The Edge

Scharnhorst and Professional Mastery

To me, being 'professional' has meant striving for excellence at my everyday job. Until I attended Command and Staff Course at the Australian War College last year, I did not appreciate that being good at my job was not the same as being a military professional. The course broadened my understanding; being a professional requires one to embrace continual learning in all aspects of the profession. I became conscious that through professional mastery, individuals, even those in junior roles, can influence organisational outcomes beyond their job.

Defence materiel sales - an exploration of the ethical challenges

(Note: This paper is the opinion of the author and does not represent the views of Defence nor the Australian Army. I pose this paper to invoke discussion on the topic).

Research, development, manufacture and selling of military materiel, in particular systems that are designed to deliver kinetic effects and bring harm to others, has always been a contentious issue for members of the public of Western democratic nations - especially during long periods of perceived peace.

Air Force launches The Runway

The Runway, Air Force’s new professional development platform designed to foster a broad community of learning was launched on 31 Oct 19 by Commander Air Force Training Group, Air Commodore Glen Braz.

Air Force, Australian Defence Organisation and other government agency personnel are invited to engage with the curated content and take the opportunity to participate in a whole-of-government discussion around the key topics affecting the delivery of air and space power for Australia’s future.

Moving tanks by water: A short history of Australia’s tank-capable amphibious capability

Responsibility for maintaining a sea-going, tank- or heavy vehicle-capable landing craft capability has historically shifted between the Army and Navy. Today, the ADF lacks a dedicated green-water amphibious capability to support operations in a region characterised by great rivers, but poor transport infrastructure.

The Commander’s call: Re-defining rules of engagement (ROE) during Counterinsurgency (COIN) operations

The author writes on the inherent contradiction that exists between the implementation of international humanitarian law and the military operations in the conflict environment. The case in study is about ongoing counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and Syria, where the U.S troops along with their ISAF colleagues face a dual challenge fighting the insurgents while working within the framework of international humanitarian and domestic laws. The article discusses the necessity of involving the field commander's view while developing rules of engagement so that the operational imperatives aren't lost while guarding against collateral damage.

Mobilisation in the Information Technology Era

Our fundamental ideas about mobilisation are being challenged under the impact of the IT revolution. Impacting all of us, this is an area deserving our close attention.

Autonomous Systems, Auftragstaktik, and Governance.

This paper considers the importance of governance to the ability for the ADF to conduct mission command based operations. This examines the criticality of trust to the success of this operational concept and therefore the role governance will play in establishing trust in autonomous systems.

What is the Most Significant Ethical Challenge for the Application of Military Power in the Twenty First Century?

The purpose of this task was to encourage students to consider ethical themes throughout the package, engage in focussed debate with their syndicate group and synthesise their discussions into a concise, peer reviewed argument.

Australia, Korea and ASEAN: Forging Ahead Together

Photo courtesy SBS Australia from the first ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, 2018

Augmented Reality and the Future of Learning and Business

Our interaction with the technological world today is changing rapidly. We are no longer limited by screens or even reality as we knew it. David Rapien walks us through the history and differences of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality and looks towards the future options of these technologies in life, business and education.

How Biased Minds can be the Key to Unbiased AI Systems

The TED Talk examines the origins of Cognitive Bias, its advantages, drawbacks and challenges with Biased AI. The solution might lie within ourselves.

The Future is here! 5th Generation Air Force

The F-35 heralds a revolution in how the ADF will fight, as units learn to integrate with 5th Generation technologies and operate as a network, leveraging stealth and information fusion. This article explores the ‘night versus day’ change, which opens the door for related opportunities including man-machine teaming and the ‘loyal wingman’ concept.