Conflict & society

Ashleigh Brown

Supervisor(s): Professor Craig Stockings, A/Prof Eleanor Hancock, Dr Michael Molkentin 

My research investigates the learning process that occurred in the air arms of Britain and the Empire during the Great War, to demonstrate how lessons were progressively applied by air commanders throughout the war as prior experiences shaped commanders’ approaches to the continuing conflict. This will be presented as a cross-sectional study, analysing the learning process as it was experienced across the tactical, operational, and strategic levels. This research aims to build on existing work on both the development of military aviation, and command and control during the Great War, specifically with regards to the learning curve debate. It will challenge the traditional view of the Great War in the air from a solely tactical perspective, by considering the involvement of each level of command.

Glenn Wahlert

Supervisor(s): Dr David Stahel 

By the end of the Second World War, the Australian Army’s intelligence system had developed into a diverse, highly specialised and efficient system. Post-war, the Army’s intelligence had to evolve to keep pace with the transformation of the Australian Army from a largely volunteer force into a full-time, professional military organisation. It also had to support the high-tempo of diverse military commitments ranging from the occupation of Japan, the first combat deployment of the new Australian Regular Army to Korea, and the transition back to jungle operations in support of the Malayan Emergency, Indonesian Confrontation and the Vietnam War.

The aim of this research is to understand how effective the Australian Army’s battlefield intelligence system was in supporting the force commander during operations in the Cold War (1945-1975). Despite the official histories and other research on the campaigns that the Australian Army was involved during this period, there is dearth of knowledge around how the Army’s intelligence networks functioned and kept the commander and his headquarters informed. There are also no known published works or scholarly studies specifically covering the Australian Army’s battlefield intelligence role post the Second World War.

Gareth Rice

Supervisor(s): Gavin Mount and Lewis Frederickson 

NATO’s approach to countering the growing drug trade in Afghanistan and its nexus with the insurgency was largely ineffective. Despite the importance that drug trafficking organisations and the insurgency placed on each other for their growth and survival, NATO’s implementation of counter-narcotics programs within the broader counterinsurgency strategy were often inconsistent and, at times, contradictory. This project seeks to understand why this failure occurred. 

Dr Neil Westphalen

Supervisor(s): Dr Peter Stanley, Dr Richard Dunley, Dr David Heslop

This thesis offers a history of the origins and evolution of the RAN’s medical services, and their role in supporting the RAN’s advancement of Australia’s world-wide national interests in both peace and war. It employs a chronological approach to analyse Navy medicine in Australia, from the amalgamation of the colonial navies after Federation, to the first Defence reviews and reorganisations after the Vietnam War. Its scope extends beyond how the RAN’s medical services provided clinical care, to its role in getting the RAN’s ships to sea and keeping them there and preparing RAN personnel for their return to civilian life.

Nicole Townsend

Supervisor(s): Dr David Stahel

The Mediterranean and  Middle East have commonly been presented as a sideshow theatre that detracted from the war in other theatres such as Europe, the Atlantic and the Pacific during the Second World War. From an Australian point of view, the theatre is seen as secondary to the fight against Japan, with the Mediterranean being little more than a draw on men and resources that would have been better employed in the defence of Australia. This research project challenges this perception by examining the Australian experience in the Mediterranean and the Middle East through a series of lenses – economic, diplomatic, operational and political – to demonstrate that the region was more significant to Australia thant has been acknowledged previously.