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Air Marshal Geoff Brown, AM Chief of Air Force

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 Commonwealth of Australia 2011 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. Disclaimer The Commonwealth of Australia will not be legally responsible in contract, tort or otherwise, for any statements made in this document. Release This document is approved for public release. Portions of this document may be quoted or reproduced without permission, provided a standard source credit is included.

Published and distributed by: Air Power Development Centre Level 3, 205 Anketell Street Tuggeranong ACT 2900 Australia Telephone: + 61 2 6266 1355 Facsimile: + 61 2 6266 1041 E-mail: airpower@defence.gov.au Website: www.raaf.gov.au/airpower

CHIEF OF AIR FORCE

COMMANDERS INTENT ONE TEAM: SWIFT, DECISIVE, RESILIENT AND RESPECTED

Air Marshal Geo Brown, AM 4 July 2011

Chief of Air Force Commanders Intent

ONE TEAM SWIFT, DECISIVE, RESILIENT AND RESPECTED

In this 90th anniversary year, I am both honoured and proud to take command of the Royal Australian Air Force. I am very conscious that we must at all times build upon the strong foundations laid by past generations of Air Force members as we move forward into the future. Therefore, I present my Commanders Intent for the Air Force so that you know where I want the Air Force to go as an organisation and the role you will play in achieving our vision: One TeamSwift, Decisive, Resilient and Respected. I am the 24th Chief of the RAAF, and like the Chiefs before me I am the custodian of the nations air force, responsible for its mission of delivering air power for Australias national security. Air Force is in the midst of an unprecedented period of change with most of our major capabilities transitioning concurrently. For this to occur seamlessly, a well-considered, collective and coordinated approach is vital in realising such change and to maintain the health of the organisation. Further, I believe it is important to understand that such signicant change does not occur during the tenure of one Chief alone and, as such, there will be much continuity in our planning from Air Marshal Mark Binskins tenure, through my tenure, and the tenures of future Chiefs. I will command the RAAF with a view to not only meeting our current mission and realising our future visionbut also to full the expectations of Commanders Intent | 3

both the Government and the nation we serve. I will continue to develop Force 2030 while maintaining our current capabilities, and simultaneously meeting our operational commitmentsall within the norms and values that our society, Government and RAAF members hold. The Air Force is a critical element of the ADF and like our fellow Services, we exist to conduct military operations across the spectrum of conict to meet the requirements of Government. Air Force provides swift and decisive air power for Australias security and achieves this through four core air power roles: control of the air; strike; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR); and air mobility. These enduring air power roles reect the distinctive air power capabilities that we will continue to provide to protect Australia and her interests. Importantly, the core roles are enabled by air base and infrastructure support, engineering and maintenance, logistics, training and education, and high quality command and control. And we do this in both peace and war, in Australia and overseas. This is the essence of what the Air Force does and whyand we have been doing it for over 90 years. Air Force as an organisation, and you as a key member of the Air Force, can take immense pride in the part it has played, alongside the rest of the ADF, in defending Australias national security interests. Over the next few years there will be signicant anniversaries of key events in past wars and Air Force will assume its rightful place during these national celebrations, thus ensuring the achievements and sacrices of the men and women who have gone before us are appropriately remembered and honoured. I strongly believe that the RAAF is one of the most capable air forces in the world and the best in our region. I believe this because there is no other air force in the region that has the balanced mix of capabilities that we have and no other air force has the expeditionary and combat experience we have acquired over the last 90 years, and in particular, the last decade. I also believe that we are one of the most professional and innovative air forces in the world. We will not compromise our reputation or our professionalism in any way while I am Chief.

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RAAF Kittyhawk Squadron at Milne Bay, August-September 1942, painting by Sir William Dargie (1969); Australian War Memorial ART27628. The 70th anniversary of this famous battle will be commemorated in 2012.

The Air Force faces a number of signicant challenges as we look towards the future. Firstly, we need to be able to maintain the tempo of our current operations in the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO), in support of border protection and the myriad of other operations across the globe we undertake. These commitments put signicant strain on our people in terms of threat and operational tempo and, while I will ameliorate them whenever I can, they are also a part of being members of the RAAF. While maintaining our commitment to operations we also need to continue the replacement of the majority of our capabilities in order to transition into Force 2030 as detailed in the 2009 Defence White Paper and meet the expectations of future Defence white papers. This transition is an enormous task and one that will stretch the entire RAAF. I want us to embrace these challenges as opportunities, and in doing so, use these challenges as opportunities to innovate, improve how we do things and enhance our capability. Over the last few years we have successfully introduced into service the C-17A Globemaster III, F/A-18F Super Hornet, Heron remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), King Air 350, Wedgetail, and the Vigilaire air defence system.

