Should the Concept of Network-Centric Warfare Form a Central Pillar of the Australian Army's Transformation, as Articulated in the Hardened and Networked Army Concept?

The Australian Army has commenced a process of transformation to meet the demands of the increasingly complex operational environment in which it is currently operating, and will continue to operate in the foreseeable future. The Australian Government in 2000 significantly amended strategic guidance for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The Australian Government's 2000 Defense White Paper, Defending Australia tasked the ADF to prepare for operations not only in the defense of the Australian homeland, but as an expeditionary force that could seamlessly be employed in coalition operations with our allies throughout the world. The Australian Army has responded to this strategic guidance, by annunciating the transformation of the force in the 'Hardened and Networked Army' concept. As part of this transformation, the Australian Army aims to gain advantage through the concept of a 'network-enabled' Army. This approach is only a slight modification of that proposed in the Australian Department of Defence document entitled the Network-Centric Warfare Roadmap, which describes how the concept of Network-Centric Warfare (NCW) will be incorporated into the ADF. The United States Department of Defense office of Force Transformation's vision of future warfare, as described in its pamphlet, The Implementation of Network-Centric Warfare, places much greater emphasis on the 'centrality' of NCW to all future warfighting concepts. This monograph will therefore address whether the Australian Army's vision of a network-enabled force is a pragmatic response to the challenges of the future operating environment, or if NCW is truly "an emerging theory of war in the Information Age" as articulated by the theory's supporters. While the delineation between network-enabled and network-centric may seem trivial to some observers, it is fundamental when considering how the Australian Army plans to conduct military operations in the future, with implications throughout the Doctrine, Organizatio