The 'Australian Army' is
Australia's military land force. It is part of the
Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the
Royal Australian Navy and the
Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of the Army (CA), who is responsible to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF).
Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout its history, but only in
World War II did Australian territory come under direct attack.
Mission
Australian Government websites state that the Army's mission is to provide a potent, versatile and modern Army to promote the security of Australia and protect its people and interests.
[1] [2] [3] Further, the Army's key doctrine publication, ''The Fundamentals of Land Warfare'', states that "the Army’s mission is to win the land battle".
[1]
History
The history of the Australian Army can be divided into two periods:
★ 1901-47, when limits were set on the size of the 'Regular Army', the vast majority of peacetime soldiers were in the 'Reserve Army' units of the
Australian Citizens Military Force (also known as the CMF or Militia), and
Australian Imperial Forces were formed to serve overseas, and
★ post-1947, when a standing peacetime
infantry force was formed and the CMF (known as the Army Reserve after 1980) began to decline in importance.
The army has been involved in many peacekeeping operations, usually under the auspices of the
United Nations. The largest one began in 1999 in
East Timor. Other notable operations include peacekeeping on
Bougainville and in the
Solomon Islands, which are still ongoing to this day. Humanitarian relief after
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in
Aceh Province,
Indonesia,
Operation Sumatra Assist, ended on
24 March 2005.
Current deployments
Main articles: Current Australian Defence Force deployments
The Australian Army currently has significant forces deployed on four major operations
[4]:
★ 'Operation Catalyst' - Australia's commitment to the Coalition forces in
Iraq. The army's contribution includes:
★
★
Overwatch Battle Group (West); this is a
battlegroup consisting of a headquarters, infantry company, armoured squadron and training team, with a total of 450 personnel. This has two tasks:
★
★
★ Provide support to local Iraqi security forces
★
★
★ Assist in the training of local Iraqi Army units so that they are able to take over the internal and external defence of their country
★
★ Australian Army Training Team; this encompasses 55 personnel providing logistic training to the
new Iraqi Army.
★
★ Embassy security detachment; this provides security protection and escort for staff at the Australian Embassy in
Baghdad, and consists of 100 personnel.
★ '
Operation Slipper' - Australia's commitment to the
War on Terror. The army contribution is primarily concentrated in
Afghanistan:
★
★ 'Reconstruction Task Force'; attached to the Dutch led
Provincial Reconstruction Team in
Oruzgan Province, this consists of 200 personnel from 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, 45 from the
6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and a company(plus) from the
5th/
7th Battalion, Royal Australia Regiment.
★ '
Operation Astute' - Australia's commitment to Timor-Leste. This constitutes the largest overseas deployment of Australian forces, with around 925 troops deployed. These are primarily formed into a single battlegroup:
★
★
ANZAC Battle Group; this is an infantry heavy battle group supported by engineers, armoured vehicles and combat support elements. Integrated into its structure is a company from the
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.
★ '
Operation Anode' - Australia's commitment to the Regional Assistance Mission Solomon Islands. The contribution numbers approximately 140 personnel, primarily consisting of a company from
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, plus support elements. Also under Australian command is a company from 2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.
★ In addition to these, small numbers of personnel are deployed on various peacekeeping operations around the world, including the
Multinational Force and Observers and to the United Nations.
★ 'Operation Mazurka' - Australia's commitment to Multinational Force and Observers (MFO). From 1982-1986, the RAAF provided rotory wing aviation support. Since 1994 the Australian Army has maintained a presence within the organisation. Currently 25 personnel rotate twice a year, being employed in key HQ, operations and logistics positions.
★ '
Operation Paladin' - is the Army's longest ongoing operation, where Australian personnel have served since 1956. Operation Paladin is Australia's contribution to the UN Truce Supervision Organisation that was established in 1948 to supervise the truce agreed at the conclusion of the first Arab/Israeli War
Current organisation
The Australian Army's structure in early 2007 (click to enlarge)
The Australian Army is currently organised around two Divisional headquarters. The Deployable Joint Force Headquarters/1st Division has responsibility for the majority of the regular army, while
2nd Division is the main home defence formation, containing Army Reserve units. Only the 1st Division's headquarters is deployable, however, as the 2nd Division's headquarters only performs administrative functions. The Australian Army has not deployed a divisional sized formation since 1945 and does not expect to do so in the future.
