Ibid - Australian Army

Land Warfare Studies Centre 22
personnel. The aim was to develop a more flexible organisation for
testing new operational concepts that would reflect the impact of
distance on the conduct of the tactical battle and on logistical
support in the field. 81 Although the standard infantry division was
to remain the major type of formation in the Australian Army,
increased attention was to be placed by the Army on operations
based on using forces capable of a high degree of dispersion,
mobility and endurance. 82
In broad terms, the Australian Army moved towards a ‘core force’
structure. To maximise limited resources for land operations in
defence of Australia, the Army needed a core of essential skills and
capabilities on which expansion could be based in times of need. 83
Implicit in the core force concept was an assumption that warning
time of future conflict would be adequate to allow for expansion. 84
A core force also required a dual capability: heavy formations with
high combat power were required for expansion to higher-level
conflict, while light mobile formations with limited combat power
were needed for shorter-term contingencies. An Army paper on
combat power outlined the problem:
We thus have two conflicting force structure requirements. We
require heavy formations with high combat power (that is firepower
and tactical mobility) but such formations tend to have limited
strategic mobility. On the other hand, light formations are more
easily deployed but are generally lower on combat power. This may
lead us to having to adopt two organisations—a light ready
deployable reaction force with a heavier follow up force. 85
The Army thus faced a paradox, particularly in equipment needs.
Light airborne equipment needed for strategic mobility was the
81
82
83
84
85
Ibid., para. 6.
‘Forecast of Capabilities and Operational Status of the Army at the end
of the 1980s’, para. 5.
‘Combat Power in the Australian Environment’, paras 7 and 55.
Ibid., para. 8.
‘Combat Power in the Australian Environment’, para. 22.