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Thread: Australia: catch all

  1. #21
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    Default 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

    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.

  2. #22
    Council Member Danny's Avatar
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    Default Interesting paper

    "Getting the ROE wrong could be the difference between a charge of murder or a medal for bravery. Unlike conventional war, soldiers were not authorised to hunt, corner and kill."

    No offensive operations. The end of snipers in other than conventional operations. It is a billet that is doomed to the stack heap of history, and the pressure on the enlisted ranks increases in exponential proportions. This is an interesting read. Thanks for providing it.

  3. #23
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    Default 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

  4. #24
    Council Member Spud's Avatar
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    Default 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

    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.

    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

  5. #25
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    Default

    There was an article about this matter in the Australian Army Journal:

    Australian Army Journal Autumn 2008

  6. #26
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    Default

    Ultimately, that army as with all the other land forces of the Anglosphere exists as an instrument of national policy, and not as a tool for the lads to go off and get their jollies. Should the desire for close combat be so great, there are ways and means for those individuals who desire it so greatly to gain that experience should their own nation's policies be unpalatable.

    Having spent a bit of time with teams and individuals from those land forces that are more closely engaged in close combat, if there is any implication of institutional cowardice as claimed above, I would suggest that it either comes from those not worth listening to or simply exists in the minds of some of those who think their nation's policies should be more martial.

    I doubt that there are many who doubt that the RAInf (or any other corps) will not hold up its end of the stick if called upon to do so...

  7. #27
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    Default US basing in Australia?

    Of current interest is the US force restructure and how it would see Australia as a "place to base" and what involvement in terms of basing and training within Australia our American readers would see as likely outcomes?

    The view in Australia is that the most likely basing options are Darwin and Perth for the navy, with some ground based training at Bradshaw field, Cultana and the Shoalwater Bay Training Area.

    Is any Pacific Rim engagement likely to be naval and USMC centric or is it likely to be tri-service as all three compete for the same pot of money?

    Finally, does the Okinawa/Guam restructure mean that US forces are looking for training real estate?

    Thanks in advance for any help.

    Best

    Badmash

  8. #28
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default 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:
    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:
    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
    to bolster resistance to the Chinese challenge
    davidbfpo

  9. #29
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default Perceptions of the US-Australian relationship

    Two alternative Australian responses to the newly announced policy:
    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

    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
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 11-17-2011 at 11:48 AM. Reason: Add third link
    davidbfpo

  10. #30
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default 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:
    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!
    davidbfpo

  11. #31
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    Default

    Analysts say China stung by defence pact

    CHINESE defence analysts have condemned what they see as Australia's contribution to the growing security rivalry between the US and China, noting that Darwin is comfortably within range of Chinese ballistic missiles.

    But unofficial analysts and the media yesterday described the new Darwin base as a major step in American efforts to ''contain China'' by creating a ''net'' of defence ties stretching from Japan to Australia and India and including most of south-east Asia.
    http://www.theage.com.au/national/an...117-1nl8p.html

    Asia Pushes Back Against China

    Beijing is caught in a diplomatic bear trap of its own making. After trying to bully the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) into not discussing disputes over the South China Sea at a summit this weekend in Bali, the territorial dispute is becoming the meeting's focus. ......
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

  12. #32
    Council Member Mark O'Neill's Avatar
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    Default Not necessary

    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
    A background article on the Australian-US alliance, which opens with the 1943 DoD advice for US troops going to Australia:

    Link:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...Australia.aspx

    One trusts that the USMC facilities in Darwin have central heating!
    Darwin has 'central heating' built into the climate... it is in the Tropics. The weather there makes Miami look like Green Bay...

  13. #33
    Council Member Backwards Observer's Avatar
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    Default tie me info strategy down sport

    Stone the flamin' crows China, shut yer flippin' yap!

    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:

    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.

    "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.

  14. #34
    Council Member Backwards Observer's Avatar
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    Default paging mr. sharkey

    Pentagon Adds Military Force to Fight Cyber-Attacks

    The Pentagon reports it reserves the right to use military force against cyber-attacks, taking a stronger offensive approach against the newest threats to homeland security.
    Pentagon Adds Military Force to Fight Cyber-Attacks - Forbes - Nov 17, 2011.

    ...

    China using WA satellite station to track navy

    A SATELLITE ground station in the West Australian desert is being used by the Chinese military to help locate Australian and US navy warships in the region, an expert has warned.

    The explosive claim has been made by the nation's foremost expert on space-based espionage, Des Ball, who says the government may have unwittingly acted against the national interest by allowing China to use the ground station at Mingenew to track Beijing's space satellites.

    ``This ground station would help China's space-based listening devices to more precisely locate the electronic emissions from aircraft carriers, destroyers and other navy ships,'' Professor Ball told The Australian.

    ``We're talking serious stuff here . . . why was the construction of this station never announced?''
    China using WA satellite station to track navy - Perth Now - Nov 16, 2011.

    ...

    Does this explain the USMC presence in Darwin? They're prepping for an attack on the verdomme quislings in Western Australia? Interesting times...or something.
    Last edited by Backwards Observer; 11-21-2011 at 08:30 AM. Reason: word adjustment

  15. #35
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default 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:
    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:
    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.
    davidbfpo

  16. #36
    Council Member Backwards Observer's Avatar
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    Default jIl moH ghajjaj jaghHomlIj!

    Can't. keep. up. with. events!

    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)
    Attached Images Attached Images

  17. #37
    Council Member Backwards Observer's Avatar
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    Default ada gula ada semut

    Once again, one reads with increasingly milder disbelief a measured piece of analysis in The Jakarta Post:

    News analysis: Wither the Community, arise East Asia rivalry

    If Indonesia and ASEAN had any pretensions that its touted East Asia Community could manage a dynamic equilibrium in avoiding a dreaded Cold War-like rivalry of alliances, then such notions were thrown halfway out the window last week.

    Sandwiched between two major summits, APEC in Honolulu and the East Asia Summit in Bali, US President Barack Obama’s formal announcement of heightened military presence through a Darwin military base is a marker for what could be a drawn-out era of intra-regional rivalry.

    The US, Australia, the Philippines (and more timidly Singapore and India), on the one side, versus a rising China on the other. While most of Southeast Asia caught in the middle being dragged one way or another.

    Wither the Community, Arise East Asia Rivalry - The Jakarta Post - Nov 21, 2011.

    ...

    Also relatively lucid:

    The USA is here to stay

    China's extraordinary economic growth in recent decades has led to considerable speculation about whether its rise will continue to be peaceful and the impact it will have on the existing world order.

    Its strong performance has been contrasted in more recent times by the economic struggles of the world's super power, the United States.

    This has led some pundits to theorise that the US may become a lesser force in the Asia Pacific, particularly as China's military build-up continues and it develops greater naval capability.

    [...]

    Commentators continue to pose the hypothetical that if there were military conflict between the US and China, Australia would have to choose between its closest military and strategic ally and its biggest economic and trading partner.

    The closer integration of the US and Chinese economies makes this an unlikely scenario.

    A more reasonable assessment is that Australia will continue to maintain its close historical and strategic relationship with the US and work assiduously to maintain the mutually beneficial economic relationship with China.
    The Bishop's Gambit - Sydney Morning Herald - Nov 23, 2011.


    Let's face it, in World War 'Nam, the gringos are inevitably going to circle the wagons and send out foragers. One can only pray they know what they're doing.
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  18. #38
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default 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
    davidbfpo

  19. #39
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    Default

    US troops have landed in Darwin.

    Await Chinese reactions!

  20. #40
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default 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:
    ...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
    davidbfpo

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