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adaptive campaigning with a maritime expeditionary force
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0-01.1, UK Joint Glossary). For this paper a maritime expeditionary force is ‘a self-sustaining
forward deployed joint maritime force that demonstrates Australian interest with its physical
presence and latent power. Operating from international waters, the joint maritime force is
free of political and economic encumbrances, and independent of overseas bases or host
nation support, which may not be accessible due to domestic or international concerns’ (Royal
Navy, BR1806, British Maritime Doctrine, 3rd edn, The Stationary Office, London, 2004).
6
Department of Defence, Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century, chapters 4 and 5.
7
Here the stated Royal Australian Navy mission: ‘to fight and win at sea’ does not help much.
8
See Royal Australian Navy, Future Maritime Operating Concept - 2025, Defence Publishing
Service, Canberra, 2007, pp. 11-2. Note the space, electro magnetic and information domains
also contribute to the maritime environment, although they are not exclusively ‘maritime’.
9
Littoral is defined as ‘the areas to seaward of the coast which are susceptible to influence from
support from the land and the areas inland from the coast which are susceptible to influence
or support from the sea’. Royal Australian Navy, Australian Maritime Doctrine, p. 198.
10
Naval forces are defined as ‘seaborne military forces including surface combatants,
submarines, amphibious and mine warfare units, hydrographic and oceanographic units,
organic helicopters and auxiliaries’, whereas maritime forces are ‘forces whose primary
purpose is to conduct military operations at, over and from the sea. The expression includes
surface combatants, submarines, auxiliaries, chartered vessels, organic aircraft and
helicopters, shore installations intended for coastal and maritime defence and land forces,
shore based aircraft and helicopters assigned to maritime tasks’ (both are from Royal
Australian Navy, Australian Maritime Doctrine). Only in the US Department of Navy context
does the US Navy and US Marine Corps team truly form a naval expeditionary force. Such
a force is equivalent to our maritime expeditionary force.
11
See Royal Australian Navy, Australian Maritime Doctrine, esp. pp. 19-29.
12
Till, Seapower, pp. 56-68, has been used extensively.
13
Julian Corbett, Some Principles of Maritime Strategy, Longmans Green, London, 1911, p. 57-8.
14
Australian Army, Land Warfare Doctrine LWD 1, The Fundamentals of Land Warfare, Defence
Publishing Service, Canberra, 2008, p. 13; Corbett, Some Principles of Maritime Strategy, pp. 15-6.
15
A maritime expeditionary force does not always need to deploy armed forces ashore to achieve
its strategic aims, as often presence, poise and other non-physical means may achieve the
desired effects.
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Expeditionary operations are defined as ‘military operations which can be initiated at short
notice, consisting of forward deployed, or rapidly deployable, self-sustaining forces tailored
to achieve a clearly stated objective at a distance from a home base’ (Royal Australian Navy,
Australian Maritime Doctrine). See also Till, Seapower, chapter 9.
17
Ministry of Defence, The Future Maritime Operating Concept, Development, Doctrine and
Concepts Centre, Shrivenham, 2007, pp. 1-2.
18
Colonel George A Furse, Military Expeditions Beyond the Seas, William Clowes, London,
1897, p. 2.
19
The Joint Amphibious Capability Implementation Team (JACIT) has been quite successful
in refining the joint amphibious requirements and preparing for the introduction of the two
new Canberra class amphibious ships from 2012. Their remit, however, does not include the
strategic and operational level requirements of expeditionary operations.