’s army must be transformed and optimised for littoral manoeuvre’ as part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) transition from a balanced force to one focused on applying a strategy of denial. The ADF’s primary area of planning interest is to be the ‘immediate region encompassing the north-eastern Indian ocean through maritime …

As National Defence: Defence Strategic Review 2023 (DSR 23) is implemented, the Australian Army may continue its, historically validated, ad hoc and bespoke, pathway to train, advise and assist (TAA) missions. An alternate pathway, however, assesses that the urgency of DSR 23 - emphasising ‘assistance [as] a key pillar of [Australia’s] broader bilateral relationships in the region’ - no longer sanctions traditional ad hoc approaches to TAA missions.   This Land Power Forum post argues for a standing …