How to Defend Australia
How to Defend Australia

Author: Hugh White

Publisher: La Trobe University Press

Published: 2019-07-02

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1743820976

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A brilliant and important book about Australia’s future Can Australia defend itself in the Asian century? How seriously ought we take the risk of war? Do we want to remain a middle power? What kind of strategy, and what Australian Defence Force, do we need? In this groundbreaking book, Hugh White considers these questions and more. With exceptional clarity and frankness, he makes the case for a reconceived defence of Australia. Along the way he offers intriguing insights into history, technology and the Australian way of war. Hugh White is the country’s most provocative, revelatory and yet realistic commentator on Australia’s strategic and defence orientation. In an age of power politics and armed rivalry in Asia, it is time for fresh thinking. In this controversial and persuasive contribution, White sets new terms for one of the most crucial conversations Australia needs to have. ‘This book, by one of Australia’s leading defence policy thinkers, will be a very important contribution to our national discussion in coming years. Hugh White tackles many challenging issues and opens up the new debate that we need to have as Australia plots its course through a changing international environment.’—Robert O’Neill, former Chichele Professor of the history of war, University of Oxford ‘Hugh White is among our most knowledgeable and practised strategists. While I am strongly supportive of the US alliance, How to Defend Australia is a serious work from a serious patriot that requires close reading. It deserves a wide audience.’—Kim Beazley

Leadership Secrets of the Australian Army
Leadership Secrets of the Australian Army

Author: Noel Turnbull

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Published: 2018-05-23

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 176063624X

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Nicholas Jans identifies the distinctive egalitarian leadership principles behind the effectiveness of the Australian defence forces, and shows how they can be applied in any organisation at any level Australia's military consistently punches above its weight, and its approach to leadership is the key to its success. Developed over a century ago by fusing national values with battlefield imperatives, its approach has been fine-tuned over generations. It is now an adaptable and egalitarian leadership culture that ticks all the boxes for best practice. The military assumes no-one is born a natural leader, and that good training makes good leaders. Drawing on his own long military career and defence training programs, and on research, Nick Jans has identified the core principles of this consistently successful approach to leadership. These '3Rs' are the leadership skills which generate loyalty and commitment at an operational level, and they are just as successful in everyday team management as they are in the field. Leadership Secrets of the Australian Army includes real stories from the field and from workplaces, from everyday employees and from well-known leaders. It shows how you too can become a leader your team can believe in, and-equally importantly-how you can help them believe in themselves. 'Read it and be wise.' Lieutenant General David Morrison, AO

Anzac's Long Shadow
Anzac's Long Shadow

Author: James Brown

Publisher: Black Inc.

Published: 2014-02-15

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 1922231355

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‘A century ago we got it wrong. We sent thousands of young Australians on a military operation that was barely more than a disaster. It’s right that a hundred years later we should feel strongly about that. But have we got our remembrance right? What lessons haven’t we learned about war, and what might be the cost of our Anzac obsession?’ Defence analyst and former army officer James Brown believes that Australia is expending too much time, money and emotion on the Anzac legend, and that today’s soldiers are suffering for it. Vividly evoking the war in Afghanistan, Brown reveals the experience of the modern soldier. He looks closely at the companies and clubs that trade on the Anzac story. He shows that Australians spend a lot more time looking after dead warriors than those who are alive. We focus on a cult of remembrance, instead of understanding a new world of soldiering and strategy. And we make it impossible to criticise the Australian Defence Force, even when it makes the same mistakes over and over. None of this is good for our soldiers or our ability to deal with a changing world. With respect and passion, Brown shines a new light on Anzac’s long shadow and calls for change. "Bold, original, challenging - James Brown tackles the burgenoning Anzac industry and asks Australians to re-examine how we think about the military and modern-day service." - Leigh Sales "The best book yet written, not just on Australia's Afghan war, but on war itself and the creator/destroyer myth of Anzac." - John Birmingham James Brown is a former Australian Army officer, who commanded a cavalry troop in Southern Iraq, served on the Australian taskforce headquarters in Baghdad, and was attached to Special Forces in Afghanistan. Today he is the Military Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy where he works on strategic military issues and defence policy. He also chairs the NSW Government’s Contemporary Veterans Forum. He lives in Sydney.

How Ike Led
How Ike Led

Author: Susan Eisenhower

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2020-08-11

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 1250238781

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How Dwight D. Eisenhower led America through a transformational time—by a DC policy strategist, security expert and his granddaughter. Few people have made decisions as momentous as Eisenhower, nor has one person had to make such a varied range of them. From D-Day to Little Rock, from the Korean War to Cold War crises, from the Red Scare to the Missile Gap controversies, Ike was able to give our country eight years of peace and prosperity by relying on a core set of principles. These were informed by his heritage and upbringing, as well as his strong character and his personal discipline, but he also avoided making himself the center of things. He was a man of judgment, and steadying force. He sought national unity, by pursuing a course he called the "Middle Way" that tried to make winners on both sides of any issue. Ike was a strategic, not an operational leader, who relied on a rigorous pursuit of the facts for decision-making. His talent for envisioning a whole, especially in the context of the long game, and his ability to see causes and various consequences, explains his success as Allied Commander and as President. After making a decision, he made himself accountable for it, recognizing that personal responsibility is the bedrock of sound principles. Susan Eisenhower's How Ike Led shows us not just what a great American did, but why—and what we can learn from him today.

