Australian Defence Force (ADF) defends Australia and its interests throughout the world, but especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The ADF is made up of Australia’s three armed services: the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The services are small in size, but they are the most combat capable and technologically advanced force fielded by any country in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
The services are formed on an all-volunteer basis. About 60,000 men and women serve in the ADF full-time. The Army has a regular strength of about 30,000; the RAN, about 15,000; and the RAAF, about 15,000. In addition, the Army has about 21,000 reservists; the RAN, about 4,000; and the RAAF, about 6,000.
Organization
Under the Australian Constitution, the governor general serves as commander in chief of the ADF. The minister for defense is responsible to the Australian Parliament for the general control and administration of both the ADF and Australia’s Department of Defence. The chief of the Defence Force (CDF) commands the whole of the ADF and is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the three armed services. The governor general’s position, however, ensures that ultimate control of the armed forces rests with civilian authorities. The secretary of the Department of Defence, an appointed civilian, oversees the civilian employees of the Australian military. Because the positions of CDF and secretary of the Department of Defence have equal standing, the system of administration is sometimes referred to as the diarchy, a Greek word meaning rule by two authorities. The heads of the three services—chief of Army, chief of Navy, and chief of Air Force—are under the overall authority of the CDF. The minister for defense is advised by the Defence Executive, a group that consists of the secretary and deputy secretaries of the Department of Defence, the CDF, the vice CDF, and the three service chiefs. The Chiefs of Staff Committee deals with matters internal to the ADF.
The CDF is a four-star officer—that is, a general, an air chief marshal, or an admiral—and the service chiefs are three-star officers—that is, lieutenant generals, air marshals, or vice admirals. The forces themselves are each commanded by a two-star officer. The army is commanded by a major general, the air force by an air vice-marshal, and the navy by a rear admiral. The Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) is responsible for planning, controlling, and conducting Australia’s military campaigns and operations. HQJOC is headed by the Chief of Joint Operations, a three-star officer. The Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) oversees logistics (support and services) operations of the three services, both individually and operating jointly.
Equipment and bases
Navy.
The RAN’s major bases, also called shore establishments, are Fleet Base East, Sydney; and Fleet Base West, near Perth. Although it is a shore base, Fleet Base West is also known as HMAS (His Majesty’s Australian Ship) Stirling. The RAN has smaller bases at Darwin and Cairns in northern Australia. Large craft in the Navy’s fleet include American-made guided missile frigates and helicopter support ships; Australian-built submarines of Swedish design; and Australian-built, German-designed, ANZAC-class light patrol frigates. Smaller vessels include patrol boats and inshore minehunters. Several different types of helicopters provide a limited naval aviation capability.
Army.
The Australian Army’s defense activities are focused primarily in the northern part of the country. The Army stresses mobility, high-technology equipment, and a capability for sustained operations on the Australian continent. It has three brigades: a light brigade, based in Townsville; a mechanized brigade with both light and heavy armor (tanks and other armored vehicles) in Darwin; and a mixed brigade of Regular Army members and reservists, based in Brisbane. The Regular Army consists of professional soldiers who are always on active duty. The Army also has a Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), near Perth, and Reserve Commando units in Sydney and Melbourne. Blackhawk helicopters provide mobility to the Army.
The Army Reserve has units and brigades in all states and territories, and reservists can be called out (ordered to report) for duty in circumstances short of war and sent overseas. A government-backed plan calls for compensation of civilian employers of reservists called out in such circumstances.
Air Force.
The RAAF operates fighter, strike, and surveillance aircraft from bases around the country. It has two squadrons of F-111 strike aircraft and three squadrons of F/A-18 fighters. Two squadrons of P3C Orions are used for antisubmarine and maritime reconnaissance. The RAAF also flies a wide range of transport and refueling aircraft.
Officer education
There are several paths to a commission in the ADF. Many officers attend the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra. As cadets or midshipman, they undertake three or four years of study for a degree in arts, science, or engineering. They also complete common military training as well as training for an individual service. Army officer cadets then participate in a year of intensive training at the Royal Military College (RMC) of Duntroon before being commissioned. Navy midshipmen and Air Force officer cadets attend shorter courses at the Royal Australian Naval College at Jervis Bay or the RAAF Academy at Point Cook.
Qualified professionals who have earned a college degree may become Army officers without attending the Australian Defence Force Academy. They instead participate in a direct-entry plan involving an intensive 18-month training course at RMC Duntroon. See Duntroon.
An officer selection board selects Army majors or officers of equivalent rank to attend the Command and Staff College in Canberra for a 12-month course to prepare for a promotion in rank. A small number of colonels and officers of one-star rank (brigadier generals, rear admirals, and air commodores) attend a further 12-month course at the Australian Defence College in Canberra. Small numbers of officers are sent to staff college and war college courses in such countries as Indonesia, Malaysia, India, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Through such courses, officers develop cooperation skills that prepare them to work in joint military missions with officers of other national forces.
History
Before Australian federation in 1901, each Australian colony had its own small forces of regular soldiers and part-time volunteers. Several colonies had small naval forces as well. All of the colonies sent forces to fight on the side of the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, and these forces were still in action when Australia became a new nation.
At federation, the new Commonwealth government brought the colonial forces together to form the Commonwealth Military Forces. In 1904, the government began combining the colonial navies into the Commonwealth Naval Forces. But the government did not give high priority to defense until 1905, when Japan defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. Japan’s victory raised fears of invasion. In 1909, the British Admiralty granted Australia permission to assemble a navy that used ships built in the United Kingdom. In 1911, King George V granted the title of Royal Australian Navy to the new fleet. The fleet’s first ships arrived in 1913.
