The Edge

Still Losing our Religion

Military Wellbeing Support in a Secular Context. Delve into the complexities of providing support to non-religious Australian Defence Force members. Explore the reliance on religious chaplains and the need for diverse professionals. Discover the potential impact on member well-being and join us in exploring the evolving landscape of military support.

International Law and Military Conduct

The Sixth Commandment in the Hebrew bible (the Torah, or ‘Old Testament’) is often mistranslated as ‘Thou Shall Not Kill’. Properly understood, what the commandment actually forbids is murder or unjustified killing.

An Ethical Leader Cares (Part II)

Discover the hidden strength within the military: the philosophy of care. While often overlooked, care is far from a weakness. It binds soldiers together, making them stronger and more resilient. But what does care really mean in this context? Dive into this thought-provoking article by Anne Goyne, to uncover how care drives personal sacrifice, shapes ethical leadership, and ultimately serves as the moral compass of the military. Don't miss out on understanding the transformative power of care in the armed forces.

An Ethical Leader Cares (Part I)

Unveiling the untold connection between military leadership, moral injury, and the ethics of care. Dive into a captivating article that challenges traditional notions of "care" and reveals its true significance in the military context. Explore how the philosophy of care demands responsibility, shapes ethical decision-making, and safeguards against moral injury. Discover why caring is not a weakness but a powerful force that ensures the ethical conduct of military leaders and combatants. Join author Anne Goyne in this thought-provoking journey to understand the profound impact of care on military operations and the prevention of moral harm.

Break in the Chain - Intelligence Ignored Launching of the Easter Offensive of 1972

As publishers and historians have now pushed the Vietnam War into a few paragraphs in a Cold War section of United States and world histories, the events contained in most discussions of the war usually ignore the Easter Offensive of 1972. If mentioned at all, it often centres on the Paris Peace Talks and Operation Linebacker but not on why and how it occurred nor the NVA^[1] and VC massacres of their own people.

Enter, the Contemporary Australian Warrant Officer

The specialist skills of Warrant Officers have traditionally made them indispensable across the Services, but is this rank and role in a state of emergence? Could there be even more value in this cohort as modern conflicts emerge in brand new domains?

Privatisation and the Pitfalls of ADF Expansion

If the ADF is to retain its best people as well as drive recruitment, it needs to match the attractions of private enterprise and not submit to an erosion of its core purpose.

Book Review: Military Virtues

oday’s soldiers navigate complex ethical dilemmas. They face new threats and often carry unprecedented potential for destructive power. An unfortunate series of ethical failures in recent conflicts, by members of Western military forces has raised the need for improved military ethics training. As military commanders scramble to correct such failings, so too is the need to identify what moral resources are required for soldiers to choose; right over wrong, justice over injustice, virtue over non-virtuous.

Culture Values and Being a Good Human

Humility, relevance, engagement and professionalism are leadership qualities that not only inspire those around you, they ensure that our evolving Defence culture is capable of producing ‘good human beings’.

An Inclusive ADF Or The Dustbin of History?

Inclusivity and diversity are not about wokeness or being politically correct – they are the opposites of exclusivity and homogeneity.

Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

Bob Dylan, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ ‘

An Inclusive War

Introduction

The Defence Coach

This article follows WGCDR Jacqueline Carswell’s excellent contribution to the Forge ‘One Step to Maximising our People’s Potential’ of 15 Jul 19.