Adaptive Army: Embracing the Concept of Operational Manoeuvre from the Sea
Abstract
On May 2, 2009, the Australian Government released its 2009 Defence White Paper (WP09). The document serves as the national defence strategy and reinforces the fact that Australia is a maritime nation with its primary operating environment (POE) being the sea-air gap to the north of the country. WP09 also provides confirmation of future capabilities, including two Landing Helicopter Dock ships that the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will procure by 2016. The acquisition demonstrates a commitment to an amphibious warfare capability that has been effectively nonexistent within the Australian Defence Force since the end of World War II. Amphibious warfare requires more than just a maritime component. Amphibious implies sea based soldiers that are capable of projecting ashore for land operations. For this role, the Australian Army is best suited, and therefore must collaborate with the RAN to ensure optimisation of the new amphibious warfare capability. This paper will draw on lessons learned from the United States Marine Corps' Marine Expeditionary Unit to explain how the Australian Army can best contribute to the new amphibious capability. It will be shown that the army will achieve this by establishing a standing expeditionary battle group (EBG) that is permanently embarked with the RAI\I's amphibious ready group. The EBG will be a deployed asset, postured to respond rapidly to any contingency within the POE, including Australia's littoral environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 05, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA604389
Entities
People
- A. R. Collingburn
Organizations
- Marine Corps University