Essay Instructions: FIELD OF STUDY
Foreign Military Studies / General Studies
RESEARCH QUESTION
Has the Australian Defense Force (ADF) “broken the code” to successful integration of joint-interagency support during the conduct of military operations?
BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE
After the end of Australian involvement in the Vietnam War the government of Australia decided it was time for reorganization of the departments supporting the military services, Army, Navy and Air Force and recommended the unification into one single Department of Defense. The government accepted the recommendations creating a unified Defense Force Staff with associated postings to support the effort, and on 9 February 1976 the Australian Defense Force (ADF) was born. Over the course of the next thirty years the ADF would continually redefine its role and how it interacts with supporting / supported government agencies in the conduct of military operations.
The contemporary security situation that exists today cannot be compared to the Cold War paradigm of the past that formed the parameters for military operations and interaction with foreign governments. The target set that presents itself is entirely new with added complexities that military forces neither trained, nor were expected to perform in the course of normal operations. A better understanding of the regional security situation at an earlier stage enabled the ADF to be prepared for the 21st century prior to others. Interaction with all aspects of government sooner in an officer’s career has significant impact on the ability to work in and out of government circles.
Operations in the Solomon Islands, East Timor and more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq have showcased Australia’s ability to conduct military ventures with a joint-interagency approach far surpassing its nearest ally. This “whole of government approach” (WOG) that the Australian’s utilize appears close to mastery with the recent successes over the spectrum of conflict in their region and globally. In the complex security situation of the 21st century we find ourselves immersed in politics as much as warfighting upon the onset of conflict, so much that the acronym PMESII [political, military, economic, social, information and infrastructure] has been developed by the US military to aide in planning and execution and give a greater awareness of its role in the conduct of military operations. Australia’s tri-service attitude and depth and breadth of knowledge across government bears further attention and might hold a glimpse of the future of US military action.
WORKING HYPOTHESIS
The Australian Defence Force has developed a keen sense for joint interagency operations since reorganizing as one multi-capable tri-service after 1976, serving as a model for western militaries seeking a whole of government approach in the security situation of the 21st century. Further analysis will inform and define what brought about this radical change in the ADF and what direction it will take in future joint interagency operations.
METHODOLOGY
The intent of this monograph is to inform the reader through the most practical and simple means of explanation available. Complexities will be spared where they only serve to confuse the reader and care taken to ensure that the issue of the ADF’s ability to work across the PMESII spectrum is fully analyzed. The approach will look historically over past operations and recent ones to showcase examples of Australian interagency efforts from the Solomon’s to Iraq.
The Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) involvement, over the period 1993 to 2006, in a range of operations and aspects of conventional conflict and the ADF’s whole of government (WOG) approach is analyzed in what follows. During this time period the ADF saw activity in the following: Operation Solace (1993) Somalia; Operation Lagoon (September-October 1994) Bougainville; Truce Monitoring Group (TMG) and Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) Bougainville (1997-2001); International Force East Timor (INTERFET) and United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) (1999-2002); Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2001-2006); and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2006). What makes these operations unique is the stated fact by the Australian Government for the continued and increased “Whole of Government” approach to the conduct of military operations. For the purpose of this monograph only three of these operations will be looked at in an attempt to analyze and estimate the effectiveness of the operation and reasons tied to the success of the ADF’s WOG approach.
The rationale for this approach will allow the reader to gain insight into the inner workings of how the ADF is founded with a close relationship to government that begins in the early stages of an Australian officer’s career and continues ascendancy of rank and promotion. The operations chosen cover a recent time period of exceptionally high operating tempo for Australia’s forces.
There are numerous government white papers and pamphlets produced on the subject of military operations and governance, as well as numerous studies of each of the proposed operations that will be researched. Thorough examination of the success and failure in the Australian Defense Force’s whole of government operations will give an indication of what is required for success in future operations as well as potential indicators of success that may well be leveraged by allied forces in the future conduct of operations in the contemporary security situation f the 21st century and beyond.
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