Hyper-Teaming

Environmental management of military activities is of growing global concern by defence forces. As one of the largest landholders in Australia, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is increasingly concerned with sustainable environmental management. This paper focuses on how the ADF is maintaining effective environmental management, especially in environmentally sensitive marine protected areas. It uses Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) as a research example to examine environmental management strategies conducted by the ADF. SWBTA is one of the most significant Defence training areas in Australia, with a large number of single, joint and combined military exercises conducted in the area. With its maritime component contained in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA), and abutting Queensland’s State Marine Parks, it has high protection values. It is therefore vital for the ADF to adopt environmentally responsible management while they are conducting military activities. As to various tools employed to manage environmental performance, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) is widely used by the ADF. This paper examines military activities and marine environmental management within SWBTA, using the Talisman Saber (TS) exercise series as an example. These are extensive joint exercises conducted by the ADF and the United States defence forces. The paper outlines relevant legislative framework and environmental policies, analyses how the EMS operates in environmental management of military activities, and how military activities comply with these regulations. It discusses the implementation of the ADF EMS, including risk reduction measures, environmental awareness training, consultation and communication with stakeholders. A number of environmental management actions used in the TS exercises are presented to demonstrate the EMS application. Our investigations to this point indicate that the ADF is complying with all relevant legislation and policies. Further research is required to confirm compliance and conclude that military activities have good accord with environmental management objectives.

The 2009 Australian Defence White Paper directs the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to support disaster relief operations undertaken by relevant agencies in Asia and, more specifically, in support of neighbouring Asia-Pacific nations. The urgency of this task is underscored both by projected increases in the frequency of natural disasters, and the likelihood of increasingly severe consequences as a result of population growth and increasing urban density along coastal zones and inland waterways. Asia is one of the world's most natural disaster-afflicted areas, and it contains some of the world's most technologically-advanced regions. The role and usage of social media and social network technologies in disaster relief activities are becoming broader and increasingly important in afflicted communities, as evidenced in the 2010 Haiti earthquake and 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami crisis. It is vital for the ADF to understand the utility of social media and social network technologies as a 'tool' to support disaster relief operations. This paper considers the conjunction of disaster relief and evolving social media and social network technologies in Asia. A conceptual framework is developed where morphological analysis and soft systems techniques are applied using an indicative example to demonstrate how the ADF might enhance its ability to respond to natural disasters in Asia through the use of social media and social network, noting this is not an articulation of official ADF policy or guidance. The framework has the potential to provide strategic direction to the ADF's force development and operational response processes. It would be beneficial for disaster relief agencies and Defence to learn and leverage from each other's complementary role.

This chapter principally discusses the two primary reasons why the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is not yet ready for the proliferation of uncrewed and autonomous technology that is expected to occur throughout the coming decade. First, the ADF does not know what to do with such technology, and second, it is not planning for the step change from automated to autonomous systems. The ADF needs to formulate a plan soon, or it will be forced to continue playing catch-up. Ultimately, a few more years are needed to determine what the ADF will do with the data to turn this (expensive) uncrewed force into decision/targeting superiority and effects, and this chapter argues that the crash of the autonomy tidal wave can afford to wait a little longer.

The release of the Australian Government’s Nation Action Plan (NAP) in 2012 signaled the recognition by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) that implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 was imperative to improving military capability and increasing operational effectiveness. Since then, the ADF has made considerable inroads toward ensuring that the practical implementation of the NAP achieves the WPS outcomes being sought by the Australian Government. Moreover, this chapter observes that the ADF have in recent times employed the NAP to ensure that its political, social, aid, and diplomatic actions align closely with those of allied armed forces with respect to gender mainstreaming. Indeed, the ADF has focused on gender as an important element in the planning and conduct of national and international military peace and security efforts. This chapter argues that since the adoption of Resolution 1325, Australia has been actively involved in, and supported, a large number of high-level commitments to addressing the role of women in peace and security. In the main, this has been focused on political, social, diplomatic, and aid responses to crisis and conflict management, human rights, gender equality, and peacekeeping.

