Australian Defence Force Journal, issue no. 197

This issue of the ADF Journal includes articles submitted by contributors from each of the Services and the Australian Public Service, as well as students of the Australian Command and Staff College and the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies.

The 'best article' award went to Nigel Dobson-Keeffe and Major Warren Coaker for their important contribution on the issue of cognitive biases in the joint military appreciation process.

Lieutenant Colonel Ian Langford then provides an extremely well-written account of the role of US Army officer Albert C. Wedemeyer in developing the 'Victory Plan' of 1941. Colonel Natasha Fox, who was a student on the Defence and Strategic Studies Course (DSSC) at the time, follows with an analysis of the impact of China's water security requirements, an issue not usually considered in assessments of the regional security environment.

Major Emma Broder, who attended the 2014 Australian Command and Staff College (ACSC) staff course, argues for a greater understanding and appreciation of the ADF's strategic culture, requiring—in her words—a more refined balancing between intellectual and 'muddy-boots' style officers.

Captain David Proctor of the Royal New Zealand Navy, another student on the current DSSC, provides an assessment of whether 'the rise of China' and its interest in the Southwest Pacific represents a threat to regional security, before coming to a very Australian, 'no worries' conclusion.

We then feature a thought-provoking article on the potential military application of 'biomimicry', and whether it will prove to be the next paradigm shift in warfare. This article was the prize-winning entry from the Chief of Singapore Armed Forces' most recent essay competition, which we are pleased to reprint with permission from Pointer, our counterpart journal in Singapore. It is followed by an article from Squadron Leader Peter Hartley arguing that Defence should adopt a joint airspace command and control structure to complement the recently announced civil-military air traffic system. Colonel Jason Blain, another current DSSC student, then addresses the issue of whether conflict is inevitable between China and the US over disputes in the South China Sea.

Commander Paul Kirk, a 2014 ACSC student, reassesses the concept of 'Defence of Australia'. Colonel Gavin Duncan, another DSSC student, concludes the issue by examining Japan's shifting security framework, arguing it should result in Japan normalising the use of its national power within the global security framework.

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