The Cove Podcast

Dr Jack Watling wrote a book in the back of an armoured vehicle in Ukraine while watching technology be employed for the first time on the front-line. Starting life as a journalist and now an academic, his book titled The Arms of The Future is centred on the future of land warfare. In this week’s episode of The Cove Podcast, Jack argues that we are shifting from mechanised to informatised warfare, he flips the current Army structure on its head and explains how challenging it is to fight in contested amphibious operations.

On this week's episode of The Cove Podcast, our new host CAPT Todd Lempa invites LTCOL Steve Young to discuss the difficulty of mobilisation in large scale combat. We discuss the need for reinforcement, the importance of leaving your best soldiers out-of-battle and the conditions that led to the Australian Army to peak at 476,000 personnel in 1943. LTCOL Young uses his passion for history to explain our current strategic challenges using historical case-studies, including how we have expanded training capacity for larger throughput using institutions like Scheyville, Portsea and multiple Recruit Training Battalions.

Since 6 May 2024, Part IXAA of the Defence Act 1903 Safeguarding Australia’s Military Secrets (SAMS) requires certain individuals, notably former Defence personnel, to obtain foreign work authorisation (FWA) before working for a foreign military or foreign government body or providing training to a foreign military or government body that is related to Part 1 of the Defence and Strategic Goods List, or military tactics, techniques and procedures.

The new law is not intended to limit individuals from working for a foreign military or government body, it is intended to prevent individuals with sensitive Defence information and experience from unwittingly or deliberately undertaking work that is a threat to their own or Australia’s security.

In this episode, The Cove interviews Mr Peter West, First Assistant Secretary, Defence Security, who is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the SAMS legislation. Listen in as we discuss the importance of Safeguarding Australia's Military Secrets, and responsibilities of Defence members and leaders.

Additional information and FWA applications can be found on the SAMS page of the Defence website.

2nd Division has a clear role: protect Australia.

In 2022 the Division was raised as an independent functional command to increase Army’s responsiveness, resilience and ability to scale to support the integrated force.

Comprised of predominantly part-time personnel – the Division is leveraging the diverse expertise of the reserve workforce and exploring opportunities to increase preparedness through a new focused training model.

Defending Australia and protecting our national interests is an important task - one that the Commander of 2nd Division, Major General Thomae doesn’t take lightly.

In this episode of the Adapting Army Podcast we’re joined by Major General David Thomae, who is leading the Division’s adaptation to protect Australia.

Join the Army Reserves - Army Reserve - ADF Careers

Have you ever considered the importance of Space in the context of Defence?

From communications to traffic management – entire systems and societies are reliant on space. Losing access to space has the potential to impose significant military consequences with Army, Navy and Air Force reliant on space-based communications, intelligence and navigation.

Space Command was formed in early 2022 to prepare space power to secure Australia’s interests in competition and conflict. Space Command is only in its infancy, so much so that Space wasn’t considered a Domain when all three guests of this podcast joined the Australian Defence Force.

In this episode of the Adapting Army podcast, we’re joined by Group Captain Steve Henry, Group Captain Darrell May and Captain Peter Rice from Space Command.

Our panel unpack how Space Command is contributing to the integrated force, the role space plays in National Defence and what a career is space is actually like.

While you can’t join up as a ‘Space Officer’ right now, you can gain entry into the space workforce through the existing services – Army, Air Force and Navy, as well as a variety APS and contractor roles. For more information, contact ADF Careers.

Trust is foundation of everything we do in the profession of arms. Trust within teams, trust up and down the chain of command, and importantly the trust placed in us by the Australian people.

In this episode, listen as SO1 Cove LTCOL Johnson interviews four leaders - Commander 3rd Brigade BRIG Dave McCammon, Health Officer CAPT Rachael O'Sullivan, and 3 Bde JNCOs CPL Connor Dawson and LCPL Che Morris, on the importance of trust and generating trust as a leader at all levels.

What will warfare look like in ten, twenty or even thirty years? How will new technologies fundamentally change the character of warfare? What is the future role of land power within the

integrated force? These are some of the questions the Australian Army’s Land Force Design team question daily to inform and design concepts. 

Just like building a house, you would never proceed without a set of plans. For Army, planning how to respond to an ever-evolving threat requires vigorous, considered and innovative

planning.

In this episode of the Adapting Army Podcast Lieutenant Colonel Wesley Bartlett, Lead, Land Concepts and Major Simon Croft, SO2 Land Concepts at Land Force Design discuss  what drives concepts and how they’re designed, trialled and tested.

This audio article discusses how and why Defence could better accommodate serving mothers for improved recruitment and retention outcomes.

This audio article argues for a less punitive approach to correcting behaviour in the Australian Defence Force.

This audio article explores the importance of taking ownership of a problem in order to solve it.