CDLE -
Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics

CASE STUDIES

The Centre is developing a library of case studies for use on courses primarily exploring command, leadership and military ethics failures and successes. These case studies were primarily developed for use on specific components of the Australian Command and Staff Course and the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies Course. However, the case studies are used on other Defence courses as well.

Case studies dealing specifically with are chosen for their degree of ethical complexity in which the “right” choice is not clear. For each case study, a selection of primary and secondary source information is provided. These include Boards of Inquiry Reports, newspaper articles, interviews with personnel involved and video footage. Students are asked to identify the ethical issues and explain why they are ethical issues. Factors such as leadership, management, command and organisational culture are explored within a military ethics context.

Case studies include:

Black Hawks Down – the leadership, ethical, risk and cultural issues relating to the Australian Army’s loss of 18 men in the crash of two Black Hawks at High Range in 1996. In 2009 this case study will also include the crash of Black Hawk 221 in 2006. Conducted at Australian Command and Staff College, Army Grade 2 Staff Course 2008, and the RAN CO/XO Designate Course 2003 to present.

The RAAF F-111 Deseal/Reseal Program – An examination of the ongoing (as at July 2008) Government inquiry in to the fuel tank maintenance of the F-111 bomber and the negative impacts of the program on the lives of RAAF personnel. Conducted at CDSS, ACSC and the RAN CO/XO Designate courses from 2003 to present.

Columbia and the Pig – A comparison of  the cultural, risk management, ethical and leadership issues associated with NASA’s loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2002 and the RAAF F-111 fuel tank deseal/reseal program.

Madeleine’s War – strategic and operational leadership, strategic decision-making and friction in the NATO Operation ‘Allied Force’ against the former Yugoslavia in 1999. Legal or illegal under international law? Coercive diplomacy and the challenges of a nineteen member coalition. Conducted at CDSS in 2005.

A Certain Maritime Incident 2001 and Operation RELEX – tactical, operational and strategic leadership in the children overboard and SIEV affairs. An examination of the Select Committee report of October 2002 and presentations by the commanders involved.

Senate Inquiry into Military Justice 2005 – reflection on the parliamentary inquiry into inappropriate behaviour in the ADF. The report was tabled in Parliament on 16 June 2005. Defence established a Military Justice Implementation Team to implement the recommendations from the inquiry under a Navy two star. Considered at the Australian Command and Staff College each year.

The HMAS Westralia Fire 1998 – Reflection on the Board of Inquiry findings and the Western Australian Coroner’s Report. Presentation by the ship’s Commanding Officer, Catain (retd) Stewart Dietrich. Conducted at Australian Command and Staff College and the RAN CO/XO Designate Course each year.

RAAF Aircraft Losses in the 1990’s – Reflections on the RAAF leadership and safety culture of the early 1990’s. Conducted by RAAF Single Service at the Australian Command and Staff College.

The Enemy Within: Vietnam – Consideration of the personal side of combat and the moral issues faced by soldiers during the 8 RAR tour in 1969. Conducted at ACSC each year by Dr Bob Hall based on his book ‘Combat Battalion’.

Khobar Towers 1996 (Professor Eliot Cohen) – leadership, accountability and duty of care in relation to the bombing of the USAF barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996.

Friendly Fire: Tarnak Farm - the outcomes of the bombing of Canadian troops by USAF F-16 aircraft in Afghanistan in 2002. Conducted by RAAF Single Service using Canadian and USAF fighter pilot experience in 2009.

The Seasprite – an examination of the controversial Navy helicopter project; the cancellation of the project and the lessons learned. This case study is under development.

Project Wedgetail – innovation, risk management, culture, delays and leadership in the development of Australia’s pocket AWACS. This case study is under development.

The ADF Experience in Rwanda 1994-95 – leadership, ethical decision-making and trauma with the Kibeho massacre and the leadership of the Canadian LTGEN Romeo Dallaire. The session incorporates the perspectives of Australian commanders and those who witnessed the killings at Kibeho. Conducted at Australian Command and Staff College from 2003 to the present and at Canungra in 2008.

