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Abstract This article reviews the 2006 US Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual along with two major historical works on counterinsurgency. The author does not seek to present a precis of each work. Instead selected threads from each work are drawn out to pose the question: Are these works milestones that further our understanding of counterinsurgency or millstones that place impossible burdens on us? While other books and operational experiences have contributed significantly to the corpus of …
Abstract In the second half of 2009, two Australian officers served at the Headquarters of the United States Marine Corps 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade (2d MEB) in Southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan. During this period the 2d MEB conducted significant offensive and counterinsurgency operations. This article focuses on one of these operations—EASTERN RESOLVE II—to act as a snapshot of 2d MEB activities and to draw lessons from the USMC experience for Australian Army audiences. In August 2009 the 2d …
Adaptive Campaigning: Letter from Colonel Chris Field in Response to Lieutenant Colonel Jason Thomas
Congratulations to the Army Journal and Lieutenant Colonel Jason Thomas for publishing the article ‘Adaptive Campaigning – Is it Adaptive Enough?’. 1 I found the article both thought provoking and informative. I must declare some interests in writing this letter. First, as Director Future Land Warfare and Strategy (FLWS) in 2008–09 my Directorate authored Adaptive Campaigning – Future Land Operating Concept , which is the subject of criticism in Jason Thomas’ article. Any flaws in Adaptive Campaigning are …
Titles to Note Listed below is a selection from the review copies that have arrived at the Australian Army Journal . Reviews for many of these books can be found online in the relevant edition of the Australian Army Journal at: < http://www.defence.gov.au/army/lwsc/Australian_Army_Journal.asp > Honor and Fidelity: The 65th Infantry in Korea , 1950-1953, Gilberto N Villahermosa Brent, Scribe Publications, ISBN 9780160833243, 329 pp. Reporting the War: Freedom of the Press from the American Revolution to the …
Abstract ‘Wool Gathering in the CO’s Office’ is an article in two parts. Firstly it proposes a model for the Psychological Contract between Army and its personnel, and postulates that a fundamental role of commanders is to uphold this contract. Secondly, it provides a series of discrete observations about the practice of command at unit level. The author’s aim is to share his experiences in order to assist future COs and provide them with a head start on their own journey of command. I was privileged to …
Abstract The Australian Overwatch Battlegroup (West)-3 provided operational overwatch to two Iraqi provinces in 2007. A small but important part of the battlegroup staff was a CIMIC (civil-military cooperation) team that supported the Commander with civil-military liaison and the planning of consent winning activities. The superficial ‘hearts and minds’ commentary that accompanies the public face of CIMIC projects often belies the true extent, nature and contribution of CIMIC. In essence, every CIMIC …
Listed below are 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. Terrorism and Global Security: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives , Anne Aly, Pan Macmillan Australia, 2011, ISBN 9781420256406, 306 pp, RRP AU$59.95. In this book, Senior Lecturer in terrorism …
Operation QUEENSLANDER: Ten Ideas for Australian Defence Force Support to Disaster Relief Operations
Abstract The purpose of this article is to articulate ten ideas for ADF support to disaster relief operations. These ideas originate from the development of the strategic, operational and tactical plans for Operation QUEENSLANDER in order to ensure that the ADF can continue to fulfil Defence White Paper 2009 requirements. These ideas are: intelligence preparation in disaster relief operations; the effectiveness of the Joint Military Appreciation Process; the utility of design in complex disasters; beyond …
Abstract Over the past decade, Australia has been called upon to conduct a range of whole of government interventions, as both a lead and contributing country. The experience has taught us a lot about how to prepare for and conduct such missions. It has also taught us much about the political and risk factors that often work against achieving a unified approach to such contingencies. Ten years on, though, it is fair to say that Australia has improved systemically in being able to mount such operations, but …