Australia: A Bigger, Better Army
16 Dec. The Australian editorial - A Bigger, Better Army.
While the world is a much more peaceful place than it was 20 years ago, when the risk of an all-engulfing global nuclear war was real, the paradox for Australian defence planners is that demands on our forces are larger and more diverse than they used to be. And over the past few years, the Government has rightly recognised that while we were well prepared for yesterday's conflict, the end of the Cold War and the start of the campaign against terror have changed Australia's strategic circumstances, and the obligations they impose on our defence forces. Yesterday's defence update will be debated in detail, with experts arguing about the appropriate configuration of personnel and equipment, where to base them and how to pay for them. But it is hard to make any case against the announcement of a bigger, and better armoured, army. The doctrine that dated from the era when there were Soviet submarines in the Pacific defined the big job of the Australian Defence Force as defending the skies and seas surrounding the continent. This meant the navy and air force needed, and got, state of the art assets, fighters, frigates and submarines, capable of sinking and shooting down anything an enemy could deploy. As for the army, it was left to soldier on as best as it could, as a light infantry force away from the front line of continental defence.
But today the challenge has changed...
The Australian Defence Page
The Australian (newspaper) Defence page has extensive coverage of operations in East Timor as well as other Australian defense / defence issues. Includes news articles, commentary and videos.
AFP to Form Paramilitary Wing
26 July The Australian - AFP to Form Paramilitary Wing by Mark Dodd.
Quote:
The Australian Federal Police will form a 1200-strong paramilitary-style International Deployment Group to be equipped with the latest weaponry including armoured personnel carriers.
Tenders are now being called for the vehicles designed to provide maximum protection for the specialised police unit, which will be capable of being deployed alongside the army on peacekeeping operations.
The force is expected to be at full strength next year, AFP officers told a Senate inquiry yesterday. The IDG will be equipped with a formidable arsenal and structured along similar lines to the crack Portuguese National Republican Guard with which the AFP has worked closely in East Timor, said Commander Steve Lancaster.
Both the AFP and the Australian Defence Force are having to adapt more frequently to non-traditional missions, whether in Afghanistan or the immediate neighbourhood, an area dubbed the "arc of instability".
The government-backed Australian Strategic Policy Institute recently released a report saying Defence was becoming increasingly involved in non-war fighting roles such as civil border protection, while police and public servants were in the front line of security in areas as diverse as Baghdad and Bougainville.
Mr Lancaster told the inquiry this meant the IDG would be equipped to deal with a wide range of security challenges and would need to be able to dispense lethal and non-lethal force to restore order in hot spots such as the Solomons and East Timor...
Steve, good point on service culture
I missed it the first read, but good point about it coming out of the AFP. By building it from the AFP they side step the argument about what the military's mission should be by preserving it.
On the blog LTC Kilcullen mentioned Barnett's SYS-ADMIN approach. If the U.S. FP called for more of X (and possibly less of Y) would it be better to follow the Aussie lead?
Troufion and others have posited similiar ideas on SWC before. Presidential hopeful R.G. has proposed somethng like it too. It has some advantages and disadvantages but it potentially could be born without service loyalties, even if it had to compete for service resources.
Canberra to Sign Security Pact with NATO
Canberra to Sign Security Pact with NATO - David Nason, The Australian
Quote:
Australia will sign a treaty with NATO in a move that will boost security and intelligence ties and assist the evolution of the 60-year-old Cold War alliance of democracies into a global force.
The treaty is due to be signed in New York next week by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
Australia is officially a NATO "contact country", but the expression does not cover the depth of the relationship, which has strengthened considerably since Diggers deployed in Afghanistan began operating under NATO command two years ago...
Australian Troops Want to See Real Action in Iraq
Australian Troops Want to See Real Action in Iraq - Reuters.
Quote:
Australian infantry troops are ashamed of their "second rate" role in Iraq and Afghanistan and want to see combat as well as protection and reconstruction roles, according to an army major who served in Iraq.
