Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Australia Armed Forces Reorganization'

During the nineteenth century, defence was a major issue in Victoria and Australia, as indeed it was in other British colonies and the United Kingdom. Considerable pressure was brought to bear by London on the self-governing colonies to help provide for their own defence against internal unrest and also possible invasions or incursions by nations such as France, Russia and the United States.
From 1851 until defence was handed over to the new Australian Commonwealth at Federation in 1901, the Victorian colonial government spent considerable energy and money fortifying parts of Port Phillip Bay and the western coastline as well as developing the first colonial navy within the British Empire. Citizens were invited to form volunteer corps in their local areas as a second tier of defence behind the Imperial troops stationed in Victoria. When the garrison of Imperial troops was withdrawn in 1870, these units of amateur citizen soldiers formed the basis of the colony’s defence force. Following years of indecision, ineptitude and ad hoc defence planning that had left the colony virtually defenceless, in 1883 Victoria finally adopted a professional approach to defending the colony. The new scheme of defence allowed for a complete re-organisation of not only the colony’s existing naval and military forces, but also the command structure and supporting services. For the first time an integrated defence scheme was established that co-ordinated the fixed defences (forts, batteries minefields) with the land and naval forces. Other original and unique aspects of the scheme included the appointment of the first Minister of Defence in the Australian colonies and the first colonial Council of Defence to oversee the joint defence program. All of this was achieved under the guidance of Imperial advisors who sought to integrate the colony’s defences into the wider Imperial context.
This thesis seeks to analyse Victoria’s colonial defence scheme on a number of levels – firstly, the nature of the final defence scheme that was finally adopted in 1883 after years of vacillation, secondly, the effectiveness of the scheme in defending Victoria, thirdly, how the scheme linked to the greater Australasian and Imperial defence, and finally the political, economic, social and technological factors that shaped defence in Victoria during the second half of the nineteenth century.

In December 1945, four months after the end of the Second World War, two soldiers meet on an aeroplane flying towards Port Hedland, located in north-west Western Australia, the Pilbara district. Frank Grey found the war a horrific experience and is deeply traumatised. He is returning home, after an absence of five years, hoping to reunite with his wife, get his old job back, and continue on with his life as it was before the war. Patrick Gray is an Aboriginal. He also found the war horrific. However, for him, serving in the A.I.F. was also a liberating experience. For the first time in his life he received equal pay and conditions of white men. He found equality. He is hoping that because he, and other Aborigines, served in the armed forces, the social conditions for Aborigines will have improved in the 6 years he's been away. They are both disappointed.

This thesis is an exploration of the construction of the gendered body in combat in the late twentieth century, in Australia and the United States of America. While it is not a military history, aspects of military history, and representations of war and warriors are used as the vehicle for the analysis of the politics of representing gender. The mythic, the material and the media(ted) body of the gendered warrior are examined in the realms of ‘real’ military histories and news coverage, and in the ‘speculative’ arena of popular culture. Through this examination, the continuities and ruptures inherent in the gendered narratives of war and warriors are made apparent, and the operation of the politics of representing gender in the public arena is exposed. I have utilised a number of different approaches from different disciplines in the construction of this thesis: feminist and non-feminist responses to women in the military; aspects of military histories and mythologies of war specific to Australia and the United States; theories on the construction of masculinities and femininities; approaches to gender identity in popular news media, film and television. Through these approaches I have sought to bring together the history of women in the military institutions of Australia and the United States, and examine the nexus between the expansion of women’s military roles and the emergence of the female warrior hero in popular culture. I have, as a result, analysed the constructions of masculinity and femininity that inform the ongoing association of the military with ‘quintessential masculinity’, and deconstructed the real and the mythic corporeal capacities of the gendered body so important to warrior identity. Regardless, or perhaps because of, the importance of gender politics played out in and through the representations of soldier identity, all their bodies must be considered speculative.