 The US Marine Corps and the Italian Cable Car Disaster– an examination of the aircrew conspiracy to destroy evidence after the Aviano incident in 1998.

Operation BALI ASSIST – exemplary ADF leadership in the evacuation of the Bali bombing victims in 2002. Conducted intermittently at CDSS.

Operation TSUNAMI ASSIST – an examination of the Sumatra relief effort following the 2004 tsunami. Under development.

The use of torture in the long war – reflections on the Afghanistan (2002) and Abu Ghraib (2004) experiences. Australian Defence Force perspectives. This case study uses the documentaries, ‘The Torture Question’, ‘ Taxi to the Dark Side’ and  ‘Standard Operating Procedure’. Conducted at CDSS, ACSC and the Army Grade Two Staff Course.

War Crime: Srebrenica  – the UN Dutch Battalion and the massacre of Kosovar civilians by the Serbs in 1995. This case study is under review following the receipt of new material from the Netherlands Defence Academy.

Somalia and Dislocation: Ethics and the Canadian Forces– the fallout from the murder of a Somali youth by the Canadian Airborne Regiment in 1993. Conducted at CDSS, ACSC and the Army Grade Two Staff Course from 2003 to present. Usually delivered by Canadian officers on course.

Tailhook – US Naval aviators and inappropriate behaviour; the suicide of Admiral Jeremy Boorda in 1996 and a Service ‘struggling for its soul’. This case study uses the documentary ‘US Navy Blues’. Conducted at the RAN CO/XO designate courses from 2005 to present and on Navy Single Service at ACSC using US Navy students’ experience in 2009.

USS Vincennes – the shooting down of the Iran Air Airbus in 1988. As the ADF builds the Air Warfare destroyer with the upgraded Aegis system, the case study focuses on the command decision cycle; the crew culture; the complex operating environment and the complexity of the Aegis system. This case study uses the BBC documentary ‘The Other Lockerbie’. Conducted at the RAN CO/XO Designate Course courses from 2005 to present.

The Loss of Shark 02– the Board of Inquiry into the crash of the RAN Sea King helicopter on the island of Nias in Indonesia on 2 April 2005. Conducted at ADC each year, as a CDF directed activity, in a combined CDSS and ACSC session, as well as on the RAN CO/XO Designate Course from 2008. RADM Moffitt and RADM Thomas often involved in the presentation.

The Brutal Battalion? – Command and leadership challenges in 3 RAR, the Army’s parachute battalion, 1998-2000. Syndicate discussion and presentation by LTCOL (retd) Nick Welch. Conducted at ACSC each year.

Anthrax – An examination of the leadership and ethical challenges faced by RAN commanders with the anthrax directives in the Persian Gulf in 2003. Conducted at CDSS in 2008.

The Aitken Report – A British Army investigation into cases of deliberate abuse and unlawful killing in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. Conducted at the Australian Command and Staff College by the UK exchange Directing Staff from 2008 to present.

Child Soldiers – Consideration of the Australian experience in engaging with child soldiers and the contemporary global situation. Considered as part of syndicate discussions at ACSC.

Corporate Warriors – Consideration of the emergence of privatized military firms based on Peter Singer’s book of the same name. Under development.

The Bombing of the USS Cole, 2000 – CMDR (rtd) Kirk Lippold, USN, the Commanding Officer of the destroyer in Aden Harbour when it was bombed by al Quaeda, delivered a compelling case study to CDSS and ACSC in 2008.

Ethical Dilemmas: Iraq – The ethical challenges faced by an Australian officer whilst embedded in a British battalion during the attack on Basra in 2003. Conducted at ACSC.

The Voyage to Nauru – Ethics, Values and Directions – Reflection on the experiences of a Major Fleet Unit Commanding Officer. Conducted at CDSS for the first time in 2009.

Command on the Horns of a Dilemma – Ethical Challenges on Operation RELEX – Reflection on the experiences of a Major Fleet Unit Commanding Officer. Delivered on the RAN CO/XO Designate Course and at CDSS.

Chora Valley 2007 – Consideration of the indiscriminate use of 155mm artillery fire by the Dutch in 2007 and the actions of an Australian officer. Used on the OBOE Course.