[2]
Expansion plans announced in 2006 will see the Australian Army expand by 2008, resulting in a primary force that is organised around eight battalions of the
Royal Australian Regiment - three of these are to be standard light infantry, two mechanised, and two are to be motorised. The final battalion is a specialised commando unit which is part of
Special Operations Command. The
Royal Australian Armoured Corps presently has four regular regiments, one of main battle tanks and two light cavalry (formation reconnaissance). The fourth consists of a single squadron and is used on the armoured personnel carrier/light armoured role. These forces, together with the associated combat support (artillery, engineers, signals) and combat service support (logistics, maintenance etc) are based around two deployable brigades,
1 Brigade, which is primarily a mechanised formation, and
3 Brigade, which is a light, air deployable formation.
7 Brigade is an integrated Regular/Reserve formation that would primarily be used in conjunction with DJFHQ were it ever to be deployed overseas.
'Hardened and Networked Army'
In 2006, then Australian Minister for Defence,
Senator Robert Hill announced that the Australian Army would be restructured and redeveloped in an updated version of the Army’s ‘Hardened Networked Army’ concept. The policy of creating a ‘Hardened and Networked' Army will see a major reorganisation of both the regular Army and Army Reserve. The overriding rationale for this is to bring about "A reduction in singular capabilities that can not be rotated, hence an 'Army of twos'".
[3] This will involve the army being organised so that it can deploy a number of battlegroups, consisting of infantry, armour, artillery etc in the correct proportions relevant to each type of mission.
When the reorganisation is complete it is planned that the Army will be able to form battlegroups based around the following formations:
★
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Light infantry Battalion
★
2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Light infantry Battalion
★
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Light infantry Battalion
★
5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Mechanised Infantry Battalion
★
6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Motorised infantry Battalion
★
7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Mechanised Infantry Battalion
★
8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Motorised Infantry Battalion
★
1st Armoured Regiment, Armoured Regiment
★
2nd Cavalry Regiment, Formation Reconnaissance Regiment
★
2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, Formation Reconnaissance Regiment
★
1st Aviation Regiment, Attack helicopter Regiment
By the end of this process in approximately 2015, 1 Brigade will be the army's major mechanised formation. In addition, 1st Division/DJHQ will be reduced to three brigades, with 11 Brigade, a wholly Army Reserve formation, being transferred to the 2nd Division. The armoured units of the Army Reserve in 2nd Division will be restructured, with four becoming pure light cavalry and the fifth being utilised in the armoured lift role.
Colours, standards and guidons
Main articles: Colours, standards and guidons
All colours of the Army were on parade for the centenary of the Army, 10 March 2001
Infantry, and some other combat units of the Australian Army carry flags called the Queen's colour and the Regimental Colour, known as 'the Colours'. Armoured units carry Guidons - flags smaller than Colours traditionally carried by Cavalry, Lancer, Light Horse and Mounted Infantry units. Artillery units' Guns are considered to be their Colours, and on parade are provided with the same respect. Non-combat units (combat service support corps) do not have Colours, as Colours are battle flags and so are only available to combat units. As a substitute, many have Standards or Banners.
[4]
Units awarded
battle honours have them emblazoned on their Colours, Standards and Guidons. They are a link to the Unit's past and a memorial to the fallen. Artillery do not have Battle Honours. Their single Honour is "Ubique" which means "Everywhere".
The Army is the guardian of the
National Flag and as such, unlike the Royal Australian Air Force, does not have a flag or Colours. The Army, instead, has a banner, known as the Army Banner. To commemorate the centenary of the Army, the Governor General Sir William Deane, presented the Army with a new Banner at a parade in front of the
Australian War Memorial on 10 March 2001. The Banner was presented to the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army, WO1 Peter Rosemond.
The Army banner bears the
Australian Coat of Arms on the obverse, with the dates "1901-2001" in gold in the upper hoist. The reverse bears the 'rising sun' badge of the Australian Army, flanked by seven
campaign honors on small gold-edged scrolls:
South Africa,
World War I, World War II,
Korea,
Malaya-Borneo,
South Vietnam, and Peacekeeping. The banner is trimmed with gold fringe, has gold and crimson cords and tassels, and is mounted on a pike with the usual British royal crest finial.
