Command strategies for teams delivering operational support

Foreword

The Indo-Pacific is quickly emerging as a new frontier in geopolitics with global implications - it’s an area that stretches from North America’s western coast to the eastern shores of Africa.

The AUKUS trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States was formed in the face of cross-border tensions and geopolitical uncertainty. This increase in defense cooperation is a welcome step towards ensuring a more secure, peaceful region develops. However, challenges and opportunities alike lie ahead.

As experts in providing integrated operational support services across the globe, including the Indo-Pacific, we at Austability, understand the challenges of operating in the region - as does the author of this whitepaper, retired Australian Army Brigadier Mark Smethurst.

Having served in the Australian Army for 35 years, Mark is a trusted expert with insight where it really matters. In this paper, he notes that the backbone of effective operations in the Indo-Pacific is a policy of “persistent engagement”. He also discusses the impacts of climate change, suggesting military leaders should prepare a network of civilian providers that they can rely on to deliver recovery support when and where needed - similar to the work we’re currently doing in Guam in the western Pacific.

I thank Mark for his insights and his important contribution to the broader discussion on strategies to foster peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, home to more than half the world’s population and accounting for 60% of global GDP.