(2006) PM-ADF
It is with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation to submit a short update article on the establishment of the new Office of the Provost Marshal Australian Defence Force (PM ADF) and the development of a joint investigative capability in the ADF.
The establishment of the new appointment of PM ADF resulted from a specific recommendation of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Reference Committee report ‘The Effectiveness of Australia's Military Justice System' in 2005. In April this year, I was appointed as the inaugural PM ADF with a directive from CDF to advise on criminal investigation issues, command and control Service Police investigations into specified incidents, assist the Military Justice Implementation Team (MJIT) with the implementation of those aspects of the Government response to the Senate Committee report that relate to the Service Police capability and to be responsible to CDF for the implementation of the relevant accepted outcomes of the audit of the ADF investigative capability.
The ‘audit' referred to was a detailed study of the current state of the investigative capability across the ADF conducted by Rear Admiral (Retired) Brian Adams, a former Deputy Chief of Navy and Head Defence Personnel Executive and Mr. Adrien Whiddett, a former Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police and General Manager of the National Crime Authority. Referred to as the ‘Defence Investigative Capability Audit', or DICA, the review was a detailed look into all aspects of the investigative capability, including best practice, training, equipment, policy and doctrine and the relationship between investigations and general duties policing.
The report made a number of wide ranging recommendations that affect all aspects of how the Service Police, both general duties and investigation elements, conduct business and is clearly an excellent basis for the development of the Service Police capability into the future. The report has been considered by the Chiefs of Service Committee and my office will soon begin working with the Service Police agencies and other stakeholders across Defence to implement the agreed recommendations from the report. When this occurs, a detailed information plan will be invoked to ensure everyone is fully informed of any changes that are to be made.
To support the tasks I have been given by CDF, the Office of the PM ADF has been initially established with 13 staff. Each of the Services has provided two Investigators to me to form a Major Investigation Team while also serving as the Implementation Team for the DICA recommendations. In addition, I have six civilian staff filling administrative as well as policy and development positions. The HQ is likely to grow in size when the future structure of the ADF investigative capability is decided upon.
In May this year, CDF directed that Investigator detachments were to be deployed to each overseas deployment location. Subsequently, Investigators from the three Services were deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, East Timor and the Solomon Islands. These permanent detachments, while provided on rotation by the three Services, report directly to me for the conduct of investigations on operations. In addition to these, one Investigator deployed on Operation RAMP, the ADF support to the evacuation of Australian nationals from Lebanon. Investigator personnel will now deploy with all overseas contingents, regardless of the duration of the mission.
This is another indication of the recognition of the necessity for an investigations capability to be organic to deployed forces and also of the increasing joint nature of investigation operations.
These responsibilities will add to the already heavy OPTEMPO for Investigators across the Services and the challenge will be to manage deployment requirements with the heavy workload back in Australia. More joint operations is one means of addressing this and I believe that regardless of what model is finally settled on for the future investigative capability, there will be more joint investigation operations in the future.
In July, I had the chance to meet with Brigadier Colin Findlay, the Provost Marshal of the British Army during his short visit to Australia to meet with Lieutenant Colonel Mark Foxe. This was a great chance to discuss investigation issues, particularly on operations. We found that the issues facing both forces are the same and there are clearly many lessons we can learn from each other and I look forward to continuing this professional engagement. I have also made a number of requests to the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, Captain (N) Steve Moore, who I know well from my time in Canada, for information on Canadian Forces Military Police doctrine and policies. In September, I asked Special Agent Warren Brownley, of the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) to address the Heads of Defence Investigative Authorities (HDIA) Conference in Canberra and he has offered to provide access to any US forces investigations doctrine and policy that we may find valuable in our developmental work. I am very keen to foster all these links and ensure that ADF Service Police keep abreast of the best practice and changing procedures of our allies.
I am particularly excited about my new role as PM ADF and I look forward to working closely with all members of the RACMP in this capacity. The responsibilities vested in my position and the changes being considered as a result of the Military Justice Inquiry and DICA review are designed to increase the professionalism and effectiveness of the ADF policing capability and will benefit all Service Police personnel. I genuinely believe the coming few years will be an exciting and professionally very satisfying period for us all. CDF has told me on a number of occasions that he regards this work as very important and he will be engaging with the Service Police closely as this development work continues.
Finally, can I express my sincere appreciation for the congratulations I received from RACMP members far and wide following my promotion to Colonel in April and, as always, we should all spare a thought for our fellow MP and other ADF personnel who are serving Australia so proudly overseas, particularly over the Christmas period.