Ibid - Australian Army

Land Warfare Studies Centre 44
force structure to satisfy the demands of the defence of Australia in
short-warning conflict’. 177
The review sought to remedy a number of serious deficiencies in
the manning, equipment and readiness of both Regular and Reserve
components of the Army. These deficiencies had been exposed
during Kangaroo exercises in 1989, 1992 and 1995, and had led to
a prevalence of hollow units—which meant that the Army had
insufficient combat power to meet the demands of concurrent
operations. 178
Through a rigorous analytical study, the Army’s force structure was
to be reshaped to meet the future needs of low-level, short-warning
conflict. Infantry, armour, artillery and engineers were to be
integrated into seven task forces, which in turn would form the
nucleus of the 21st-century Army as an Enhanced Combat Force
(ECF). These task forces were to be characterised by increased
mobility, improved equipment and a heavier reliance on a more
effective reserve component in the Total Force. The intention was
to create a land force capable of maintaining a sustained operational
focus on northern Australia and developing notional adversary
capabilities from a defence-in-depth posture. 179 Australian
light-armoured vehicles (ASLAVs) and Bushranger light
infantry-mobility vehicles were to be acquired, and M113 tracked
armoured vehicles were to be upgraded to improve land force
mobility.
177
178
179
See the A21 terms of reference in Australian Army, Restructuring the
Australian Army, Directorate of Publishing and Visual
Communications, Canberra, 1997, p. 9.
For the background to the A21 Review, see the remarks of the
Minister for Defence, Ian McLachlan, in Restructuring the Australian
Army, pp. iii–iv.
Ibid., pp. 9–10. See also Lieutenant General J. M. Sanderson,
‘An Australian Army for the 21st Century’, Journal of the Royal
United Services Institute of Australia, XVII, November 1996,
pp. 41–7.