Heads up on Ukraine, Army profession, mission command

What do the lessons learnt from the war in Ukraine, studies of the Australian Army profession and the unique German origins of Auftragstaktik (aka ‘mission command’) have in common?

CAPTION: Dr Jordan Beavis, Academic Research Officer at the Australian Army Research Centre, has written on ‘Debating the Army Profession’. Story by Trent Pollard. Photo byJodi Bingley.

You’ll read about them in a string of publications, including the first Early Access Articles from the Australian Army Research Centre (AARC).

Home of the Australian Army Journal and a raft of publications boasting an online audience of more than 30,000 readers per month, the AARC has introduced the early release of individual articles written for the journal, typically published three times a year in print and on the AARC website.

Director AARC Luisa Powell says these publications are the lifeblood of Army’s much-needed academic debate and discourse.

“It has always been important for members of the Army to think critically about their profession,” Ms Powell says.

“In 2025, at a time of significant and continuing change in the means and methods of warfare and in geopolitics more broadly, this need is ever more present.”

The first of the Early Access Articles is the Australian Army Journal Vol 21 No. 3 Introduction. The piece by Dr Jordan Beavis, titled ‘Debating the Army Profession’, forms the lead-off for this thematic edition on the State of the Army Profession set to be published in November 2025.

Dr Beavis argues that there has been no significant, holistic study of the Australian Army profession, past, present or future, explores why this may be the case, and discusses how a contemporary review of the Army profession can be conceptualised.

The Early Access Articles also feature Associate Professor David Stahel’s exploration of the unique German origins of Auftragstaktik, or ‘mission command’.

It also includes a response publication from Colonel Dayton McCarthy, who writes on the relevance of mission command (or lack thereof) to domestic security and response operations as an understudied aspect of modern ADF command and control methods.

More Early Access Articles are to follow and will be released over the coming months, as well as the AARC’s next highly-anticipated Occasional Paper (OP).

OP Series No. 33, authored by Major General (retd) Mick Ryan, explores how the war in Ukraine has shaped contemporary warfare in areas of technology, deterrence and the mobilisation of national resources.

In this significant report, Major General Ryan provides a comprehensive analysis of how these lessons can be applied to the Pacific Theatre.

“I hope that by reading these contributions, others will be prompted to start their own journey of academic writing,” Ms Powell added.

“I encourage all our readers to engage with the ideas and arguments presented in these publications, and to consider how they can contribute to the ongoing development of the Australian Army and its capabilities.”

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