There is much to like in the Defence Strategic Review. The emphasis on missiles, on longer range, on the need for urgent action are all desperately necessary. The classified version is hopefully sharper in identifying the source of the threat. The review slips into...
Opinion
Commentary – Holy lands sown with Australian sacrifice
Saturday 8th Apr 2023
Peace remains elusive in the lands described on British maps as the Middle East, or Moyen-Orient on French maps. “What,” its multifaceted citizens might ask, “Has Australia ever done for us?” READ MORE
Warrior Poet – Duty and Consequence
Wednesday 5th Apr 2023
“March the guilty b—s in” was once said with much humour. It referred to a weekly phase of administration in barracks when soldiers charged with a military offence were paraded with armed escort before their Commanding Officer to determine guilt or...
Commentary: A leader who ranked among our best
Saturday 21st Jan 2023
AUSTRALIAN General John Monash was that rare combination of entrepreneur, polymath and military strategist who was arguably Australia’s outstanding military leader. Professional engineer, lawyer and part-time soldier, he rose to senior command through service at...
Commentary: Janet Albrechtsen on the Government’s confidential settlement in the Higgins Case and its comparative injustice to injured or disabled military veterans
Sunday 15th Jan 2023
Read the full article here, The following excerpts from that article are specific to her comparative injustice commentary. The process followed by the government, and in particular the Department of Finance, to settle this claim was so outrageously out of line with...
Opinion: I Say, I Say, I Say – Old leadership lessons are still relevant
Saturday 7th Jan 2023
MAJOR Charles McMoran Wilson MC, Silver Medal of Military Valour (Italy), twice MID, knew more than most about soldiers and soldiering. As 1st Bn Royal Fusiliers RMO on the Western Front in World War I, he treated their wounds, observed their reactions to climate and...
Opinion: Pollies stuck to their own Laws of Physics
Saturday 22nd Oct 2022
DOZING under an apple tree in his Lincolnshire garden during summer in 1666, Isaac Newton was jolted awake when a falling apple struck his head. Momentarily losing his composure, Newton said to no one in particular, “I think I’ll discover gravity!” Thus was born...
Opinion: Among the Sea Powers – Australia’s Maritime Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
Wednesday 19th Oct 2022
The Indo-Pacific is the busiest and most contested area in relation to international security, with multiple players, agendas, and interests. Australia’s interests in the region are driven by the recognition that great power politics are increasingly being played out...
Comment: Anatomy of Courage remains relevant
Saturday 1st Oct 2022
MAJOR Charles McMoran Wilson MC (later Lord Moran) was a multi-decorated World War I British Army medical officer who served in France with an infantry battalion, and later a base hospital. After his return to the UK in 1919 he read in The Times of a Royal...
Townsville link to military disasters
Saturday 20th Aug 2022
CARELESS commentators lacking the ruthless scrutiny of a sub-editor’s pencil are wont to describe mass casualty ADF incidents as the “worst peacetime military accident ..since…” Townsville has tragic connections with three of the worst Australian Defence Force...