In an article titled "We Were Soldiers Once" in the latest edition of the Australian Army Journal, Major Jim Hammett, who served in Iraq, Somalia, East Timor, and Tonga, said some infantry soldiers were ashamed of wearing the Australian uniform.
"The restrictions placed on deployed elements as a result of force protection and national policies have, at times, made infantrymen ashamed of wearing their Australian uniform and regimental badge," Hammett wrote.
"(They) have resulted in the widespread perception that our army is plagued by institutional cowardice." ...
Australian Soldiers 'Ashamed' at Lack of Action - Paul Larter, London Times
Quote:
Australia’s soldiers won praise for their skills from the Boer War to Vietnam but now their exclusion from frontline conflicts has left many “ashamed of wearing their uniform”, a senior army official said.
The nation’s much vaunted reputation for battlefield courage has been cast into doubt by its own army officers, who have complained that troops are being deliberately kept out of combat roles in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Under the headline “We were soldiers once”, Major Jim Hammett, who has served in Iraq, East Timor and Somalia, launched a scathing critique of the restrictions placed on foot soldiers. He wrote, in the Australian Army Journal, that the infantry were trained to fight, equipped to fight and expected to fight — in short, to do everything but actually fight on the front line. This had fostered an international perception of institutional cowardice.
“Many within its ranks suspect that the role of the infantry has already been consigned to history . . . the on going inaction [in Iraq] . . . has resulted in collective disdain and at times near contempt by personnel from other contributing nations,” he said...
ADF Capability Review: C4ISR(EW)
ASPI, 28 Aug 08: ADF Capability Review: C4ISR(EW)
Quote:
Over the last few years, the concept of network centric warfare (NCW) has been at the forefront of planning for the way the Australian Defence Force will conduct warfare. The basic idea is that the ADF will use advances in communication and computer technology to take advantage of the sensors and systems of its various components, wherever they are located, and be able to draw the collective data together into common operating pictures. In the world of NCW, the ‘fog of war’ can be pierced by advanced sensors which immediately transmit their information to a network of men and machines that orient, decide, and act on that information in near real-time. Acknowledging the limits of similes, C4ISR is to the ADF what the nervous system, eyes and ears are to the human body.....
Which works perfectly if the intel that you wish to
gather exists in the realm where it can be readily collected and disseminated by technical means.
Of course, you are up the proverbial if collection involves unfortunate 'low tech' frailities in the system like dependance upon HUMINT.
Good thing that Australia isn't involved in any current fights where human factors and HUMINT are central...
Well done ASPI. :rolleyes:
Australian Strategic Corporals on Operations in Somalia and East Timor
The Australian Army Land Warfare Studies Centre, Aug 08:
The World Looking Over Their Shoulders:
Australian Strategic Corporals on Operations in Somalia and East Timor
Quote:
This book describes the work of strategic corporals and their teams in two violent and devastated cities in the developing world: Baidoa in Somalia in 1993, and Dili in East Timor in 1999. Both cities had been destroyed by conflict and their citizens traumatised and displaced. In each case, the United Nations endorsed the deployment of international troops to take control. In Baidoa, Australian troops operated under American command to strict defensive ROE, seeking to protect the distribution of humanitarian aid. In Dili, under Australian command and empowered by a UN mandate, Australian troops had the freedom to take whatever measures were required to stabilise the situation, including the use of lethal force.....
....In both situations—in Baidoa in 1993 and in Dili and along the East Timor–West Timor border in 1999–2000—junior leaders and small teams had to make decisions carefully with higher level consequences in mind. The ROE were essential decision-making tools, but also effectively increased the pressure on the soldiers to make the right decision when they anticipated danger or were faced with an immediate threat. There are numerous anecdotes illustrating the challenges they faced, many of which remain untold. Those that were recounted have been included in this book, remarkable stories that bespeak the danger and isolation in which many of the most critical decisions were made by young soldiers. The narrative adds context to these decisions and necessarily reflects on their aftermath, consequences and, most critically, the lessons they contain.
