The RAAC like it’s never been before
A direct consequence of 1st Armoured Regiment being stripped of its tanks and made into a Combat Experimentation Group (CXG), is that 3 Brigade (Armoured) in Townsville has to go without a tank squadron, a cavalry squadron and a third battlegroup headquarters (at a time when the nation’s strategic circumstances are described as ‘perilous’). [A situation accepted by the Chief of Army in order to save money in the Defence budget to pay for AUKUS subs.]
A further consequence is that the 2nd Cavalry Regiment is compelled to operate as a dual-role unit, with two squadrons of tanks and two of cavalry.
RAAC Representative Honorary Colonel, Maj Gen Michael Krause, AM, has previously observed that: “It remains your Corps’ expert’s view that the optimal way to train the tanks in Townsville is to provide a dedicated headquarters over them. It is also the optimal way to train 3 Bde’s cavalry. It is not that it is impossible to have 2 Cav Regt look the way it is, it’s just not optimal.”
Of course, unit training is one thing, operational deployment is another.
What might the advantages and disadvantages be, for 2 Cav Regt as a dual-role unit?
Commanders need to know what the enemy is doing, and, even more importantly, what he intends to do in the future. Gaining intelligence by stealth is crucial to maintain surprise. Commanders also, however, need to be able to react quickly to gain maximum advantage from shock action, especially as the decisive employment of tanks can turn the tide of a battle.
Unsurprisingly, examination reveals that the two differing roles are simply incompatible for a single unit.
A single headquarters would never be able to effectively manage simultaneous recon and ‘shock action’ scenarios … they are fundamentally at odds with each other. If the 2 Cav Regt organisation is to remain, it would seem essential that its headquarters be split to facilitate separate command and control. The importance of this would justify the unit being allocated an appropriate manning increment (despite the impact in terms of scarce manpower).
Let’s face it – 2 Cav Regt as a dual-role unit is a peacetime training contingency only; not something that would ever be maintained in an operational context.
The RAAC’s only armoured brigade is presently training on this basis, however, and may have to continue to do so (heaven forbid).
What false lessons will be learnt and inculcated along the way?
The RAAC used to be better than this.
Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Cameron, MC, RAAC (Ret’d)
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FILE PHOTO: An Australian Army Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicle (left) and an M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tank during sea-transportability trials at Townsville Port, Queensland. Photo by Lance Corporal Caitlyn Davill.
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