On the 12 June 1996, the Australian Special Forces were conducting night-time counterterrorism training when two Black Hawk helicopters transporting Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) troops collided mid-air. Eighteen personnel were killed, including members from the elite SASR and crew from the 5th Aviation Regiment. In the aftermath of this accident a charity, the Special Air Service Resources Trust, was established to provide ongoing support to the dependants of those killed. This trust is now the Special Air Service Resources Fund (SASRF), and it continues to support the dependants of those killed and the injured from the accident. There is significant research on the outcomes of sudden and violent deaths; however, there is a paucity of available literature that articulates the lived experiences of those impacted by the Black Hawk accident. There is also no known available literature that articulates the lived experiences of the dependants of the killed soldiers and the injured survivors in terms of the SASRF model of support. The aim of this qualitative research was to understand the lived experiences of those individuals impacted by the Black Hawk accident. This included the experiences of those provided support by the SASRF. For this purpose, the Bronfenbrenner (1986) socio-ecological model of development was utilised as the framework to guide the study. This model emphasises the importance of expanding bereavement studies to include significant others as participants and a wide range of systems as influencing factors on bereavement outcomes. The methodology for this study involved the descriptive approach of transcendental phenomenology, selected for its encouragement to put aside the personal experiences and biases of the researcher. Data collection involved an analysis of documents sourced from media sources, television documentaries, government records, historical records and books. A five question online survey was also conducted with participants recruited through social media and email invitation. This method of recruitment reflected the need for creative strategies when researching hard-to- reach populations such as Special Forces. A total of 162 documents and 24 survey responses using purposive sampling were collected. Using the Moustakas modified van Kaam method for data analysis, five emergent themes and one predetermined theme were identified. These themes indicated that bereavement outcomes, the impact of bureaucracy, meaning-making, survivor experiences and bereavement support formed the essence of the lived experiences. The pre-determined theme of SASRF indicated social support as an important characteristic of the lived experiences. The significance of this study is grounded in its contributions to understanding bereavement in the context of Special Forces’ sudden and violent deaths. It is the first qualitative study that specifically sought to understand the lived experiences of those impacted by the Black Hawk accident, and the first known study involving Australian Special Forces non-combat deaths. It contributes to the SASRF mission by defining the central elements of bereavement support in the specific sociocultural context. The findings demonstrate a need for significant change in the field of military bereavement support and the education of social workers. The evidence base enables social workers as agents of change to contribute to the enhancement of relevant policies. The evidence also contributes to the knowledge base of political entities, bureaucracies and community support agencies that do, or might wish to, provide bereavement support in the context of Special Forces accidents.

This study identifies the influence of national and military organisational values on the cultures of the armed forces of Australia, Britain and Canada, in order to assess the impact of culture on Joint, Combined and Multinational operations. This is achieved by: · Defining culture, values and related concepts. · Outlining a viable methodology to examine and profile cultural values. · Demonstrating why values form the basis of this study. · Reviewing the body of cross-cultural academic literature on cultural values and the military. · Executing a measurement of values in a consistent and academically sound manner. · Examining national influences on the culture of the armed forces of Australia, Britain and Canada. · Examining intra- national organisational influences on the culture of the services of the armed forces of Australia, Britain and Canada. · Examining international organisational influences on the culture of the services of the armed forces of Australia, Britain and Canada. · Focusing on the values of the armed forces examined in this study in order to compare the findings with the results obtained from the Values Survey Module. · Discussing the implications of the findings of this study and demonstrate how the values of the nations and organisations that have been examined can be expected to affect future operations.

