Abstract As the Australian Army continues to deploy troops to operations across the globe, questions are being asked both within and outside the Army as to why certain forces are being deployed. This article explores the role of the Royal Australian Infantry, and suggests changes that would increase options for its deployment. Armies do not win wars by means of a few bodies of super-soldiers but by the average quality of their standard units... The level of initiative, individual training, and weapon skill …

Abstract This provocative article questions the use of the Infantry Corps in the current high-tempo period of deployments, asking if the Infantry is being used to its full potential. The author claims to represent the views of frustrated Royal Australian Infantry members who feel that they are not being employed to their full potential in current operations. Situation The Royal Australian Regiment has been conducting operations continuously since the intervention into East Timor in 1999. These operations …

Abstract With this account of his time in Afghanistan, the author describes some of the challenges of ‘contested nation-building’ in that country. This article explores the difficulties of developing civilian capacity while also participating in a counterinsurgency campaign. The author contends that Coalition military forces in Afghanistan must remain responsive to the needs and directions of the fledgling national government while developing the infrastructure required for law and order. Peace will come …

Abstract While a tactical defeat for the Communists, the Tet Offensive is acknowledged as the turning point of the Vietnam War that ultimately led to the fall of South Vietnam. Forty years on, this article examines why the Tet Offensive was such an important event, and reassesses its legacy, especially as it relates to the use of military force today. January marked the fortieth anniversary of the 1968 Tet Offensive. This event proved to be the turning point of the Vietnam War and its effects were …

To the Editors It’s a pity that Brigadier John Essex-Clark did not read Paul Hams Vietnam — The Australian War  with a more critical eye (Australian Army Journal, Summer 2007).  The book holds too many errors that range from the silly to the serious for it to be classified as a ‘history students textbook’. There is no doubt that Paul Ham can write well and what he has written is easy to read. One expects, however, that the narrative and its references be reliable. This is where Vietnam  fails the test. The …

  … Chauvel Essay Prize - 2007 …

Listed below is a select group of books recently or soon to be published that either contribute to the discussions initiated in the articles in the Australian Army Journal or on subjects that may be of interest in the near future. Some of these books may be reviewed in forthcoming editions of the Journal . John R. Ballard, David W. Lamm and John K. Wood, From Kabul to Baghdad and Back: the US at War in Afghanistan and Iraq , Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 2012, 408 pp. Ballard et al. examine the US …

Abstract The evolving lethality and accuracy of weapon systems in the battlespace should drive dismounted combat platoons to continually modify Tactics, Techniques and Procedures in order to mitigate threats. Implementation of Manoeuvre Support Section down to Company and Platoon level combined with improving communication systems offer new opportunities for dismounted combat platoons to disperse and manoeuvre sub units far more effectively than ever previously seen. This article examines the ways in which …

Abstract The RAA role in Afghanistan provided an opportunity to demonstrate and refine the artillery capability after decades of doubt over its future. Its Afghanistan experiences have enabled the RAA to evolve, refining, enhancing and reinforcing what is a crucial role. With the imminent conclusion to the Australian commitment in that theatre, the RAA will reconstitute and reorientate towards providing an invaluable capability for Army in future conflicts; this capability, however, may be entirely …

Abstract The current landscape of military operational thinking is dominated by the complex warf- ighting paradigm that embodies a shift to war among the people . In such wars, the precise application of force to produce effects — targeting — is critical to achieving military objec- tives while supporting civil aims and avoiding undesired outcomes. Contemporary warfare challenges the practice of targeting and the philosophy of its purpose, promoting a shift from targeting for effect to targeting to learn . …