Injury prevention during physical activity in the Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has used mefloquine for malaria chemoprophylaxis since 1990. Mefloquine has been found to be a plausible cause of a chronic central nervous system toxicity syndrome and a confounding factor in the diagnosis of existing neuropsychiatric illnesses prevalent in the ADF such as posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Overall health risks appear to have been mitigated by restricting the drug's use; however serious risks were realised when significant numbers of ADF personnel were subjected to clinical trials involving the drug. The full extent of the exposure, health impacts for affected individuals, and consequences for ADF health management including mental health are not yet known, but mefloquine may have caused or aggravated neuropsychiatric illness in large numbers of patients who were subsequently misdiagnosed and mistreated or otherwise failed to receive proper care. Findings in relation to chronic mefloquine neurotoxicity were foreseeable, but this eventuality appears not to have been considered during risk-benefit analyses. Thorough analysis by the ADF would have identified this long-term risk as well as other qualitative risk factors. Historical exposure of ADF personnel to mefloquine neurotoxicity now also necessitates ongoing risk monitoring and management in the overall context of broader health policies.

In September 1993, the Australian media was abuzz over a Naval Board of Inquiry which investigated allegations of sexual abuse on the HMAS Swan. Following the Board of Inquiry and media coverage, the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel referred the matter to a new, broader Senate Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in the Australian Defence Force. This inquiry received 122 submissions and handed down its final report in August 1994. The HMAS Swan inquiries were neither the first nor the last major reports investigating abuse in the Australian armed forces. Indeed, media reports and new inquiries every few years suggest a cycle of serial epiphanies – to borrow a phrase from Aboriginal researcher Maggie Walter – about cultures of abuse within the ADF. Yet, what set the HMAS Swan scandal apart from earlier ones was: 1. The interest and interventions taken by the political class, and 2. That it centred on sexual abuse and the status of women in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). This article revisits the HMAS Swan inquiries thirty years later, exploring their findings, legacies and shortcomings. It explores why what could have been a turning point in the treatment of women in the ADF instead became just another inquiry.

The study investigated the impact of potentially traumatic events on mental health outcomes among males who had ever served in the Australian Defence Force. Data from a nationally representative household survey of Australian residents, the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, were used for this study. Compared with community members, Australian Defence Force males were significantly more likely to have experienced not only deployment and other war-like events but also accidents or other unexpected events, and trauma to someone close. For non-deployed males, Australian Defence Force members were at increased risk of accidents or other unexpected events compared to community members. After controlling for the effect of potentially traumatic events that were more prevalent among all Australian Defence Force members, the increased risk of mental disorders among Australian Defence Force members was no longer evident. For non-deployed males, Australian Defence Force and community members were at comparable risk of poor mental health outcomes. A significant minority of Australian Defence Force members had onset of a mental disorder prior to their first deployment. Deployment and other potentially traumatic events among Australian Defence Force members can help to explain their increased vulnerability to mental disorders compared with community members. Providers should routinely enquire about a range of potentially traumatic events among serving and ex-serving military personnel.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) like many industries faces ongoing challenges in the support of their assets, acquisitions, budgets and workforce management. Unlike other industries, the ADF is heavily affected by changes in Government, changes in Government policy direction, diversity of potential conflict scenarios and the manner in which budgets are set. This has led to a series of decisions being made that have addressed problems in the short term but have not adequately considered long term implications. More often than not, Government directives to deliver improved efficiencies come along with a corresponding budget cut, a direction to maintain services and capability without any real guidance on how this could or should be achieved and this continues to impact on the organisation long after the incumbent Government has left office. Resultant problem areas within the ADF maritime such as engineering and maintenance are covered by a number of Reports including the more recent Rizzo Report. The purpose of this paper is to look at the area of Sustainment Management within the ADF from a maritime perspective and the holistic view that defence industries need to consider in the development of their Support Solutions when entering into support arrangements such as Alliances and In-Service Support contracts.

