Deborah Morris, Griffith University and Ben Wadham, Flinders University
A recent study found that male veterans under 30 have a suicide rate more than two times the national average. Yet, support for a royal commission into the problem is lacking.
China’s naval strategy has been to prevent America from ever projecting its power by sea in the Asia-Pacific region again. Now that it’s worked, the region needs to take notice.
An analysis of obituaries for Islamic State and Australian soldiers shows some alarming similarities, not the least of which is the idea that their deaths should be given meaning by further conflict.
Roberts-Smith, now out of the military, is under investigation by the IG of the ADF as part of an inquiry into allegations of criminal misconduct on the battlefield by the SAS in Afghanistan.
Australia faces many security issues driven by climate change, including more international migration and an increase in defence personnel being sent on disaster relief missions, a Senate inquiry has found.
The incoming Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Campbell, will need to focus his attentions on an array of conventional and non-conventional security concerns in the Indo-Pacific.
While lesbian women were technically banned from serving in the Australia Defence Force until 1992, many before then found that military life was a place to express their love and desire for the first time.
Now, the service chiefs argue that LGBTI inclusion expands the force’s diversity, bringing different life experiences, and thus increase the ADF’s capabilities.
The effectiveness of the changes to the ADF’s role in counter-terrorism operations will depend heavily on the willingness of state police to accept military advice and assistance.
The changes are designed to assist in preparing for incidents, enabling a more comprehensive ADF response if needed, and improving the flow of information between the ADF and police.
We need to acknowledge that ‘band of brothers’ military culture has a dark underbelly – and that individual acts of atrocity might be a reflection of broader, systemic issues.
Unlike most domestic criminal law, the laws governing the behaviour of Australian armed forces apply to criminal conduct alleged to have taken place overseas.