ISSUE 136 : May/Jun - 1999 - Australian Defence Force Journal

10AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL NO. 136 MAY/JUNE 1999Consider the process outlined below:Define thePresentEngenderRequiredChangeVisualisetheFutureIf it is accepted that this diagram represents aprocess for achieving the grandiose notion of “TheRoad to the Future through ContinuousImprovement” 29 then it is worth examining howArmy’s vision for the future stacks up against it. If itwas the intention of the architects of Army’s future tocreate a force who’s fundamental capabilities lie in itsability to populate the North of Australia, defend keyinstallations (usually the property of the other twoservices and housing their shiny new toys) or chase adisproportionately small enemy around the sunnyNorth whilst expending enormous amounts ofresources (seemingly the thing that the enemy wantedto achieve in the first place) then they should be giventop marks. Army should cease and desist with thischarade forthwith.Strategic Review 97 looks at this early stage like itmay provide some hope of tangible change in the nearfuture. Recent media reports sight the increasedlikelihood of United Nations sponsored Operationsthat would undoubtably be joint in nature but with arequirement for a sizeable and sustainable Armycomponent. 30 There are inherent dangers in thispossible change, on both the conceptual and physicalplanes. Conceptually, whilst this shift in policy hasthe potential to improve Army’s fortunes, it meansthat Army is still subject to the vagaries of changingpolicies, whether they be waxing or waning, Armyhas little or no control of its destiny. Physically, theneglect of Army’s procurement needs outlined in thefirst portion of this article means that there is anecessity for Army to rely overwhelmingly on thequality of its soldiers, particularly at the JNCO level. 31It is commendable that this situation has workedflawlessly to date. Without wishing to suggest anysolutions, the relationship of Training and DoctrineCommand (TRADOC) to the Joint Chiefs PlanningCommittee (JCPC) and the process by which theyconvince the US Government to endorse their visionfor the future could have some relevance to thisissue. 32 As with much of the processes and doctrinethat Australia has borrowed from overseas, all thecomponents are there, they just don’t produce thesame product.ConclusionThis article represents one persons thoughts on thestate of the Army. Whether the reader agrees or not isof little consequence to the author. The purpose ofembarking on this process was neither to engenderchange nor stimulate debate, it was purely anintellectual exercise aimed at recording the author’sthoughts on a particular topic.The threat board is well and truly illuminated.Army’s equipment is, generally, aged well beyond amature state and Army isn’t securing enough moneyfrom the Acquisition budget to replace it. Not enoughpeople are intersted in joining and far too manypeople are leaving. If Army’s life depended on it, andin many ways it does, it can’t tell its members oranyone else for that matter, including the successivegovernments that fund it, what it will look like in tenyears. As outlined, contrary views are neitherwelcomed nor dismissed, if the figures containedwithin are accepted though, it would be interesting tosee what such an argument is based on.There are no rosy outcomes on the horizon, nopanaceas that will ease Army’s collective woes anddefinitely no quick fix, compartmentalised solutionsthat will have any real effect. What is required isdedicated visionaries with the intelligence and driveto make a difference, blessedly they are few and farbetween.NOTES1. Department of Defence 1998, Defence Annual Report 1997-1998, DPS, Canberra, p. 146.2. La Franchi, P. 1998, ‘Budget 98: F/A-18 Upgrade Sole-Sourced to Boeing’, Australian Defence Business Review, vol17, no 7, 15 May, p. 5.3. Department of Defence 1998, op. cit., p. 207.4. ibid., p. 198.5. ibid., p. 216.6. ibid., p. 207.7. ibid., p. 152.8. ibid., p. 153.9. ibid., p. 154.10. ibid., p. 249.11. loc. cit.12. ibid., p. 250.13. ibid., pp. 250-251.14. Franchi, op. cit., loc. cit.15. loc. cit.16. loc. cit.17. Cotteril, D. 1999, ‘Air 87 Contenders Jockey for Position’,Australian Defence Magazine, vol 7, no 2, February 1999, p. 56.18. Bostock, I, 1998, ‘Habitability the key in Bushranger trials’,Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, October-November 1998, p. 29.19. Ferguson, G. 1999, ‘Squaring up to the Millennium’s firstChallenge’, op. cit., p. 20.