Skip to main content
Command

To further your personal journey, you are encouraged to access the online resources from the Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics at the Australian Defence College at the Command Hub of The Forge. These resources guide further professional development, and allow you to engage in ongoing discussions and seek to deepen your understanding of issues covered in this doctrine.

Beyond the specific citations, the Australian Defence Force acknowledges its intellectual debt in preparing this publication to a number of sources and recommends their further reading, including the publications listed.

An introduction to command

Atsmon, Y et al 2020, Lessons from the generals: decisive action amid the chaos, accessed at: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/lessons-from-the-generals-decisive-action-amid-the-chaos-of-crisis

Criminal Code Act 1995, 268.115, Responsibility of commanders and other superiors.

Dempsey, M 2020, No time for spectators: the lessons that mattered most from West Point to the West Wing, Missionday, Arlington, Virginia.

Fellmeth, A, and Crawford, E 2022, Reason to know in the law of command, Leiber Institute, accessed at: https://lieber.westpoint.edu/reason-know-law-command-responsibility/

Geneva Conventions, Additional Protocol No 1, Article 86(2) and 87, accessed at:https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977

Granåsen, M et al 2018, Exploring mission command in a concept for future command and control, Swedish Defence University, accessed at: https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1299251/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Guilfoyle, D, Kyriakakis, J and O’Brien, M 2022, ‘Command responsibility, Australian war crimes in Afghanistan and the Brereton Report’, International Law Studies, Vol 99, Stockholm International Centre for Law, accessed at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3002&context=ils

Hibbert, C 1961, The destruction of Lord Raglan: a tragedy of the Crimean War 1854-55, Little, Brown and Company, London.

Hoffman, F and D'Amerlio, A 2024, ‘AI’s impact on war’s enduring nature’, Orbis, Vol 68, No 1, pp 72-91.

Kolenda, C 2001, Leadership: the warrior’s art, Army War College Foundation Press, Carlisle.

McCarthy, A 2023, ‘Erosion of the rule of law as a basis for command responsibility under international humanitarian law’, Chicago Journal of International Law, accessed at:https://cjil.uchicago.edu/print-archive/erosion-rule-law-basis-command-responsibility-under-international-humanitarian-law

Moore, H 2017, Hal Moore on leadership – winning when outgunned and outmanned, Magnum Books, Maple Grove.

Moran, CW 2007, The anatomy of courage, Little Brown Book Group, London.

Muth, J 2011, Command culture: officer education in the U.S. Army and the German Armed Forces 1901 – 1940, and consequences for World War II, University of North Texas Press, Texas.

Nye, R 2001, The challenge of command, Perigee, New York.

Oliver, D 1992, Lead on, Presidio Press, California.

Olsen, L 1991, The Battle of Britain: a study in command and control. Carlisle, Army War College, accessed at:https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA235156

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 28, Responsibility of commanders and other superiors. 1998, accessed at: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/icc-statute-1998/article-28

Samuels, M 2020, The “finely honed blade”: Clausewitz and Boyd on friction and moral factors, Virginia, US Marine Corps University Press, accessed at: https://www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Marine-Corps-University-Press/Expeditions-with-MCUP-digital-journal/The-Finely-Honed-Blade/

Sjøgren, S 2022, ‘What military commanders do and how they do it: executive decision-making in the context of standardised planning processes and doctrine’, Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, Vol 5, Iss 1 accessed at: https://sjms.nu/articles/10.31374/sjms.146

Swain, R and Pierce A 2017, The armed forces officer, National Defense University Press, Washington DC accessed at:https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Publications/Books/Armed-Forces-Officer/Article/1153517/chapter-6-the-officer-at-work-command/

van Creveld, M 1985, Command in war, Harvard, Boston.

Williamson, J 2008, ‘Some considerations on command responsibility and criminal liability’, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol 90, No 870, accessed at: https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/irrc-870_williamson.pdf

Military publications

Alberts D and Hayes R 2006, Understanding Command and Control, US Command and Control, US DoD Command and Control Research Program, Washington DC.

Australian Defence Force – Philosophical – 0 ADF Leadership, Edition 3, 2021.

Australian Defence Force – Philosophical – 0 Military Ethics, Edition 1, 2021.

Australian Defence Force – Philosophical – 0 Character in the Profession of Arms, Edition 1, 2023.

Australian Defence Force – Philosophical – 0 Culture in the Profession of Arms, Edition 1, 2024.

Joint operations insights and best practices, 2017, Fifth Edition, Joint Warfighting Centre Publication, United States.

Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 6, Command and control, Department of the Navy, Headquarters United States Marine Corps, Washington DC.

Naval Doctrine Publication 6, Naval command and control, Department of the Navy, Washington DC.

United States Air Force Doctrine Publication 3-30, Command and control, Curtis E. LeMay Center Air University, Alabama.

United States Army Doctrine Publication 2019, ADP 6-0, Mission command: command and control of Army forces, Headquarters Department of the Army, Washington DC.

Content provided by

Australian Defence College Crest
Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics (CDLE)
Visit website

The Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics is responsible for providing specialist advice, education and research to advance command, leadership and ethics for the Department of Defence.

The Centre is located at the Australian Defence College, Weston Campus in the Australian Capital Territory.

The Centre delivers a range of specialist services for managing, developing and promoting command, leadership and ethics education, publications and doctrine. It guides the Joint Professional Military Education requirements in this area for single service, joint education and individual training environments.

Comments