The Edge

The Doomsday Clock

Honourable Mention | ADC Sci-Fi Writing Competition

Story by SD Chandrasekara

“Time for another story,” the Monk said. “Once upon a time, there was a human race. The human race bumbled along for a long time, generally happily, with the occasional period of unhappiness.”

“Peace was the norm,” whispered one acolyte.

“Over time, as population expanded, and more of humanity came into more frequent contact with each other, that evolved to more generally unhappy, with the occasional period of happiness.”

The Cave

Honourable Mention | 2021 ADC Sci-Fi Writing Competition

Story by Sarah Lucinsky

ONE

Tan

He flicked through the pages of an old book as he waited in line, tapping his foot impatiently. He couldn’t stop thinking about the damn promotion.

Clausewitz & Centres of Gravity Open to Interpretation

Trying to understand the abstruse messages of Carl von Clausewitz’s On War can be both mind-numbing and mind-blowing. However, interpretation is the key to unpacking his obsession with the ‘centre of gravity’ as being critical to how forces generate strength

Where more than twenty interpretations take to the field, the addition of one more cannot be deemed an impertinence. - Isaiah Berlin

JPME enables Warrant Officers to Bridge the Generalist/Specialist Divide

While warrant officers are indispensable to commanders because of their specialist skills, they are increasingly expected to develop a broader generalist outlook to better inform strategic decision making. JPME enables warrant officers to refocus their specialist skills through a strategic lens.

JPME With a Purpose: Breaking Through the Mythology

A personal search for the truth beyond the myths of Canada’s naval success reinforces the merits of Australia’s attitude to cultivating informed leadership through a robust JPME system that encourages the asking of uncomfortable questions.

War-Fighting and the Production of Non-Sense

The 2020 Defence Strategic Update provides a strategic demand signal for Defence to think equally and iteratively across shape, deter and respond. In this context, the notion of warfighting warrants a reconsideration in terms of the dominant position it occupies within the ADF. If this term no longer simply speaks to the activity of fighting a war, what does it actually do, and how does this affect Australia’s current approach to military strategy?

The Race to Manus: 16 REGT RAA’S Foray Into Competition And Conflict 2028

The recollections of Lieutenant David Grieves and Gunner Michael Baker

Grieves was fresh out of Duntroon and ‘Bakes’ was still dreaming of the Dutch girl he met in Townsville when they both found themselves in a heavy combat zone. Their training and high-tech hardware were all put to the test without notice.

Intellectual Edge: The Pursuit of Lifetimes

Attaining an intellectual edge requires more than just ticking progressive boxes of formal education, it calls for a lifelong curiosity to critically observe and absorb experience.

Intellectual Curiosity: Our ticket to the moon

Stimulating and nourishing intellectual curiosity across all ADF ranks must become the norm if we are to encourage original ideas and attain the Intellectual Edge over potential adversaries in the 21st century.

The Civ-Mil sweet spot – PME writing by Reservists

The Australian Defence Force needs to draw the full intellectual potential from its limited pool of people, including the ADF Reserves. Yet ADF Reserves tend to be under-represented in the professional debate. I contend that this deprives the ADF of some important diversity of thought, professional example and intellectual leadership that should be more readily available. My suggestion is that ADF Reservists seek to write and publish of topics from the sweet spot of the intersection of their civilian careers and the military profession.

The Intellectual Edge: A Collective Effect

The article suggests and explores possible components of the Intellectual Edge (being curiosity, understanding, and education), with respect to individual and organisational perspective. It suggests that the IE is attainable through the collective effect of individual intellectual pursuits within an organisation.

The role of culture in developing the intellectual edge

What is the intellectual edge?