The Edge

How Australia’s ethical failures with Timor-Leste should inform a future shaping strategy for the Indo-Pacific

Australian military planners are grappling with a grey-zone Chinese shaping strategy that threatens to disrupt^[1] ‘stability, security and sovereignty’^[2] in the Indo-Pacific. China’s strategy utilises a whole-of-government approach to influence competitors and potential partners through all means short of war.

Defining ‘Right’: What are the ADF’s Ethics?

Overture

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.

The Centre of Gravity in Context

Focusing upon the military idea of what a Centre of Gravity is, the article offers some background into Clausewitz's term to be able to better understand it today. The article finishes off by suggesting Clausewitz's idea of a Centre of Gravity remains relevant today and then discuses current doctrine and how military planners should be focusing upon the linking ideas of a CoG, not the idea itself.

The Peril of Extremes: on moral relativism and ethnocentrism

Civil-Military Relations in Australia: Past, Present and Future

This Profession of Arms Seminar on the subject of Australian civil–military relations is intended to revive interest in a neglected but important field of study. For four decades, the field of Australian civil–military relations has been an outlier in defence scholarship, a situation which has hampered a better understanding of how policy, strategy and operations are formulated by Australian politicians, military professionals and public servants.

Soldiers Breaking Windows

In the rush to provide an organisational response to allegations of violent war crimes committed by its soldiers, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) risks applying an educational solution to a behavioural problem. This essay proposes instead to examine the triggers and contributing factors behind the behaviour, and to transform the practical training landscape to better prepare soldiers for the intangible pressures they face on the battlefield.

Assistive AI

Nights on the vehicle checkpoint outside the regional hospital were turning into a real drag. The city had been liberated two months ago and the insurgency driven out. The majority of attacks were now skirmishes on the outskirts of town. The key roads leading into the city had been destroyed by the orbital kinetic bombardment system, leaving massive craters where key roads had once existed. Now there were only three heavily guarded choke points accessible to vehicle traffic which the enemy would need to capture if they had any hope of taking the city.

The New ADF – the way to the inclusive future

What follows is a short opinion piece that covers off on the most effective way for the ADF to become relevant to the young people of this nation. It speaks to our existing culture and makes suggestions for improvement.

The Future is Limited: The Ethics of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems

The successful first flight of Boeing Australia’s ‘Loyal Wingman’ unmanned aircraft in early 2021 marks the introduction of a new and ground-breaking capability for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and the broader Australian Defence Force (ADF). Unlike existing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) employed by the RAAF such as MQ-4C Triton, Loyal Wingman’s unique leveraging of artificial intelligence (AI) in conjunction with its ability to carry a variety of payloads gives it the potential to become the ADF’s first fully autonomous lethal weapon system.

Twitter Girl

Attention ladies! Did you hear?
You can be a musketeer!
Wear a beret, fight like men,
just be sure to hide your femme.

Fire a rifle, hump a pack,
steady girls prepare for flak.
Doesn’t matter what you do,
‘cause Twitter-sphere’s got a view.

Prove your worth and earn your place,
makes no diff’rence for the case.
Token female, yes that’s you,
cheap shots thrown, there are a few.

The Aviator – A Story of Death Intertwined with Observations of Cultural Change

By all accounts, my father was what they call a top bloke. A Flight Engineer on C-130 Hercules, he was tall, funny and loved motorbikes, rugby and surfing. He was as active and manly as the Marlboro Man. He was married with two young children, worked in a job he loved, and had more friends than he could count.