The Edge

Do Microcredentials Provide Value to Defence?

Unlocking the Power of Microcredentials in Learning & Defence. In a world where skills matter more than ever, microcredentials have emerged as game-changers. Dive into their potential, benefits, and pitfalls in the realm of Defence education. Are they the key to a more innovative, more agile force? Find out!

Working With Civvies – the Integrated Workplace

There are so many public servants working for Defence that it is important to know how to work with them.

‘Department of Defence analysis, produced last year and seen by The Mandarin, raises concerns that cultural differences between navy, army, air force and Defence public service can be a structural source of workplace bullying, mistreatment of women and other unacceptable behaviour.’^[1]

Forget the 4 Cs, Use Motivation as the Cornerstone for Successful Learning in the ADF

Within the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the four C’s – critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication – are viewed as the cornerstone for successful learning. However, education philosophers and theorists – from the Dewey era to more a contemporary 21^st Century (Pratt et. al 2022) – have all agreed that for successful learning to occur, the fundamental pillar of motivation needs to be the foundation from which all other educational constructs spring forth.

Online Learning: No Going Back

Having discovered the benefits of online learning when the pandemic gave us no choice, we should embrace it as a valuable addition to our education tools.

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: Dare to Lead, by Brené Brown

Brené Brown has been researching vulnerability, shame and resilience for two decades. Her TED talk on “The power of vulnerability” has 37 million views and is one of the five most watched. Her latest book Dare to Lead draws on her consulting and personal experience, teaching and evaluating the “Brave Leaders” course and interviewing 150 global C-level leaders to unpack the ingredients of brave leadership and courageous organizations. 

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

Six Golden Rules for Media Interviews

Media content is being consumed and produced in greater quantities than we’ve ever seen. That means your chances of being asked to step in front of the microphones and cameras are growing. This article provides six golden rules to assist those in Defence if they find themselves fronting the media.

A Year in the Life of a Staff Officer and a General

Many field grade officers will serve as a Staff Officer / Military Assistant during their career within a single service, joint headquarters, or in an interdepartmental position. This article offers our perspective on the working relationship between Staff Officer and General. We hope it will be useful to those who are stepping into these roles in the future.

Workplace Flexibility in the ADF: anathema or panacea?

Discussions about ‘flexible work’ in Defence have brought with it questions about what ‘work’, rather than ‘service’, looks like within the organisation. Yet what ‘flexibility’ means for Navy, Army and Air Force members, what ‘flexible work’ looks like, and what its implications are for capability remain contested.

The Australian Military and Logistics: When Preparedness Equals Survival

The material comprises a 2014 interview with Air Vice Marshall John Blackburn (Retired), in which he poses a number of questions relating to the resilience of Australia’s Defence logistics capabilities. The questions and tacit solutions he proposes have become more relevant given recent instability in the South China Sea and the current shifts in US foreign policy.