Commanders Intent | 5

The KC-30A multi-role tanker transports are being delivered and over the next decade we will introduce the P-8A Poseidon to replace the AP-3C Orion and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter to replace the Classic Hornet and, in time, the Super Hornet. At the same time, we will continue operating some extremely important but ageing platforms. While introducing the new and maintaining the old, we will need to redesign elements of our workforce to match the requirements of our new platforms and systems. The success we have so far realised in these endeavours reects Air Forces tradition of agility that enables the force to quickly adapt to new technology, develop and implement new ways of operating, and overcome emerging challenges. I will continue to rely on you to deliver that agility. The space and cyberspace domains are vitally important to Air Force. Air Force is increasingly exploiting the space domain to better deliver air power eects. Indeed, space is now a critical enabler for all rst-rate air forces, and the RAAF is no dierent in this regard. As such, Air Force will continue to develop its space capabilities so that they may be integrated into the air campaign for joint eect. In the cyberspace domain, Air Force is critically dependent on its networks, data links and information, and we must ensure that our operations are unhindered by further developing our capabilities to operate in cyberspace. To remain the best, we must continue to work as a team in order to produce the best outcomes we can with the resources provided by Government. This will require originality and innovation, but as Air Force is eectively an organisation built on innovation, I have no doubt that we will succeed. Innovation will ensure we can operate in the best way possible with what we have and will ensure that we use the resources available to us in responsible cost conscious ways. For all the changes we have experienced, the importance of people to the Air Force has remained unchanged over the last 90 years and will remain so into the far distant future. This means that today every uniformed member of the RAAF (permanent or reserve) has a mission to perform. Additionally, every APS member and contractor who works in the RAAFs interests has a 6 | Commanders Intent

part in the Air Force story. We all need to understand our roles and how we contribute to the broader Air Force eort. We are one team. The RAAF has world-class aircrew and a ne air combat tradition forged through warbut at its heart, a successful air force is also a complex engineering, logistics and support organisation that is totally reliant on the quality of the support of its non-ying personnel. This makes us uniquely dierent to our fellow Services. The professionalism and skills of this deeper level of capability ultimately determine the eectiveness of any air force, because there is no more useless implement of war than an aircraft that cannot y. In the words of the famous American air commander in the South-West Pacic during World War II, General George Kenney, Having the second-best air force is like having the second-best hand of poker it gets you nothing yet costs you money.

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MY PRIORITIES
I have always been extremely proud to be a member of the RAAF, and our Air Force is rightly perceived as a distinctly professional organisation which always makes valuable contributions in achieving Governments objectives. Our Air Force is regarded by the Government and our major allies as being among the worlds most capable and professional forces. I believe that this truly reects the ability and commitment of our people: permanent, reserve and civilian. Therefore, I want to make sure our reputation for professionalism and excellence is not only maintained but enhanced wherever possible. To do this, my priorities for the RAAF are: People Capability and Operations Education, Training and Development Communications and Partnerships Innovation and Improvement

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People Over the last decade Air Force has built a culture that values our people and I want us to continue to work and live in accordance with the RAAFs Values. I believe we are a professional, highly motivated and dedicated team that values diversity and every members contribution to our capability. The safety of our people is of paramount importance to me. We have very robust airworthiness and aircraft safety programs developed through long experience, and we need to apply the same vigour and techniques to lift our performance in the area of Workplace Health and Safety. While Air Force does inherently dangerous things such as ying and ghting, we must do them as safely as possible while understanding all threats and risks. I believe that leadership is vital at all levels in the Air Force, not just at the top, as the principal means of making the right things happen. We need to continue to develop leaders at all levels of the RAAF with clearly dened responsibilities, and appropriate and unambiguous levels of authority. I expect my commanders to develop their team and lead their organisations in realising my intent. As a husband and father, I recognise that we must all maintain an appropriate work-life balance. This will be a challenge for many of us; and on occasions it will be impossible as one aspect of our lives will assume priority over the other. That said, we must all recognise that our profession and our responsibilities require us to last the distance and be the best professional, partner and parent we can be.

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Capability and Operations We continue to have a very high operational tempo and I do not believe that it will markedly lessen. I think what we have experienced over the last decade or so is now the norm. We should recognise and take pride in this factor; it reects Governments and societys respect and appreciation for what we deliverair power to protect and promote Australias national interests. The RAAF is a vital element of the ADF and, in turn, the ADF is a critical element of national power that contributes to and integrates with government solutions to manage and address diverse security challenges across the spectrum of conict, from humanitarian assistance to war. Australia has global interests and I have no doubt that with recent capability acquisitions we now have such global reach that we can and do have global impact. We continue to undertake combat operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation SLIPPERAustralias military contribution to the international campaign against terrorism, maritime security in the MEAO and countering piracy in the Gulf of Aden. This is todays war and we must undertake our role in it with the professionalism, will, energy and commitment required to achieve our military and national objectives. Failure on operations is simply not an option Australia and Australians will accept. We must also prepare for future warsand these wars will probably be unlike the one in which we are currently engaged. This is why we must continue to acquire new high-end capabilities, train for and practise highend warghting techniques and nd new ways of doing them better. The development and maintenance of these capabilities and skills is of paramount importance because they are quickly lost and dicult to replace and rebuild. This requirement will probably see new capabilities introduced into Air Force that we have not previously had. The challenges will be signicant but the rewards high.