Aim:The purpose of this pilot study was to analyze the current cold chain storage methods of Class 8 stores, specifically thermolabile medications and temperature sensitive diagnostics, dressings, and fluids, for the Australian Army in a training area within Australia. This research was designed to identify deficiencies in current storage methods, including the inability to maintain the recommended storage temperature of pharmaceutical stores in accordance with the Therapeutic Goods Administration, as well as foster communication between key stakeholders, including the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps and the Department of Defence Joint Health Command, and to develop a cold chain protocol specific for the Australian Defence Force.Methods:This pilot study identified the common occurrence of breaches in a specific climate and recommends that current mission essential equipment be replaced. It also discusses the need for clearly defined guidelines with accountability of the stakeholders to ensure that the provision of health support to all Australian Defence Force personnel is in accordance with civilian standards.Results:This pilot study identified that the carried thermolabile medications and temperature sensitive diagnostics, dressings, and fluids were commonly exposed to temperatures outside the range recommended by the manufacturers. These findings related mainly to the storage equipment for Class 8 stores used by the Army. As a result, it is recommended that such equipment is replaced so that the cold chain storage meets the Therapeutic Goods Administration Guidelines to ensure that health support to Australian Defence Force Personnel in the field is in accordance with the standard of care expected at a civilian health facility.Discussion:This pilot study has enabled the Australian Defence Force to qualify and quantify the temperature exposure of the medications and stores and engage with key stakeholders to trial and apply new technologies and processes for the management of the cold chain.

government's objectives. First, it is clear that there are insufficient funds available for both the large capital acquisition programme and ongoing personnel/operational costs. This in itself has the potential for having long-term negative effects on- the Australian Defence Force. Secondly, recent events show that the government apparently did not take into account the potentially serious security problems for Australia posed by instability in the island micro-states in the South Pacific, as well as the possible unreliability of New Zealand as an ally In total, fundamental deficiencies can be identi fied as emerging in Australian defence. The evident result of these problems is that the U.S. security alliance will continue to be essential, if not increasingly so, to Australian security.

Many injuries experienced by soldiers can be attributed to the occupational loads they are required to carry. The aim of this study was to determine whether contemporary military load carriage is a source of injuries to Australian Regular Army soldiers and to profile these injuries. The Australian Defence Force 'Occupational Health, Safety and Compensation Analysis and Reporting' database was searched to identify all reported injuries sustained during load carriage events. Key search terms were employed and narrative description fields were interrogated to increase data accuracy. A total of 1,954 injury records were extracted from the database. Of these, 404 injuries were attributed to load carriage. The majority of these load carriage injuries involved either the lower limb or back, with bones and joints accounting for the most frequently reported body structures to be injured. Field activities were the leading activities being performed at the time that load carriage injuries occurred, and muscular stress was identified as the mechanism of injury for over half of reported load carriage injuries. This study suggests that load carriage is a substantial source of injury risk to Australian Army soldiers. Physical training may fail to adequately prepare soldiers for load carriage tasks during field training exercises.

This report is an initial exploratory scoping review prepared for Chaplain Dan Hynes (Department of Spiritual Health and Wellbeing, Joint Health Command, Australian Defence Force, Canberra, ACT, Australia) and Chaplain Mark Willis (Director General, Chaplaincy Branch, Royal Australian Air Force, Australian Defence Force, Canberra, ACT, Australia). Support for this report was provided by La Trobe University, Department of Public Health Participatory Field Placement Internship program (PHE3PFP).

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of smoking, identify the effects of deployment on smoking behavior and risk factors for smoking, and determine the short-term health outcomes associated with smoking in Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel. Participants were randomly sampled from ADF members who deployed to the Solomon Islands between 2003 and 2005 and from a nondeployed comparison group. In total, 435 of 995 (44%) eligible individuals completed the study questionnaires. The prevalence of current smoking was highest in those who had completed less formal education and those who served in the Navy. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of current or former smokers smoked more while on overseas deployment. Current smokers were more likely to report current wheeze, shortness of breath, and persistent cough compared with nonsmokers. The ADF should continue to address cigarette smoking through its health promotion and health review programs and implement activities to reduce cigarette smoking on deployment.

The Workplace Remuneration Arrangement agreed between the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) provides for a 4.5% pay over 3 years for ADF personnel. This article makes use of the concept of the psychological contract to argue that this pay deal represents a breach of the Australian Government's obligations towards ADF personnel that is likely to have unintended consequences for their long‐term commitment to their ADF careers.