The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) who commands the ADF. The CA is also directly responsible to the Minister for Defence, with the Department of Defence administering the ADF and the Army.
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive universities.
The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The regiment is based at Campbell Barracks, in Swanbourne, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, and is a direct command unit of the Special Operations Command. It has taken part in operations in Borneo, Vietnam, Somalia, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as many other peacekeeping missions. The SASR also provides a counter-terrorist capability, and has been involved in a number of domestic security operations.
The Clearance Diving Branch is the specialist diving unit of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) whose versatile role covers all spheres of military diving, and includes explosive ordnance disposal and maritime counter-terrorism. The Branch has evolved from traditional maritime diving, and explosive ordnance disposal, to include a special operations focus.
Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean, usually identified as C. E. W. Bean, was Australia's official war correspondent and historian. According to the Online International Encyclopedia of the First World War, no other Australian has been more influential in shaping the way the First World War is remembered in Australia. He was a primary advocate in establishing the Australian War Memorial (AWM).
The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the parent administrative regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. It was originally formed in 1948 as a three battalion regiment; however, since then its size has fluctuated as battalions have been raised, amalgamated or disbanded in accordance with the Australian government's strategic requirements. Currently, the regiment consists of seven battalions and has fulfilled various roles including those of light, parachute, motorised and mechanised infantry. Throughout its existence, units of the Royal Australian Regiment have deployed on operations in Japan, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, Somalia, Rwanda, Cambodia, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The military history of Australia spans the nation's 230-year modern history, from the early Australian frontier wars between Aboriginals and Europeans to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 21st century. Although this history is short when compared to that of many other nations, Australia has been involved in numerous conflicts and wars, and war and military service have been significant influences on Australian society and national identity, including the Anzac spirit. The relationship between war and Australian society has also been shaped by the enduring themes of Australian strategic culture and its unique security dilemma.
The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of UN peacekeepers. INTERFET was commanded by an Australian military officer, Major General Peter Cosgrove.
The 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade. 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen operational service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, South Vietnam, Rifle Company Butterworth, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The 2/3rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised for service during the Second World War as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force, it was formed in October 1939 in Sydney and was attached to the 16th Brigade, 6th Division, the first formation raised as part of the 2nd AIF during the war. Deploying to the Middle East in early 1940, it saw action in North Africa, Greece, Crete, and Syria in 1941–1942 before returning to Australia following Japan's entry into the war, and was one of only two Australian infantry battalions to fight against all the major Axis powers of the war: the Germans, Italians, Japanese and Vichy French.
The 1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery is a close support regiment attached to the 7th Brigade at Enoggera Barracks in Queensland. The unit was formed in 1914 under the name 1st Australian Field Artillery Brigade, part of 1st Division Artillery during World War I and later served in World War II and the Vietnam War. It is currently re-equipping with M777A2 lightweight towed howitzers.
The special forces of the Australian Defence Force are units of Special Operations Command and associated units of the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force that conduct and or support special operations to advance and protect the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. The special forces of Australia have a lineage to a variety of units raised in the Second World War such as the Independent and Commando Companies, Z Special Unit, Navy Beach Commandos, and the Coastwatchers. Australian special forces have most recently been deployed to Iraq in Operation Okra as the Special Operations Task Group, as the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan, in Afghanistan in support of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and regularly for counter-terrorism pre-deploy to locations of major domestic events throughout Australia in readiness to support law enforcement such as the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit.
The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). In 2016 the Academy began accepting civilian students in its undergraduate courses.
David Murray Horner, is an Australian military historian and academic.
Major General Andrew James Molan, was an Australian politician and a senior officer in the Australian Army. He was a senator for New South Wales from December 2017 to June 2019 and from November 2019 until his death in January 2023, representing the Liberal Party.
The 2nd Commando Regiment is a special forces unit of the Australian Army and is part of Special Operations Command. The regiment was established on 19 June 2009 when the 4th Battalion RAR (Commando) was renamed. It is based at Holsworthy, New South Wales. The 2nd Commando Regiment trains and has served with coalition special forces units, and is highly regarded by these units. The regiment has been involved in operations in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, where it was used in a direct action warfighting role. It has also been involved in domestic security operations including the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2014 G20 Leaders Summit. In 2019, the regiment was made the Command's capability lead for strategic strike.
Peter Stanley is a prominent Australian military historian, who specialises in the military-social experience of war in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. In a career spanning over three decades, Stanley has worked as an Historian and later Head of the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial (1980–2007), Head of the Centre for Historical Research at the National Museum of Australia (2007–13) and, since 2013, as Research Professor at the University of New South Wales in the Australian Centre for the Study of Armed Conflict and Society. Starting in 1977—and as at 2019—Stanley has written 27 books and edited eight others, published two novels and co-authored a booklet, and composed at least 46 chapters in books and anthologies, 59 journal articles, seven encyclopaedia entries and numerous papers. In 2011, his book Bad Characters: Sex, Crime, Mutiny, Murder and the Australian Imperial Force (2010) was the joint winner of the Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History.
Jeffrey Guy Grey was an Australian military historian. He wrote two volumes of The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975, and several other high-profile works on Australia's military history. He was the first non-American to become the president of the Society for Military History, but is perhaps best known as the author of A Military History of Australia.
John Charles Blaxland is an Australian historian, academic, and former Australian Army officer. He is a Professor in Intelligence Studies and International Security at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University.
The Official History of Australian Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Australian Peacekeeping Operations in East Timor is an Australian official history series currently under preparation. It was approved by the Australian Government in 2015, and is due to be completed by mid-2022.
