New strategies for the tribe

By Private John Wellfare

FSGT Alf Garnett, from AESSO Edinburgh, presents his group’s solution to one posible strategic future at the conclusion of the Leading Edge Team Workshop.

Photo by PTE John Wellfare

TRADITIONAL tribal mentalities between the Services and military customs would have to be reconsidered for Defence to meet the challenges of the future, according to participants in the Leading Edge Team scenario workshop in Canberra recently.

Workshop attendees ranged in rank from leading aircraftman/woman to squadron leader and were drawn from units across the Air Force.

They were split into four groups, each group being presented with a scenario for the year 2030.

The groups each discussed their scenario and developed strategic-level solutions to the challenges faced by the Defence organisation in the possible future.

At the conclusion of the workshop, which ran from November 14-16, each group presented its scenario and solutions to members of the Air Force senior leadership team, to be considered in strategic planning and forecasting.

Dr Evelyn Graham, from the Air Force Adaptive Culture Program, which managed the workshop, said the exercise would give Defence’s senior leadership different perspectives on how the organisation should or could evolve during the next 25 years.

“The idea of the Leading Edge Team program is to encourage out-of-the-box thinking and to prepare Air Force for its needs in the future through long-term strategic thinking,” she said.

“We’ve chosen four scenarios that are quite different to each other. That doesn’t mean to say that one of those worlds will be what happens, but it could be along that continuum, so if we’ve already thought about how we might deal with that sort of a world, then Air Force is going to be prepared in terms of people and structure.

“It is a challenging task, particularly for those who haven’t had to do this type of thinking before, but the fact is, there isn’t enough of this type of thinking done in Defence and the senior leaders throughout the Services are aware that more strategic planning needs to be done.”

One of the workshop’s important characteristics was to disregard the ranks of the individuals involved and allow all participants equal standing to contribute to group discussions.

“Everyone has something of value to contribute, everyone has their own individual perspective about what it means to be a part of the Air Force and Defence, and everyone can offer something from that unique perspective.”

Common outcomes of the group discussions included the notion that the three Services would need to merge into a single force with a common focus, that some military customs and the military approach to management would have to evolve with society, and that Defence would need to consider its role in humanitarian assistance and environmental protection.

Next edition – we take a detailed look at the future scenarios discussed at the workshop and reactions of the Senior Leadership Team to group conclusions.

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