Complete 197-page paper at the link.
Australian Defense Buildup
A white paper is little to get excited about, but it is Anzac day.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...10-601,00.html
New Australian Defence White Paper Released
Apparently 12 new subs (when we can only man 2 of the 6 we have now) and 100 JSF will let us do anything we want :confused:
As someone who wears green I guess I expected a return to the navy/air force answer to everything from this government. Seems to be lots of options still requiring development within the Army section in terms of force structure and capability etc.
Can't wait to see something beyond the UNCLAS version ... I may have a reasonable post-staff college future after all if this line is to be believed.
Quote:
The Army will require a greater ability to operate in proximity to civilian populations. The Government has decided that it will further develop the ADF's capacity to deploy specialists to conduct field intelligence and information operations.
http://www.defence.gov.au/whitepaper...paper_2009.pdf
A glimpse into why & what
Badmash,
From this faraway vantage point I do recall that Australia has been for a long time the home to a range of ostensibly shared intelligence facilities - although my source is Desmond Ball's now dated book published in 1980 'A Valuable Piece of Real Estate'.
Secondly I understood the USA had made limited, temporary use of Australian bases in the last twenty years, mainly by the USN and USAF.
I noted today The Daily Telegraph ran a short story, which opens with:
Quote:
President Barack Obama is expected to reveal plans to station about 500 to 1000 Marines at a barracks in Darwin and to expand the US navy's use of bases at the Northern Territory capital and in Perth in Western Australia.
It cites a former Australian official, now a professor:
Quote:
In Washington and in Beijing, this will be seen as Australia aligning itself with an American strategy to contain China...In the view from Beijing, everything the US is doing in the western Pacific is designed to bolster resistance to the Chinese challenge to US primacy.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ence-grow.html
Personally I don't think the potential new facilities, not bases, have a role in the strategic equation
Quote:
to bolster resistance to the Chinese challenge
Perceptions of the US-Australian relationship
Two alternative Australian responses to the newly announced policy:
Quote:
Yet, I wonder if future historians will see this as the moment where Australia fundamentally cast its lot in with the US.
Link:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...-the-ride.aspx
Quote:
We have been on the ride that Andrew refers to for some time; it just got a little faster.
Link:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...-alliance.aspx
A third article 'Why Washington wants a base here' is a succinct guide and points at the potential impact in the Indian Ocean:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...lian-base.aspx
We've mislaid the central heating?
A background article on the Australian-US alliance, which opens with the 1943 DoD advice for US troops going to Australia:
Quote:
You're going to meet a people who like Americans and whom you will like. The Australians have much in common with us – they're a pioneer people: they believe in personal freedom: they love sports...But there are a lot of differences too – like tea, central heating, the best way to send Sunday morning, or saluting officers and such. You'll find out about all those, but the main point is they like us, and we like them.
Link:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...Australia.aspx
One trusts that the USMC facilities in Darwin have central heating!
tie me info strategy down sport
Stone the flamin' crows China, shut yer flippin' yap!
Quote:
Australia tells China not to interfere
[...]
"Number one position from us, and it's based in absolute reality, is that this enhanced set of arrangements with the United States are not directed at any one country," he said.
At the same time, Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking China expert and former prime minister, warned Beijing not to get involved in Australian policy decisions.
"Let's just be very blunt about it, we are not going to have our national security policy dictated by any other external power. That's a sovereign matter for Australia," he said.
"We don't seek to dictate to the Chinese what their national security policy should be. Therefore this must be advanced on the basis of mutual respect."
Australia Tells China Not To Interfere - AFP - Nov 18, 2011.
...
In previous non-interference news:
Quote:
Al-Qaeda 'praying for Obama win'
[...]
The man who wants to be the first black US president has pledged to withdraw US troops from Iraq by March 2008, a timetable Mr Howard believes is dangerous.
