ISSUE 107 : Jul/Aug - 1994 - Australian Defence Force Journal

More documents

Recommendations

Info

DIGGECalendar 1995The Diggers calendar presents the pictorial history of our nation in battle and in keeping the peace.With a superb painting accompanying each month. Diggers begins with our earliest military actions in 19thcentury New Zealand and takes us through both World Wars up to our most recent engagements in Vietnam andthe Gulf War. It also includes our peacekeeping effort around the world.Australia's contributions in each of these actions is provided in a brief summary which accompanies everycalendar page.The Diggers Calendar 1995 is available from Defence Public Relations at a cost of $ 19.95., ,DIGGERS Calendar 1995 — Mail Order FormI would like () copies of the Diggers Calendar at a cost of $ 19.95 each. Enclosed is a cheque/money ordermade out to the Receiver of Public Monies for $NAME:ADDRESS:STATE:POSTCODE:Please send your order and payment to:Defence Public Relations, Department of Defence, B-4-24, RUSSELL OFFICES, ACT 2601.
Appreciating the Military Problem — Part TwoBy Major Darn I Smart, RAA."Rules are for the guidance of wise men and theblind obedience of fools. "AnonIntroductionWar is fought in an environment of imperfectknowledge and violent action. At its essenceare initiative and decisive action. At their differentlevels the leader, commander, and strategist mustall solve military problems to apply violence and wininitiative. These problems are not susceptible to merecalculations or even to logic alone. They require intuition,prediction, and imagination. The problem-solvingaid provided to invoke these skills is the appreciationprocess.The appreciation process was conceived in 19thcentury Germany by Moltke and Elder (Chief of theGerman General Staff in 1853), who said:'Our science gives us no fundamental rules to bealways applied, no formula to help us over all ourdifficulties. The essential thing in war is on everyoccasion to 'appreciate the situation' rightly and tomake arrangements that are best suited for thatsituation."'Thus, the essence of the appreciation is the rejectionof rules or formula in favour of the demands of thesituation. Since its beginnings as a systematic studyfor solving tactical problems, the appreciation processhas evolved into an institution in professional armiesaround the world.This is the second of two articles written on theappreciation process in the ADF. It proposes modificationsto the process in order to address the ADF'srequirement for a problem-solving process in terms ofthe following criteria: 2a. providing a guaranteed solution;b. timeliness;c. simplicity;d. creativity; ande. accountability.It is beyond the scope of this article to modify theentire appreciation process. I will only concentrate onthe selection of factors, analysis of information, andthe development of courses open. These were the elementsof the process specifically evaluated in my firstarticle. A factor shall be defined as a category ofinformation relating to the aim. The term informationwill be used to represent facts or reasonable assumptionsbearing on the aim.'The topic will be addressed as a new doctrine forthe appreciation process called the Queenscliff 92Doctrine. 1 It is written to supplement, rather thanreplace, the existing doctrine in JSP 102.Having reviewed the appreciation process in termsof the requirements of the ADF, it is apparent thatalthough it is theoretically sound, it is weakened by anumber of practical deficiencies. 5The appreciation process is not user-friendly.Logical deductive reasoning is a complex mentalprocess requiring great discipline. Also the serial processingof information in the short term memory isinefficient. It fails to take advantage of the significantparallel processing powers of the long term memory.The appreciation process is not a complete methodology.It relies heavily on factor and deductionguides used to guarantee a doctrinal solution at the expenseof creativity. Specific gaps exist in the methodof the process for selecting factors, and developingcourses of action for both the enemy and own forces.Moreover, the appreciation process is not capableof being amended to meet time constraints.The process does not do enough to promote creativethinking, through the use of intuition or insight.The first three deficiencies collectively give theconcept of situating the appreciation credibility, sincethey are the areas where it excels. The final deficiencyis a more general and subjective criticism, but onewhich should not require further justification.A User-Friendly ProcessEven though the existing appreciation process isnot user-friendly, it is important to recognise itsstrengths. These are that it is logical, in the sense thatconclusions can be explained and supported, and it iscomprehensive in the analysis of information. Theseadvantages should be retained as the test of any modifiedapproach.The deficiency in the existing process is a result of
Page 1: A U S T R A L I A NNO. 107JULY/AUGU
Page 6 and 7: 4 AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL
Page 10 and 11: X AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL
Page 12 and 13: II) AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNA
Page 16 and 17: 14 AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCH JOURNAL
Page 26 and 27: About to leave the Armed Forces?Con
Page 32 and 33: ;n M SIR \[ 1 \N OUhNCI IQkCI l()l
Page 36 and 37: Air Force Memorial —Runnymede, En
Page 38 and 39: 6 JUNE 19 44By early 1944. 3.500.(X
Page 40 and 41: Australians in the Great InvasionTh
Page 42 and 43: 50th Anniversary CommemorationsAust
Page 44 and 45: YOUNG"ENDEAVOURADVENTURE AT SEA FOR
Page 48 and 49: 38 AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCK JOl/RNA
Page 50 and 51: 4() AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNA
Page 52 and 53: a: AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL
Page 58 and 59: 4S AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL
Page 64 and 65: The Western Front was a continuous
Page 70 and 71:
60 AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL
Page 72 and 73:
62 AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL
Page 74:
64 AUSTRALIAN DEFHNCH FORCE JOURNAL
show all

ISSUE 107 : Jul/Aug - 1994 - Australian Defence Force Journal

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?