Unlike most domestic criminal law, the laws governing the behaviour of Australian armed forces apply to criminal conduct alleged to have taken place overseas.
The Information Warfare Division will require much broader skill sets than typically associated with defence force personnel.
katacarix/shutterstock
The Australian Defence Force’s new Information Warfare Division will require time and political capital to shape a capable workforce.
Malcolm Turnbull visits the memorial at the Resolute Support Mission HQ Kabul, Afghanistan. 40 Australians have so far been killed in the long-running conflict.
AAP/pool
Given the number of deaths and casualties in the long-running conflict, Australia needs to think carefully before committing more soldiers to a role that goes beyond training and support.
A rainbow wreath laid by defence forces at a contemporary Anzac Day service.
Daniel Spellman/Defence Gay and Lesbian Information Service
Until 1992, being a gay or lesbian soldier was illegal in Australia. New research is unearthing the heartbreaking stories of people who devoted their lives to the military but were discharged when their sexuality was exposed.
The Shoalwater Bay training area has been one of the most important in Australia, frequently used by Australian, US, New Zealand and Singaporean troops.
Reuters
The Australia-Japan foreign and defence ministers’ ‘two-plus-two’ talks, due to be held in Japan before Christmas, are being deferred because of Marise Payne’s recent illness.
The future battlefield will look very different.
Josh Smith/Reuters
Malcolm Turnbull will visit China this week in his first time there as prime minister. The two-day trip, including visits to Shanghai and Beijing, will juggle trade and political issues.
Climate change will affect defence personnel themselves, as well as the kind of situations they find themselves deployed in.
AAP Image/Australian Department of Defence, Corporal Ricky Fuller
Nations such as the United States have treated climate change as a major security threat for years. The Australian government’s forthcoming Defence White Paper cannot afford to ignore the issue.
Should Australia seek a ballistic missile defence capability, like that of the United States?
US Department of Defense
Design details of Australia’s new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) have been stolen by Chinese spies, according to reports this week, although it’s not clear whether the information was highly classified…
A mechanism of independent scrutiny – such as a royal commission – remains the best way forward for alleviating defence abuse.
AAP/Alan Porritt
As I was showering five or six senior [others] attacked me – they turned off the lights, tied my hands behind my back and proceeded to do things to me. I was held down whilst one of them put his penis…
Rumour has it Australia is about to spend an awful lot of money buying some new submarines. This may not be the sort of thing to get the pulses of the casual reader racing, but it ought to be, not least…
Prime Minister Tony Abbot in the pilot seat of an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Prime Minister Tony Abbott sat in the pilot seat of a F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at the time he announced his government will buy an additional 58 planes at a cost of at least A$12.4 billion. But imagine…
The F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the Joint Strike Fighter.
Flickr/Lockheed Martin
If Australia is serious about buying the jump jet version of the Joint Strike Fighter it would be wise to look at why the UK is the only country to change its mind on which version of the aircraft to buy…
Could the jump version of the Joint Strike Fighter be heading for Australia?
Flickr/Lockheed Martin
Senior Australian Defence Force (ADF) officers confirmed during Senate estimates this week that Prime Minister Tony Abbott had ordered Defence to examine options for Australia to acquire the jump jet version…
The three variants of the F-35 Joinst Strike Fighter described as fifth-generation aircraft.
Joint Strike Fighter
Any conversation about Australia’s commitment to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter refers to it as a fifth-generation fighter aircraft. But what exactly is a fifth-generation aircraft, and why is it important…
Two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in action.
AAP Image/Department of Defence, Lockheed Martin
Now the Australian Government has committed to a further 58 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft it is time to ask whether this is a good idea, will we be getting value for money – and will the JSF…