Most readers of The Strategist will be aware that 18 August is Vietnam Veterans’ Day, formerly known as Long Tan Day, marking the anniversary of the most famous battle fought by the Australian Task Force …
The Australian military spends years and effort to create the modern Canberra officer. Like many Defence building efforts, this one is complex with no real end point. With each generation, the requirements expand (and don’t …
Desultory interest is stirring once again amongst the occasional Minister and the chattering classes in making Defence efficient. In this quixotic quest ASPI has recently made a wide-ranging, well-reasoned submission to the Committee of Audit. …
According to the Australian Industry Group (AIG), the headcount at the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) has grown three-fold over the past decade from 2,500 people to 7,500. Armed with this remarkable statistic, in their submission …
Beyond running a huge civilian workforce, the Secretary of the Defence Department is torn at by an extraordinary array of g-forces: government, generals, gear (the buying, building and running of), geopolitics and geography. On bad …