In 1911, the Australian government initiated a plan of compulsory military training of young men to provide large trained forces for the defense of Australia. The organization, training, and equipment of the forces was similar to that of British forces.
In 1914, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was assembled from volunteers for overseas service (see Australian Imperial Force (AIF)). This force fought as part of the United Kingdom armies in World War I (1914-1918). The RAN was placed under direct British control at the outbreak of war. More than 330,000 Australian men fought with the AIF, primarily at Gallipoli in Turkey; in Egypt and Palestine; and on the Western Front, one of the main European battlefronts. Australia’s casualty rate in World War I was the highest among the Allies, with about 60,000 soldiers killed and over 156,000 wounded or captured. Two corps from Australia and New Zealand, commonly known as the ANZAC force (also called Anzacs), became noted for their bravery. See ANZAC; Simpson and his donkey.
Military aviation had begun in Australia before the World War I. During the war, the Australian Flying Corps formed four squadrons, which fought in Palestine and France as part of the AIF. By the end of the war, most of the Australian divisions were commanded by Australian generals. General John Monash, the commander of the Australian corps in France, was regarded as one of the most able corps commanders in the British armies. See Australian Flying Corps (AFC).
After the war, the government disbanded the AIF. The Australian military underwent reductions in staffing, equipment, and spending. The government established the RAAF as an independent service in 1921.
The Great Depression of the 1930’s had a severe impact on Australia’s armed services. Military pay, recruiting, and training opportunities declined, and the armed services experienced delays in acquiring equipment. Partly as a result of depression-era cutbacks, the outbreak of World War II in 1939 found Australia’s services ill-equipped for war against major military powers. A new AIF, called the Second Australian Imperial Force, was formed.
By 1941, the AIF had four infantry divisions and an armored division. Three infantry divisions served in the Mediterranean—in North Africa, Greece, Crete, and Syria—from 1940 to 1942. A fourth division went to Malaya (now part of Malaysia), where it took part in a disastrous campaign to defend Malaya and Singapore against Japanese forces. Singapore fell in February 1942, and about 13,000 Australian servicemen were taken prisoner. Japanese forces also attacked sites in the Australian territory of Papua (now the independent country of Papua New Guinea), launched air raids against northern Australia, and mounted submarine attacks against naval targets in Sydney Harbour.
The three AIF infantry divisions in the Mediterranean returned in 1942 and 1943 to defend Australia. They were joined in the fighting by divisions of the Citizen Military Force, a militia. Much of the RAAF’s war effort was focused on Europe and the operations of Bomber Command against targets there. Australian forces did most of the heavy fighting against Japanese forces in Papua in 1942 and 1943. Out of a population of only about 7 million, nearly 1 million Australian men and women served during World War II.
After the end of the war, Australia’s services quickly experienced cutbacks. Units of all three services were part of the Allied occupation force stationed in Japan after the war. In 1947, the government created Australia’s first permanent regular army with field force units. In 1950, ground, air, and naval units were committed to the United Nations (UN) Command and battled North Korean and Chinese forces during the Korean War (1950-1953). Air and naval units, later joined by Army units, fought alongside British and other Commonwealth forces to put down a Communist uprising in Malaya known as the Emergency (1948-1960). In 1964 and 1965, all three Australian services took part in the defense of the newly independent Malaysia against Indonesia.
In 1962, the Australian services began a 10-year commitment to the war in Vietnam alongside United States forces. Australia first sent groups of advisers and a small air component. By 1965, Australia had combat troops on the ground. In 1966, an independent task force and a logistics group were stationed in Phuoc Tuy (now Ba Ria-Vung Tau) province, which became Australia’s area of responsibility. The task force withdrew in 1971. Air and naval units operated with American forces in various parts of Vietnam and at sea. Approximately 50,000 Australians served in the war. Prior to the Vietnam War, the RAN fleet was made up of British-designed ships built in Australia or the United Kingdom. By the end of the war, its ships reflected German, Swedish, and American tradition, as well as Australian design and construction.
After the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, Australian defense policy began to concentrate much more on the defense of Australia and neighboring countries. However, the services contributed small groups of personnel to various UN-sponsored or sanctioned peacekeeping and observation missions outside the neighboring countries. On occasion, the services assumed greater responsibilities, such as providing an advance Movement Control Group and the Force Communications Unit for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia in 1992. Australian forces also operated as part of a multinational coalition force in Somalia in 1992 and 1993. The RAN participated in the Persian Gulf War of 1991.
During the 1980’s and 1990’s, the Australian services moved toward more centralized operations. The formerly independent powers of the three service chiefs were reduced and placed under the overall authority of the chief of the Defence Force. The government established the Headquarters Australian Theatre in 1996. In 1997, it established Support Command Australia (later replaced by the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group). Also in 1997, the titles of the service heads were changed from chief of the General Staff, chief of Naval Staff, and chief of the Air Staff—which were derived from British titles—to chief of Army, chief of Navy, and chief of Air Force.
In 1999, Australian forces led a multinational force on a UN mission to East Timor after the Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia. The East Timor operation represented the first time that the Australian services had taken the lead in forming and sustaining a coalition force. In the war on terrorism led by the United States beginning in 2001, RAN units commanded an interdiction force in the Arabian Gulf. An interdiction force disrupts or delays the flow of reinforcements and supplies to the enemy. In the same campaign, Australian special forces units fought alongside the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. The Australian Defence Force took part in the Iraq War (2003-2011), helping to end the rule of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Later in 2003, government officials from the Solomon Islands requested military aid to end violence between ethnic groups in that country. Australian forces went to the Solomons as part of a multinational peacekeeping force, which also included forces from Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Western Samoa. The multinational force represented the largest military deployment to the Solomons since World War II ended in 1945.
