Let the War Games Begin!

Let the War (Games) Begin!'

Two gaming enthusiasts roll the dice at the Australian Command and Staff College to demonstrate how wargames can be a creative engagement and learning tool that enhances the learning experience.

Australia’s Military Strategic Challenges – Close to Home

The 16 September 2021 announcement of an enhanced trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (AUKUS) confirmed beyond any remaining doubt that the Australian Government considers its strategic environment to have permanently changed. The 2020 Defence Strategic Update presaged the announcement by highlighting a number of developments which had swiftly altered the strategic landscape of the Indo-Pacific region since the publication of Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper.

Three words that conjure dangerous oversimplification

The Defence Strategic Update of 2020 provided three words that neatly encapsulate Government’s strategic objectives. The words also capture the raison d'etre of the Australian Defence Force and the tasks it is likely to execute in a period of ‘the most consequential strategic realignment since the Second World War’.^[1]

Streamlining Air Land Operations for Better Outcomes

Abstract

A Fistful of Dollars: the Changing Paradigm of the PMSC and Mercenary in the Modern Battlespace

How will a new security and economic epoch affect Australia

Beware the Intent of a Eurasian Entente

The most pressing national security and economic challenge facing Australia is an emerging epoch in which a Eurasian bloc changes the power and economic direction of the globe.

Rethinking Strategies in Modern Urban Conflicts

The increasingly blurred line between state and non-state actors in tight urban warfare zones requires allied forces to have clearly defined and fully informed communication and command chains to minimise unintended consequences.

Integrating Our Military and Personal Stories: A Chaplain’s First Year in the Australian Defence Force

At the heart of the chaplain’s ‘spiritual’ role is assisting members to find congruence in their sense of self and the intersecting storylines of their lives, including their military story. I often invite those who are fatigued by change and challenge to reconnect with the adventure, and mishaps, of initial training. Looking back, yesterday’s challenge is often today’s amusing story. It is also the story of a challenge which has been overcome. These memories of past resilience can provide a source of new energy, the fuel of resilience, to face the challenges of tomorrow.

Evolving European Indo-Pacific Policies – Good for Australia

Evolving European Indo-Pacific Policies – Good for Australia

Synopsis

While AUKUS and the nuclear submarine agreement have amplified Australia’s role in the Indo Pacific, Europe is also asserting a greater interest in the region that could well determine a new international order.

Euthanizing Democracy: The Assisted Death of Liberalism

Authoritarian states have weaponised the vulnerabilities of technology and unchecked power of social media to exploit the very tenet of democracy that they despise – free expression – to undermine democracy itself.

Working with Contractors: Culture clash or Positive Partnership?

Contractors always pursue large profit, the customer – a high-quality end product in due time and at a lower cost.  This struggle never ends, but this is natural.

Vladimir Putin^[1]

Getting the best results from the ADF’s increasing use of private contractors calls for a deft ability to straddle the intrinsic cultural differences between military protocol and commercial practices.

Peekaboo with Mars or: How I learned to Love Jus ad Vim and address the Ethical Implications to the Changing Character of War

The contents of this paper reflect my own personal views and are not necessarily endorsed by the Naval War College or the Department of the Navy.

Stockdale Leader Development Concentration Paper Advisor: Dr. Pauline Shanks Kaurin, Ph.D.