Professor Stephan Frühling researches and teaches at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, and has widely published on Australian defence policy, defence planning and strategy, nuclear weapons and NATO. Stephan was the Fulbright Professional Fellow in Australia-US Alliance Studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC in 2017. He worked as a ‘Partner across the globe’ research fellow in the Research Division of the NATO Defense College in Rome in 2015, and was …

To read the commentary and reporting that was published when the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) was released, you would have to conclude that these are dark times for Army and that the need for land power is either diminished or no longer required. Such a perception, however, would be misplaced. The DSR makes it clear that Army must to be able to get out into our immediate region, that it must be able to project land power, and that it must be engaged with our neighbours. Importantly, the DSR emphasises …

In recent years, Australia’s security force assistance has primarily focused on states that are categorised as fragile or engaged in conflicts. However, expanding the policy toolkit of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to encompass developed and advanced states could present new opportunities for achieving national government objectives, as well as benefiting the ADF and the Australian Army. Several of Australia’s partner nations, such as the United Arab Emirates, fall under the category of developed and …

While Australian policy guidance has recently embraced deterrence as a strategic posture, there is limited guidance about the force structure and posture implications for Army. The Australian Army Research Centre's new Occasional Paper addresses this gap by developing three models to achieve strategic deterrence through the forward presence of land forces. … Forward Presence for …

‘Army’s Role in Train, Advise and Assist Missions’ Australia’s strategic environment is complex, increasingly contested and rapidly evolving. Major power competition, militarisation, disruptive technological change and other evolving threats pose challenges to Australia’s national security. These developments test Army’s capacity to generate highly trained, disciplined and fit tactical units; preserve its capacity to operate within the integrated force; while simultaneously delivering Army forces in …

Associate Professor Athol Yates teaches civil security, disaster management, public policy, and military history. He recently published 'The Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates' (2020). … Athol Yates …

Building solid relationships conducive to mutual force preservation is at the forefront of international missions. Individual attention and deliberation needs to be applied to all aspects of this relationship in order to determine the most appropriate operational response. There must be an understanding of the potential impact of delivering military training to another nation, the extent to which it will support both the donor and recipient nations’ strategic interests, and the degree to which it will …

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 …

Introduction Train, advise and assist missions play a pivotal role in the Indo-Pacific region, where fostering stability and security is of utmost importance. These missions involve the Australian Army working closely with partner nations to build their military capabilities, enhance their operational effectiveness, and promote regional cooperation. By leveraging these missions within a deterrence framework, the Australian Army both contributes to regional stability and also reinforces the message that any …

A Tank Regiment at War 1939-45 By Peter Hart Profile Books , London, 2022. 462pp. Paperback ISBN: 9781788166409 Hardback ISBN: 9781788166393 eBook ISBN: 9781782837602 Reviewed by BRIG Chris Roberts AM, CSC (Retd.) In an engaging and easily read style Peter Hart’s Burning Steel delivers a vivid account of the brutality, confusion, and reality of tank warfare during the Second World War. It is a history in which a graphic sense of combat leaps from the pages. Hart has written widely on men at war in his …