Designing Australian Land Power for the 21st Century
Abstract
Radical change to the Australian Army is required. This paper describes why this is necessary and how it should be achieved. In doing so, three issues will be addressed. First, Australian land power needs to be developed for both expeditionary operations in the Asia-Pacific region and continental defense, although priority should be given to expeditionary operations. This represents a radical departure from the Army's current force structure and capability development program. The imperative for change is caused by an acknowledgment of historical patterns, current and future security trends in the Asia-Pacific region, and the Government's new policy, which emphasizes "forward cooperation" for regional security. Second, redesigning land power requires a cogent force development methodology. As yet, such a methodology does not exist in the Australian Army. However, the United States Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory's concept-based approach to force development could be used as a model for redesigning Australian land power. There also is a need for an Australian Army Battlelab. Third, a major project should be started to initiate the momentum to change Australian land power. The three-phase project, entitled "Landpower2l," would use the proposed force development methodology to achieve the new strategic goals for land power. In conclusion, this paper advocates that Australian land power must emphasize new strategic goals, adopt an improved force development process, and initiate a pivotal project to create momentum for change.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA529217
Entities
People
- Peter K. Singh
Organizations
- Marine Corps University