[5]
Personnel
During the 2005-06 financial year the Army had an average strength of 25,241 permanent Personnel and 15,579 reservists.
[6]
Rank and insignia
The ranks of the Australian Army are based on the ranks of the
British Army, and carry mostly the same actual
insignia. For
officers the ranks are identical except for the shoulder title "Australia". The
Non-Commissioned Officer insignia are the same up until
Warrant Officer ranks, where they are stylised for Australia (e.g. using the Australian, rather than the British coat of arms).
★ Australian Army officer rank insignia
★ Australian Army enlisted rank insignia
Current recruiting Issues
An infantryman training with a Leopard 1 tank in 2001
On
24 August 2006 the
Prime Minister announced a requirement for an extra 2600 soldiers for the Australian Army. Recent remarks of low morale in the Army, a high desire to leave the armed forces for civilian careers amongst serving soldiers, low unemployment figures for school-leavers and university graduates, as well as general opposition for Australian soldiers serving in Iraq have resulted in the Army falling short of its recruiting expectations. This new campaign, which will call for the raising of two new infantry battalions ready for overseas deployment by 2010, will reportedly cost $10 billion AUD. The first of these new battalions, to be operational by
2008, will be formed by the de-amalgamation of 5/7 RAR into the reformed
5th Battalion and
7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.
PM John Howard cited causes for this requirement as the threat of unstable, possibly terrorist harboring states in Australia’s immediate region:
Along with this announcement, many claim that a need for more and better equipment is required, possibly meaning an increase in the numbers of M113 APCs,
Bushmaster IMV and
M1A1 Abrams tanks being ordered. The plan also may result in an overall reduction in the fitness, medical and age restrictions placed on applicants, in order to ‘Modernize’ the restrictions and also assist in boosting numbers. However, these moves have come against opposition within Veteran’s Organisations. Opposition from the Papua New Guinean Prime Minister,
Sir Michael Somare came on
25 August 2006, saying an expansion of the Australian Army would actually be in response to its forces already deployed in the Middle East, and not for the possibility of threat from its Pacific neighbors.
On
15 October 2006 the Defence minister
Brendan Nelson announced that the Army will be implementing a new 'try before you buy' recruitment system, reducing the Initial Minimum Period of Service (IMPS) from four years to one year for enlisted soldiers. Aimed at school leavers, this system is designed to reduce the impact of joining the army for recruits entering the work force, making the option of military service more attractive.
After an extensive multi-million dollar advertising campaign seeking recruits
[7]
there is now a reversal of the situation with high enlistment numbers (exceeding the governments target by 1004 persons) but due to the lack of available and adequate training facilities and personnel more than 85 percent of applicants wait for between 35 days and 6 months to start their training, resulting in dropouts in recruits during this period. There are plans to create a second recruit-training battalion but that may take years.
[8]
Equipment
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Army bases
The Army's operational headquarters, Land Command, is located at
Victoria Barracks in Sydney. The Australian Army's three regular brigades are based at
Robertson Barracks near Darwin,
Lavarack Barracks in
Townsville, Queensland and
Gallipoli Barracks in
Brisbane, Queensland. The Deployable Joint Force Headquarters is also located at Gallipoli Barracks. Other important Army bases include the
Army Aviation Centre near
Oakey, Queensland,
Holsworthy Barracks near Sydney,
Woodside Barracks near
Adelaide, South Australia and
Campbell Barracks in Perth. Further barracks include Steele barracks in Sydney, Keswick Barracks in Adelaide, and Karakatta in Perth. Dozens of
Army Reserve depots are located across Australia.
Notes
1. The Fundamentals of Land Warfare
2. David Horner (2001). ''Making the Australian Defence Force''. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. ISBN 0195541170. Page 195.
3. Hardened and Networked Army
4. National Flags, Military Flags, & Queens and Regimental Colours
5. Army Flags (Australia)
6. Australian Department of Defence (2006) ''Defence Annual Report 2005-06''. Page 218.
7. Australian Army Rise Up Recruitment
8. Diggers in hole as boom recruits go untrained
9. Press release issued by the Minister for Defence ''Bushmaster Bonanza for Bendigo'', 18 August 2007.
10. [5].
11. "World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', January 15 2007.
References
★ Website: http://www.army.gov.au
See also
★
Australian Defence Force ranks and insignia
★
List of Australian military memorials
★
Conscription in Australia
★
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