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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 …

Abstract This article is an amended version of a paper first presented at the 2011 Chief of Army History Conference. The theme of the conference was ‘1911–Preliminary Moves’, therefore the paper examined the professionalisation of the officer corps via the prism of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. The article demonstrates that there were elements of professionalism present in the Australian military prior to RMC’s founding in 1911; in fact these foundations were crucial in the long-term development of …

Abstract Advisers working with the Afghan 205th Corps operate in a ‘twilight zone’ as they attempt to bridge the cultural and institutional gaps between the Afghans and their ISAF partners. Like the rest of the Afghan National Army, the Corps is grappling with numerous institutional development challenges while simultaneously fighting a difficult counterinsurgency war. Determining what might constitute ‘Afghan okay’, and how they can assist their Afghan colleagues to arrive at this state, demands …

Abstract Many armies today are learning institutions with outstanding lessons learnt processes that have saved soldiers’ lives on the battlefield. However, the body of intangible, experiential knowledge that combat arms leaders hold is difficult to capture and nearly impossible to pass on in formal courses or training scenarios. This article identifies ten critical command and leadership lessons, from time management to battle staff employment to dealing with casualties, garnered throughout operations in …

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. Marcus Fielding, Red Zone Baghdad: My War in Iraq , Big Sky Publishing, 2011, ISBN 9781921941177, 288 pp, RRP AU$29.99. In Red Zone Baghdad Colonel Marcus Fielding presents his view of the last months …

Lieutenant General Sir Donald Beaumont Dunstan, AC, KBE, CB (1923–2011) Donald Beaumont Dunstan was born in Murray Bridge South Australia on 18 February 1923. In February 1940 he entered the Royal Military College Duntroon, graduating as part of a shortened wartime course in June 1942. Upon graduation he was posted as a platoon commander to the 27th Infantry Battalion where he served (except for a period in brigade headquarters as a liaison officer) for the remainder of the war in the South West Pacific …

Abstract This article examines the origins and implications for Australia of the US concept AirSea Battle. It argues that the US preparations for AirSea Battle will shape warfare in Australia’s region and will require a refocusing of the preparation of the ADF. Introduction In mid-2010, Washington-based think tank The Center of Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) published A irSea Battle: A Point-of-Departure Operational Concept , which prescribed an approach through which the United States should …

Abstract Counter-nation networks pose a serious threat to national sovereignty. How nations cope with these complex adaptive systems within the global system represents one of the most serious challenges faced by nation-states. This article will discuss the elements that comprise a complex adaptive system and suggest a counter-system approach through which they can be defeated as part of a national security strategy. A systems-based approach is the only effective way to manage and defeat these …