Leading the way

Operational pressures, working relationships and challenges for 2003 were the main themes of the Senior Leadership Summit held in Canberra early this month

Chief of Defence Force General Cosgrove and Secretary Ric Smith hosted the event, the fourth in an annual program of Senior Leadership Group Summits and Recall Days arranged by Defence Renewal Branch.

In his opening address, GEN Cosgrove reflected on recent changes in global and domestic security.

He described the operations Defence personnel were taking part in around the globe, highlighting Defence’s ability to balance and prioritise commitments. He commended the ADF and the broader Defence community for cooperative efforts in military operations, policing and law enforcement, and the fight against terrorism.

CDF believes we are now dealing with the stark business of Defence, guarding our people and securing and promoting our threatened national interests.

Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Houston, in his address, described the Air Force vision as a strong statement of “our core ideology and our envisioned future”.

AIRMSHL Houston described the Air Force as a flexible force both for the defence of Australia and for peacetime national tasks. He stressed the successes not just of the aircrew but of the hundreds of Combat Support Group personnel supporting combatant forces at bases within and outside Australia.

He emphasised the current levels of effort and the fact that recently Air Force has deployed elements from every combat group – a commitment not matched since World War II.

CAF said that over the past generation our fighters had not been deployed until the last 12 months. Since then they have been deployed three times, including recently being forward deployed to the Middle East. This highlights the heavy load which has been placed on the Air Force as the strategic certainty of the past has been replaced with the strategic uncertainty of the future.

“It is vital that we maintain high-end capabilities within the ADF as our ultimate insurance policy for the defence of Australia,” he said.

CAF said that since the mid 1990s the values-based culture had come a long way – he was pleased to see that it had cascaded into training and personnel systems.

On a recent visit to Kyrgysztan, he had been thanked by a coalition commander for the professionalism, leadership and teamwork demonstrated by the RAAF contingent. The Air Force was increasingly well placed to provide niche capabilities for joint and combined operations, he said.

AIRMSHL Houston described as “a constant irritation” the apparent preoccupation of media with reporting on Defence platforms, and emphasised a need to do more to acknowledge the efforts of the people behind the platforms.

In discussing his priorities for the coming year, he discussed resource management within Air Force and current concerns with both workforce size and logistics funding.

This year’s summit – attended by about 250 Defence star rank and civilian executive service leaders – reflected the new focus on practical outcomes rather than ideologies. Feedback from the senior leaders indicated that the summit was a useful and timely update on domestic and international issues confronting the organisation.

For details of the Senior Leadership Summit contact Defence Renewal Branch on renewal@cbr.defence.gov.au

.