"I think that would just encourage those who wanted completely to destabilise and destroy Iraq, and create chaos and victory for the terrorists to hang on and hope for (an) Obama victory," Mr Howard told the Nine Network.
"If I was running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008, and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats."
Al-Qaeda 'Praying For Obama Win' - news.com.au - Feb 11, 2007.
...
If China is sincere about Confucian values and not just engaging in rhetorical legerdemain, she should probably take this opportunity to radically recalibrate what is realistically achievable in an international scene largely characterised by vacuous egotism, shameless hypocrisy, crippling greed and a wilfully debilitating ignorance.
A measured policy of defensive disengagement coupled with an attention to the well-being of the Chinese people may be prudent for the foreseeable future, meanwhile salvaging what is left of her virtues after decades of brutal authoritarianism.
If China's rise is indeed peaceful, this should be self-evident from her political behaviour, just as it would be for any other nation. "He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good."
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a few more impossible things to consider before breakfast.
Quote:
"Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Alice in Wonderland.
China using WA satellite station to track navy
Good to know Des Ball is still active in this field.
He is an expert, I am an observer and find this very strange. The facility in Western Australia, there are two sites at Dongara, which are part of the Swedish-owned Swedish Space Corporation's PrioraNet satellite monitoring network. There are five similar stations in the USA and of the three network control stations two are in the USA. See:http://www.sscspace.com/products-ser...rioranet-sites
One site, Dongara West:
Quote:
is owned, operated and maintained by SSC’s US-based subsidiary, Universal Space Network (“USN”). USN functions under a US Government Special Security Agreement (SSA) and primarily serves US-Government and commercial customers.
Whilst Dongara East is:
Quote:
owned and maintained by SSC’s Australia-based subsidiary, SSC Space Australia. The station is operated from the SSC main station in northern Sweden at the Esrange Space Center. The Dongara East Satellite Station primarily serves government agencies and commercial customers.
I would assume in the event of damaging circumstances this network would be prone to "extended maintenance", if not outright cessation.
What is curious is whether the Australian government knew what was happening. Clearly the "informed public" did not.
1 Attachment(s)
jIl moH ghajjaj jaghHomlIj!
Can't. keep. up. with. events!
Quote:
Joint army exercises with China 'a possibility'
Brendan Nicholson, The Australian, November 22.
AUSTRALIA and the US have embraced the idea of future joint military exercises with Chinese forces in the Top End.
...
In Bali during the ASEAN summit, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono raised with Julia Gillard the possibility of Australia and the US inviting China to take part in exercises as a way to reduce tension with Beijing over the presence of marines in Darwin.
US ambassador Jeffrey Bleich told The Australian yesterday that inclusion of units from the People's Liberation Army in exercises was the sort of co-operation that could ultimately emerge as the US military training presence in Australia was stepped up.
Asked if he could envisage exercises in which Chinese soldiers trained in Australia with those from the ADF and the US, Mr Bleich said that was possible.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith said Dr Yudhoyono's proposal of trilateral exercises involving Australia, China and the US were "interesting and a positive suggestion for possible consideration in the long term".
Mr Bleich said the US had made it very clear to China that it wanted to bolster military ties between the two countries. "The more we share information, the more we train together, the more we communicate, the less likely it is that anyone's going to misunderstand one another," Mr Bleich said.
"And if issues do arise it's much easier to pick up the phone and talk to someone who you know, who you've worked with, who you trust to resolve those issues.
"That's part of what training accomplishes. It gives you a rapport, an understanding and a trust between forces."
Joint Army Exercises With China A Possibility - The Australian - Nov 22, 2011.
alternate link - (google news)
US bases welcome; we like to exercise too: strange?
To those "down under" maybe not a surprise. Sino-Australian defence co-operation carries on - after recent agreement on US basing - well, well. Chinese defence diplomacy has appeared elsewhere on SWC.
Link:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...jing-want.aspx
America is there for the dingo's?
