AUSTRALIAN ARMY

The rapid improvements in the ability of soldiers, units and headquarters to share information in the last decade has challenged our traditional approaches to command and control. The approaches of the 1970s and 1980s are no longer appropriate in an age of blackberries and weblogs. The duplication of functions at different headquarters, the multiple layers of headquarters, has often slowed the passage of information within Army and affected our capacity to adapt and respond to changes in the security environment.

At the same time, the tremendous developments in the ADF's joint command and control have necessitated a re-examination of how Army conducts its force generation and preparation for operations and contingencies.

To address these issues, Army will commence an initiative called Adaptive Army. Under this initiative, the Australian Army will restructure its higher command and control arrangements. The principal aims of this restructuring are for Army to better array its force elements to deal with the ADF's evolved command and control structures, more efficiently conduct force generation and preparation and, simultaneously, to master the different learning loops that enhance our adaptive capacity. Adaptive Army contains several key measures that will improve Army's ability to achieve these goals.

The restructuring of Army will be a phased activity and will be executed concurrently with our force preparation of force elements for operational commitments and contingencies.

The restructuring in Army is planned to take place 2009-2010. There will much to achieve in that time. However, this evolution of Army's Functional Commands better position the Army to conduct our responsibilities for force generation and preparation while ensuring the most effective and transparent utilisation of resources. The changes described here will ensure that Army is better able to adapt and respond to the challenges of generating and preparing land forces for 21st century operations.