{"id":24794,"date":"2016-02-24T10:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-02-23T23:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=24794"},"modified":"2016-02-24T09:53:59","modified_gmt":"2016-02-23T22:53:59","slug":"land-power-leadership-reform-and-force-structure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/land-power-leadership-reform-and-force-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"Land power: leadership, reform and force structure"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Op<\/a><\/p>\n

Albert Palazzo\u2019s paper<\/span> Forging Australian Land Power: A Primer<\/span><\/a> and his<\/span> response<\/span><\/a> to John Blaxland\u2019s<\/span> critique<\/span><\/a> are of real value in our current hypoxic policy world. Perhaps unintentionally, their contributions highlight three re-occurring themes in defence policy in Australia: the paucity of political leadership in defence matters, inadequate reform and Army\u2019s force structure challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Palazzo and Blaxland highlight a common aspect of defence policy development since Federation: the lack of consistent and clear-sighted political leadership. Ironically I disagree with Palazzo\u2019s view that the 1987 Defence White Paper (Defence of Australia, or DOA) was one such example. Instead it was an attempt to remedy the lack of leadership\u2014although the conclusions drawn regarding Army\u2019s force structure were ultimately proven to be incorrect. But at least it was a good try.<\/span><\/p>\n

Palazzo\u2019s use of the Maginot Line to illustrate a point against the DOA decisions I believe misses the broader point about the dangers created by a deficit in national leadership. In a recent historical<\/span> work<\/span><\/a>, James Holland argues that based on purely force structure comparisons, the French were in a strong position to withstand the initial German offensive in the early days of the Second World War. The key difference, Holland states, was that the French lacked the political leadership and the decision-making processes to decisively respond to German actions on the ground. The enduring lesson is that without engaged and informed political leadership in defence matters, national security is at risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, operational commitments have rightly seized the attention of ministers, as has defence acquisition. On the other hand, reform which seeks to achieve real and enduring efficiencies to benefit both capability and the budget has been left to others. While it\u2019s certainly less glamorous and often much harder to achieve in political terms, it\u2019s still central to a Minister\u2019s responsibilities. The much-heralded First Principles Review in 2015 and before that 2009\u2019s Strategic Reform Program have achieved far less in hard efficiency terms than anticipated. There\u2019s no evidence that real reform leading to sustained efficiencies has been achieved. Minister Payne, as with her predecessors, has been silent on the matter. As I\u2019ve<\/span> argued<\/span><\/a> before, reform requires ministerial leadership and should be high on every minister\u2019s to-do list. With ever increasing demands on the nation\u2019s balance sheet defence ministers need to drive the reform agenda if they are to ensure the ADF\u2019s capabilities continue to match the nation\u2019s expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve argued<\/span> here<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> here<\/span><\/a>, the debate around Army\u2019s role and force structure is frustratingly limited. Palazzo\u2019s primer, while valuable, misses the opportunity to make the options clear. The term \u2018land power\u2019 needs to be better defined by the Army; it\u2019s used often and while the profession may understand what it means the broader community struggles. As a result it\u2019s in danger of further confusing the debate around Army force structure and its role. Blaxland<\/span> rightly points to the need to say something<\/span><\/a> \u2018\u2026<\/span>about fighting a near\/peer competitor in an existential conflict or at least a full on war, versus fighting against a third world force\u2014be it in the Middle East or in Australia\u2019s neighbourhood\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

This all matters because the potential force structure options can be quite different. Closer to home is perceived as \u2018lower risk\u2019 and as a consequence later phases of LAND 400 can be shifted further right and the number and type of vehicles can be open to semantic debate. Army\u2019s size and harder edge can also be \u2018worked\u2019 to create the fiscal headroom for other capabilities and expenditure priorities. I suspect the upcoming White Paper will do just that.<\/span><\/p>\n

I will leave the last word to the current Chief of the Army, who recently<\/span> observed<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018\u2026I am delighted that the media [is] vociferous in their discussion about which is the best fighter for Australia\u2026. I see an excellent discussion arguing the merits and challenges of our submarine program, focussed on identifying the best submarine for Australia\u2019s strategic circumstances\u2026 [But] I don\u2019t see an argument about which land system is best for Australia\u2026.the tone of media commentary seems to focus on what is good enough\u2026 [which] sells the lives of our soldiers so cheaply.\u2019<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Albert Palazzo\u2019s paper Forging Australian Land Power: A Primer and his response to John Blaxland\u2019s critique are of real value in our current hypoxic policy world. Perhaps unintentionally, their contributions highlight three re-occurring themes in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":274,"featured_media":24797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[44,488,824],"class_list":["post-24794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australian-defence-force","tag-australian-army","tag-land-power"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLand power: leadership, reform and force structure | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/land-power-leadership-reform-and-force-structure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Land power: leadership, reform and force structure | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Albert Palazzo\u2019s paper Forging Australian Land Power: A Primer and his response to John Blaxland\u2019s critique are of real value in our current hypoxic policy world. 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