Abu M's commentary is not an April Fool's comment, but it takes a rather unusual method to deliver a critique of the USMC arriving in Darwin. A taster:
Quote:
...inevitably, well-meaning U.S. Marines will offend Australians by asking awkward questions, like, "Why are all your rugby players from Fiji?"
Link:http://www.cnas.org/blogs/abumuqawam...australia.html
Suggests that Abu M knows bugger all about Australian Rugby..
There is one current Wallaby who was born in Fiji, Radike Samo..
It is a bit like asking 'Why are all the kickers in the NFL Australian...' (well, the good ones, anyway...)
He was pretty much right about the rest of it......
But he forgot to mention that after FM3-XX / MCWFP 3-33.XX Counterdingo operations is published (after a celeb launch hosted by Eliot Cohen and featuring the re-formation of the CNAS COIN expert band with Ricks on backing vocals) we will studiously ignore it... until we next send a bright up-and -coming grad student to SAMS / Quantico who will come back with a 'new' idea that will look something like it and subsequently inform our conceptual force development for the next decade. After some 'unique' grammar laundering to make it look Australian.
Move along... no cultural cringe to see here...
Inspirational without a sense of the risks
Good catch Bill M., as this White paper was only unveiled on Friday afternoon by Julia Gillard, the Australian Prime Minister.
I rely on the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, for awareness on Australian and Pacific matters. From their pre-release comment:
Quote:
This White Paper will be a signature foreign policy document for Prime Minister Gillard. If it hits the mark, it could come to be seen as a milestone for Australia's relations with Asia. Or it could be just another quickly forgotten government report.
Link:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...er-launch.aspx
So a few selected sentences from their commentary:
Quote:
The language of the speech and the White Paper is lofty and inspirational. The PM's speech is titled 'History asks great nations great questions', and the White Paper itself calls the Asian century 'a truly transformative period in our history' and 'a transformation as profound as any that have defined Australia throughout our history'.
...there is very little sense of the risks of the Asian century.
The PM's description of Asia's explosive growth and the opportunities it offers was never accompanied by any warnings about the potential downsides, particularly the fact that Australia's relative influence in the region will decline as the region's developing economies continue their explosive growth
The commentary:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...pressions.aspx
What the Diggers read & watch
Yes, another reading & film list, this one by Australia's top soldier in 2012. It is rather long at 121 pgs., partly as there are two long reprinted essays at the start, from a 'Digger' from 1965 and USMC General Paul Riper from 2006.
Link:http://www.army.gov.au/Our-future/DA...ding-List.ashx
From the preface:
Quote:
As Chief of Army my first priority is to ensure the Army’s soldiers are fully prepared to meet the challenges presented by current and future operations.
This is best achieved through appropriate force structures, equipment and
maintaining our combat skills through robust training in foundation warfighting.
This requires physical strength and fitness. Just as important, a capacity to engage in a dialogue about the future operating environment and the future of Army is also essential; this is intellectual fitness.
Intellectual fitness may be achieved in a number of ways including participation in robust debate, being open to new ideas, being creative, thinking critically and having a desire to challenge the status quo. We must question our assumptions and form opinions that will stand up to rigorous scrutiny. This is enabled by a knowledge base built on experience and study.
This reading list has been designed to provide all ranks with a guide to publications relevant to the study of the profession of arms. Many of the publications listed are historical in nature, the study of history being important in broadening perspectives and in providing a start point to understand and shape the future. As in previous reading lists this edition is divided into themes varying from culture and conflict to strategy and doctrine. A novel addition is a feature films section.
This list provides a tool to help meet the challenging needs of our profession. Take time to read, enjoy it while you are doing so, and take pride in the fact that you are improving yourself as a member of our noble profession.
In a search I found Jedburgh had posted in 2009 An Australian COIN reading list, but the link no longer works, perhaps this list has replaced it?
I have skimmed the two essays, the recommended website list and the films - of which a good number I have seen.
The only big error is that this website is absent!:(