{"id":31757,"date":"2017-05-10T11:00:46","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T01:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=31757"},"modified":"2018-05-03T21:51:21","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T11:51:21","slug":"talking-chiefs-mark-binskin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/talking-chiefs-mark-binskin\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking to the Chiefs: Mark Binskin"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

In a village near the embattled Iraqi city of Mosul, Australian Defence Force chief Mark Binskin met a team of Australian combat medics who\u2019d set up a triage unit and emergency operating theatre in a small house they’d found still standing in the ravaged landscape. They worked with another coalition medical team treating Iraqi soldiers wounded in the bitter, close quarters fighting against the Islamic State terror group.<\/p>\n

In a forward operating base, soldiers from Australia’s Special Operations Task Group were helping members of Iraq\u2019s Counter Terrorism Service plan operations and call in air strikes on enemy forces as they fought brick by brick through the ancient, narrow streets of Mosul\u2019s Old Quarter. The Australian Special Forces had trained many of the Iraqis to deal with snipers, improvised bombs and medical emergencies. Relationships were close.<\/p>\n

Air Chief Marshal Binskin was struck by the ingenuity the Australians had shown to significantly increase the Iraqis\u2019 chances of survival in action and in the event they were wounded. It demonstrated to him that for all the ADF\u2019s investment in $195 billion worth of new equipment over the coming decades, its real strength is its people, he tells The Strategist<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2018The biggest lesson is that it doesn\u2019t matter what technology you\u2019ve got, it\u2019s your people that matter. It\u2019s a capability issue for us to get the best people we can,\u2019 Binskin says.<\/p>\n

For 15 years the ADF has been on near-continuous operations overseas in different environments with different people, different languages and different enemies; Binskin says that experience has made its personnel highly adaptive. They need all of those skills in the very tough environment of Iraq.<\/p>\n

\u2018We’ve selected and trained the right people and that’s where we\u2019ve got our advantage\u2014through their ability to innovate, to find the best way to respond to a problem regardless of the situation they’re in, whether it be targeting or helping the Counter Terrorism Service look after its wounded people. That investment in people is what gives you the best outcomes on operations. Give them the best equipment and they can do it. They know the rules, they know the procedures; they are well led or they are good leaders, and they know the bounds they need to operate in. They know the rules of engagement and they know how to operate within them to best effect.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Binskin is very conscious of concerns about civilian casualties in Iraq and he says ADF personnel go to great lengths to prevent them through exhaustive planning. Many people don\u2019t understand the constraints ADF personnel operate under and the discipline they bring to their work, he says.<\/p>\n

\u2018There\u2019s international law, domestic law, laws of armed conflict, rules of engagement, there are tactics, techniques and procedures they work within. They know they\u2019ve got to be discriminate, they\u2019ve got to be proportionate and there must be a military advantage in what we\u2019re doing. If they\u2019re part of a coalition; they know they are operating under our rules of engagement or the rules of engagement of the nation they are working with, whichever is the more restrictive. They have to take all of that into account. That\u2019s alright in the planning but on operations they work within those rules in a dynamic environment to minimise civilian casualties and collateral damage.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When air crews return from a strike, that\u2019s not the end of it, says Binskin. \u2018They go through the debriefing, through the tapes they\u2019ve made during the strikes to make sure their assessment at the time is validated and make sure there was no damage that wasn\u2019t catered for, there wasn\u2019t a chance of civilian casualties.\u2019 Binskin says:<\/p>\n

\u2018If there\u2019s an issue, the operation is reviewed and we take any lessons out of that. If there was a civilian casualty, that is reported up the chain and we then work with the Iraqi government. We haven\u2019t had that yet but that\u2019s how the procedure would work. It\u2019s a complex targeting cycle and a complex environment out there and we\u2019ve got great people in it at every stage to make sure that what we\u2019re doing is not only within the rules, but it\u2019s right.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As technology in the ADF becomes more complex, Defence is increasingly competing with the private sector for smart, capable people. \u2018We\u2019re competing in the STEM area just like any other high tech organisation,\u2019 he says. \u2018I think we\u2019re holding our own at the moment but we\u2019re going to have to get better at it as those other areas are starting to compete more strongly for qualified people as well.\u2019<\/p>\n

Binskin says the modern soldier\u2019s equipment has evolved a lot in 15 years but that probably hasn\u2019t been noticed as much as other advances in military technology, except by the Diggers who\u2019ve been part of it.<\/p>\n

\u2018Now, each soldier needs to be considered as an individual weapons system. They\u2019ve got a weapon, integrated communications, they\u2019ve got electronic countermeasures and their body armour and all that needs to be considered as a total system. When they patrol they\u2019ve got to prepare and ensure their electronic counter measures don\u2019t jam their communications and they need to overlap each other with their ECM.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As part of the process of recruiting the best, the cultural makeup of the ADF is changing and female participation is growing. About 30% of applicants are women. Around 5% of recruits are indigenous. More people aged between 25 and 35 are joining up and retention rates are high.<\/p>\n

The ADF is trained for a wide range of tasks from aid to civilian communities in times of disaster such as fires and floods to relief operations in the region to high-end war fighting, if required.<\/p>\n

\u2018We structure and train to cover all of that,\u2019 Binskin says. \u2018It\u2019s a pretty potent and effective force.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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