Taking the Lead
Taking the Lead

Author: Mark Lax

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2020-03-01

Total Pages: 706

ISBN-13: 1922265969

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As Australia withdrew from Vietnam in 1972, few in the Australian Defence Force, none the least those in the Royal Australian Air Force could foresee the immense change that would sweep across the Service. New and emerging international relationships, changing Australian social attitudes, and a growing sense of defence self-reliance would all impact how the RAAF contributed to the application of air power in the defence of the nation and in supporting Australia’s wider national interests. For the first time, Taking the Lead brings to the reader a comprehensive and authoritative study of how the RAAF matured over its third quarter century, how it met the challenges faced, and how it finally came of age, able to take the lead when asked. By 1996, plans were in place such that the RAAF was well on the way to becoming the world’s first fifth generation air force, by making a remarkable transition. This volume also dispels the myth that the RAAF did little in the latter part of the twentieth century but train. In fact, the RAAF was at the forefront of operations as wide afield as the Sub-Continent, the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia. Then there was aid to the civil community as well as aid to those nations seeking help in wider Asia-Pacific region. Clever force restructuring for expeditionary operations amid the stress of downsizing by almost a third, meant that future operations in the twenty-first century were to be a success. Taking the Lead is not just about aircraft, bases and flying. It considers the strategic environment of the era, the factors that affected personnel and training, how the RAAF’s force structure advanced and how the RAAF managed its successes and failures. For those seeking to learn more about their air force, then this book is essential reading. Taking the Lead covers this vital part of the RAAF’s unfolding narrative, and perfectly illustrates how the RAAF remained true to its motto – Per Ardua ad Astra – Through Adversity to the Stars.

Australian Public Opinion, Defence and Foreign Policy
Australian Public Opinion, Defence and Foreign Policy

Author: Danielle Chubb

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-10-28

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 9811573972

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This book examines the impact of Australian public opinion towards defence and foreign policy from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. For most of this period, the public showed little interest in defence and security policy and possessed limited knowledge about the strategic options available. The principal post-war exception to this pattern is, of course, the Vietnam War, when political divisions over Australia’s support for the U.S.-led action eventually resulted in the withdrawal of troops in 1972. The period since 2001 has seen a fundamental change both in the public’s views of defence and foreign affairs, and in how these issues are debated by political elites. This has come about as a result of major changes in the strategic environment such as a heightened public awareness of terrorism, party political divisions over Australia’s military commitment to the 2003-11 Iraq War and the increasing overlap of economic and trade considerations with defence and foreign policies, which has increased the public’s interest in these issues. Combining the expertise of one of Australia's foremost scholars of public opinion with that of an expert of international relations, particularly as pertains to Australia in Asia, this book will be a critical read for those wishing to understand Australia's alliance with the U.S., interactions with Asia and China, and the distinctive challenges posed to Australia by its geographic position.

Niche Wars
Niche Wars

Author: John Blaxland

Publisher: ANU Press

Published: 2020-12-15

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 1760464031

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Australia invoked the ANZUS Alliance following the Al Qaeda attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001. But unlike the calls to arms at the onset of the world wars, Australia decided to make only carefully calibrated force contributions in support of the US-led coalition campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Why is this so? Niche Wars examines Australia’s experience on military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 to 2014. These operations saw over 40 Australian soldiers killed and hundreds wounded. But the toll since has been greater. For Afghanistan and Iraq the costs are hard to measure. Why were these forces deployed? What role did Australia play in shaping the strategy and determining the outcome? How effective were they? Why is so little known about Australia’s involvement in these campaigns? What lessons can be learned from this experience? Niche Wars commences with a scene-setting overview of Australia’s military involvement in the Middle East over more than a century. It then draws on unique insights from many angles, across a spectrum of men and women, ranging from key Australian decision makers, practitioners and observers. The book includes a wide range of perspectives in chapters written by federal government ministers, departmental secretaries, service commanders, task force commanders, sailors, soldiers, airmen and women, international aid workers, diplomats, police, journalists, coalition observers and academics. Niche Wars makes for compelling reading but also stands as a reference work on how and why Australia became entangled in these conflicts that had devastating consequences. If lessons can be learned from history about how Australia uses its military forces, this book is where to find them.

The Australian Army at War 1976–2016
The Australian Army at War 1976–2016

Author: Leigh Neville

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-06-27

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 1472826302

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Since the end of their involvement in the Vietnam War, the Australian Army has been modernized in every respect. After peacekeeping duties in South-East Asia, Africa and the Middle East in the 1980s–90s, 'Diggers' were sent to safeguard the newly independent East Timor from Indonesian harassment in 1999, and to provide long-term protection and mentoring since 2006. Australian Army units have served in the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Australian Special Forces are currently operating alongside US and British elements against ISIS in northern Iraq. During these campaigns the Australian SAS Regiment and Commandos have fully matured into 'Tier 1' assets, internationally recognized for their wide range of capabilities. The book, written by an Australian author who has written extensively about modern warfare, traces the development of the Army's organization, combat uniforms, load-bearing equipment, small arms and major weapon systems using specially commissioned artwork and photographs.