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Education, Training and Development Being a member of the RAAF is not just a job, it is a profession, and a key part of being a member of a profession is the life-long process of education. We must balance our technical mastery in terms of ying, maintaining and supporting, with the professional mastery required to ensure we eectively contribute to joint operations and whole-of-government national security objectives. I want us to be an Air Force that can strategically inuence events across the ADF, Government, Australian society, our region and allies, and the broader global community. Education is both formal and informal and it is key to developing our future capabilities and leaders and how we will ensure decision superiority in the battlespace. Therefore, we will continue to facilitate the development of the professional mastery of air power through professional military education and training (PMET), through formal and informal developmental and educational courses and programs, and through the building and retention of individual technical skills. I have personally benetted from the RAAFs PMET programs over my career and I take very seriously the role of PMET in the professional development of all members of the RAAF. Completion of the relevant PMET courses is mandatory for promotion and is a signicant factor for selection for command and other signicant postings. I have also benetted from reading widely as it has exposed me to new concepts and ideas to which I, ordinarily, would not have been exposed. It must be remembered that what you learn through PMET is not all you should knowit is the minimum that you need to know. Therefore, each of us has a responsibility to supplement our training and education by personally expanding our knowledge and increasing our broader professionalism and value to the RAAF. New capabilities with new engineering and logistics support paradigms will challenge many of our pre-existing ideas and practices. We must adapt to these new challenges in order to ensure we continue to develop the practitioners and leaders we will require into the future. This will challenge our current notions of musterings and specialisations and how we interact with national and global supply chains. 14 | Commanders Intent

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Communications and Partnerships Sending our people into operations and ensuring they have the right training and support, now and into the future, will always be my greatest responsibility. However, we cannot do this without the support we receive through a range of important partnerships. These partnerships are critically important and we must continue fostering quality relationships within the Air Force and with the other Services, Defence, Government, and our industry partners. These partnerships are at all levelswhether they are between members of the RAAF and APS or contractors on the bases, or between us and the service provider groups such as Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), Defence Support Group (DSG), Chief Information Ocer Group (CIOG), Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), and the intelligence agencies, etc. These groups are essential to our ability to generate and apply air power. We must all contribute to the Air Force engagement and partnership with such groups. Our preparedness to conduct operations has always passed the test when we have been called upon to execute air operations, but there are some critical relationships and lines of communications that we have undervalued in the past. Ensuring that we better understand how our capability is sustained, and maintaining the relationships with our support partners that underpin our capability, is critical to our success. In this respect, we must have greater respect for, and work more closely with, a range of agencies as trusted partners. This trust will be founded on our honesty and fairness in dealing with partners, and the eectiveness of our air power when called upon to do so. We will be a force that others want to deal with, because we communicate clearly and eectivelywithin Air Force and Defence, and with Government, our allies and with our support partners. These relationships will allow us to make the right decisions and do the right things to deliver the outputs expected of us. More importantly, they will be critical to our ability to successfully complete the missions Government requires of us.

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Innovation and Improvement Innovation and improvement are not newwe have a great legacy of adaptation and innovation in war and peace, such as transitioning to Meteor jets from Mustangs in Korea, introducing the Caribou aircraft into service in Vietnam and elding the Heron RPA in Afghanistan. Innovation and improvement are particularly important right now. Air Force is committed to improving its processes in order to realise and implement the capabilities that are being delivered under Force 2030. In doing so, we have an opportunity to ensure that Force 2030 will be achieved by balancing resources, preparedness and our ongoing commitment to transforming our processes. We now have a better understanding of the organisational requirements of the future Air Force, and I intend to continue with the changes to our organisation that are currently underway through the Strategic Reform Program and other initiatives. We will get this right and be a more capable Air Force as a result. The operating model articulated in the Air Force Plan is the primary guidance for how we will do this. In this model, there is a role for everyone and a clear focus on the importance of strategy and direction. I intend to provide that direction with both clarity and purpose through a range of communication methods. I value your input and hope to meet and talk with as many of you as possible in the coming years.

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CONCLUSION
The Government and the Australian people measure our success by what we achieve and how we achieve it. Over the next three years, I want us to set the basis for such success by delivering capability and conducting eective air operations, empowering our people to enable those aspects, supporting innovation and improvement, and communicating and working with our partners. This can only be achieved through hard work, dedication and professionalism. Todays Air Force is a service that is more than capable of writing the next chapter in Air Forces long and proud historyone that will be worthy of being recorded alongside our past achievements. As Chief of Air Force, I am looking forward to the next three years and the opportunities we have as an Air Force. In this respect, it is important that you understand my Intent to ensure we are all on the same ight plan in seizing and realising these opportunitiesso that we know where we are going and how we are going to get there. We have much to do but I look at what we have achieved and know that we can do what is required together. The RAAF is a great team, one I am proud to be both part of, and lead. I look forward to working with you over the course of my tenure as your Chief.

ONE TEAM SWIFT, DECISIVE, RESILIENT AND RESPECTED

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My Priorities
People Capability and Operations Education, Training and Development Communications and Partnerships Innovation and Improvement