Elite Souls: Portraits of Valor in Iraq and Afghanistan   Written by: Raymond James Yamond Naval Institute Press , 2022, 384 pp Hardcover ISBN: 9781682477137   Reviewed by: Garth Pratten In many respects Elite Souls: Portraits of Valor in Iraq and Afghanistan is a straightforward book. Raymond James Raymond, a former British diplomat and more recently historian and social scientist, delivers exactly what he promises in the title: five stories of young United States Army officers in action during the most …

  Written by: Tom Gilling Allen and Unwin Book Publisher , 2022, 320 pp Paperback ISBN: 9781760879273   Reviewed by: James Bryant Two thousand four hundred Allied servicemen died as prisoners of the Japanese at Sandakan in Borneo, many on the so-called ‘death march’ that took place along a 260 kilometre long jungle track between Sandakan and Ranau. Exhausted, malnourished and wracked by illnesses like malaria and beri-beri, all who fell out on that track were kicked or bludgeoned to death, or shot. …

  Written by: Stephen Robinson Exisle Publishing , 2022, 304 pp Hardcover ISBN: 9781922539205 Ebook ISBN: 9781991001313   Reviewed by: Tim Gellel Every army has its Thermopylae. One of modern China’s is the story of Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan’s four-day defence of the Sihang Warehouse against Japanese attacks during the 1937 Battle of Shanghai. Stephen Robinson’s Eight Hundred Heroes, which examines that story, studies that action as an information operation as well as a tactical, unit-level fight.  …

  Edited by Catherine Grant, Alessio Patalano and James Russell Howgate Publishing , 2021, 238 pp Paperback ISBN: 9781912440269     Reviewed by : Darren Cronshaw Today’s Defence members are more likely to engage in the demands and dilemmas of ‘war in the grey zone’. The cyber domain is challenging traditional notions concerning the character of war. The cyber domain is also extending into sub-threshold contested spaces with cyber-based sabotage, surveillance information dominance and influence activities. …

As war has become more spacious and fighting more intricate, so victory has grown more and more dependent on a system where the leader is supported by a staff and an executive, trained to relieve him of the burden of detailed preparation and administration and to give effect to his plans by a thorough comprehension of his intentions. [1] Introduction Military advisors, often grouped as a ‘staff’, have probably existed as long as armies have had commanders. The principal role of the staff is to aid the …

Introduction In December 2022, CNN reported that Ukrainian defence officials had been lobbying for ‘many months’ to be provided with US stocks of Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICMs). While the request has not yet been satisfied, its existence indicates that Ukraine, despite its considerable military successes against Russia, considers cluster munitions to be necessary in its war effort. [1] By contrast, Australia rejected the use of cluster munitions on 4 December 2008 when Defence …

Introduction Military practitioners are undoubtedly becoming more aware of the benefits that artificial intelligence (AI) can confer on military operations. But what exactly is AI? Popular media would have us imagine swarms of killer drones, unmanned vehicles such as personnel carriers, planes, tanks or even robots (maybe not unlike the droid armies from Star Wars). While no single definition for AI exists, there is a common understanding that AI is a programmed system that learns by itself, or can ‘learn …

Introduction A 2020 paper published in the Australian Army Journal (AAJ) outlined that the success of the Australian Defence Force Gap Year—Army (ADFGY-A) program that ran from 2007 to 2012 was not as clear as the rhetoric of the day suggested. [1] A low transfer rate into the Permanent Force coupled with ambiguity around its purpose gave reasonable cause to question whether the program represented value for money or whether it was even effective as an alternative avenue of entry. After a hiatus of three …

Reducing Injury and Medical Discharge Rates Introduction In August 2017, national news headlines about Army recruitment standards caused a stir and led to many emotionally charged discussions across the country. These headlines included ‘“Political Correctness Gone Mad”: Australian Army Told Not to Recruit MEN as Part of a Gender War to Push to Have More Women Soldiers', [1] ‘“PC Gone Mad”: Army, Air Force, Navy Bans Men in Bid to Boost Women’ [2] and ‘Australian Army Reportedly Shuns Male Recruits in …

Introduction Although there are many pathways to becoming an officer in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), this essay focuses specifically on the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) located in Canberra. ADFA’s Charter is: To provide Australian Defence Force Midshipmen and Officer Cadets, and other international partners, a balanced and liberal university education within a military context and environment; positively develop their character, leadership and professionalism; and enable them to build a …