WHAT IS DOCTRINE?
Australian Defence Force (ADF) Doctrine describes the principles that guide the employment and operational effectiveness of our Defence Force and provides guidance to Defence to solve and/or achieve military objectives in line with the Australian Government’s intent.
Doctrine facilitates interoperability across the ADF and provides command and planning tools that contain fundamental principles, considerations and guidance for military action.
ADF doctrine guides Defence interactions with other Government, non-government and civil society organisations, partners and allies during training and, more importantly, on operations.
ADF Doctrine has been categorised into four distinct tiers as follows:
- Capstone (C) – these publications explain the ADF's role and its contribution to Australian society.
- Philosophical (P) – Articulates the fundamental and enduring principles that guide the application of military power in pursuit of national objectives.
- Integration (I) - Explains how the Joint Force applies doctrine principles to planning, conducting, and enabling campaigns and operations.
- Application (A) – these documents describe the way particular tasks are conducted in an operational setting and are usually linked directly to integration doctrine.
ADF preparedness is underpinned by doctrine as it supports professional military education and training of all ADF personnel.
WHY IS DEFENCE DOCTRINE HERE?
Defence, working with the Australian Civil Military Centre, will provide access to relevant publications that describe how Defence seeks to work with other actors during operations across multi-jurisdictional and multi-actor environments during natural and human-induced crises.
By Defence sharing the principles, information and knowledge on how the organisation works within specific operational contexts with external organisations, partners and allies we are seeking to build relationships and networks that enhance interoperability across organisations.
This sharing of information with external partners, will promote transparency and a greater understanding of Defence capabilities and planning processes enabling more efficient and effective responses in support of the Australian Government, as part of our National Defence.
This wider understanding of Defence capability across domestic and international government, non-government and civil society agencies, our partners and allies is essential to successful operations.