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Transformation is an inevitable consequence of human resource practices and includes the political imperatives, behavioural transformation and the turnaround change. Gender equality is a critical component of the United Nations Resolution on Human Rights (Resolution 1325). Women are subjected to a variety of barriers that determine their organisational experiences, and therefore the achievement of gender equity requires the elimination of patriarchal practices, stereotypes and attitudes that perpetuate their marginalisation. Striving for gender equity within the armed forces should not reduce women to being passive victims of the transformation agenda as they operate both during conflict and peace-time. The representation and empowerment of women into decision-making structures and the protection of their rights can be spearheaded through the gender mainstreaming strategies. In the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) transformation placed greater emphasis on racial representivity to the neglect of gender equity. This situation has effectively contributed to the gender dialogue which aimed to assess the implementation of gender equity objectives. Furthermore, it is the guiding principle on the participation of women in the military to enhance gender representation and the attainment of self-actualisation and excelling in their areas of responsibilities. The purpose of the study was to explore the extent to which the SANDF supports gender transformation imperatives to ensure gender equity and it further investigated gender integration within the SANDF as a supportive theoretical analysis. The conceptual framework of gender transformation and gender mainstreaming in the military, and in particular within the SANDF, in the context of Employment Equity was conducted. To make an objective and informed assessment, the attitudes and perceptions of middle management and lower management of both the SANDF were measured. Data were collected from respondents through three sessions of facilitated focus group interviews and a semi-structured self-administered questionnaire. The sample was drawn from the Pretoria region. The findings of the study indicated that the DOD top leadership is supportive of gender transformation by the effective promulgation of transformation policies and the improvement in the representation of women in decision-making structures. The military environment is trying to create a conducive environment for women by providing resources, the essential training for women to maximise their potential, and furthermore by allowing their inclusion in all areas including deployment areas.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Transformasie is ‘n onvermydelike gevolg van personeelbestuurspraktyk en sluit in die politieke imperatiewe, gedragstransformasie en omkeerverandering. Geslagsgelykgeregtigheid is ‘n kritieke komponent van die Verenigde Volke se Resolusie aangaande Menseregte (Resolusie 1325). Vroue word onderwerp aan ‘n verskeidenheid hindernisse wat hul organisasie ervarings bepaal en daarom vereis die bereiking van geslagsgelykgeregtigheid die uitwissing van patriargale praktyke, stereotipes en houdings wat marginalisering bevorder. Die strewe na geslagsgelykgeregtigheid binne Weermagte behoort vroue nie te degradeer tot passiewe slagoffers van die transformasie agenda nie aangesien hulle aangewend word tydens beide konflik- en vredestye. Die verteenwoordiging en bemagtiging van vroue in besluitmakende strukture en die beskerming van hulle regte kan gerig word deur geslagshoofstroming strategieë. In die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Weermag (SANW) plaas transformasie groter klem op rasse verteenwoordiging as op die nalating van geslagsgelykgeregtigheid. Die situasie het effektief bygedra tot die geslagsdialoog wat beoog om die implementering van geslagsgelykgeregtigheid doelwitte te evalueer. Dit is ook verder die leidinggewende beginsel rakende die deelname van vroue in die militêr om geslagsverteenwoordiging te bevorder, die bereiking van selfaktualisering en uitblinking in hulle verantwoordelikeidsomgewings. Die doel van hierdie studie was om te bepaal tot welke mate die SANW geslagstransformasie imperatiewe ondersteun ten einde geslagsgelykgeregtigheid te verseker en het ook ondersoek ingestel na geslagsintegrasie binne die SANW as ‘n ondersteunende teoretiese anal ise. Die konseptuele raamwerk is geskep rakende geslagstransformasie en geslagshoofstroming in die militêr, en in besonder aangaande die SANW binne die konteks van Werkverskaffingsgelykheid. Ten einde ‘n objektiewe en ingeligte evaluering uit te voer, is die houdings en persepsies van Departement van Verdediging (DvV) militêre en siviele middelbestuurders en lae vlak bestuurders gemeet. Data is versamel van respondente tydens drie geleenthede van gefasiliteerde fokusgroep onderhoude en ‘n semi -geadministreerde vraelys. Die steekproef is geneem vanuit die Pretoria omgewing. Die bevindinge van die studie dui daarop dat die (DvV) se top-leierskap ondersteunend is aangaande geslagstransformasie deur die effektiewe uitvaardiging van transformasie beleide en die verbetering van verteenwordiging van vroue in besluitmakende strukture. Die militêre omgewing poog om ‘n omgewing te skep wat toeganklik is vir vroue deur die voorsiening van middele wat noodsaaklik is vir opleiding van vroue ten einde hul potensiaal te optimaliseer en hulle verder toegang te verleen tot alle gebiede insluitend gevegsgebiede.