KATE CRAWFORD worked for nine years on a nationally funded developmental research project with the ADF and the University of Wollongong. One of the central themes of the research project was to evolve more agile ways to operate in volatile situations using networked technologies.
by Dr Kate Crawford
Recent ANZAC days have seen a focus on visiting Gallipoli – a time when our Australian soldiers were members of the British Empire, fighting under British command and heroically losing their lives.
However, this year, when threats to our wellbeing and livelihood seem more immediately linked to changing economic circumstances and climate than to war, it is revealing to consider how much Australia has changed since World War 1. Those changes are reflected in the ways we view leadership and courage and the ways we see ourselves as a part of the whole globe.
These changes are even reflected in the circumstances of the Victoria Cross awards.
For example, three of the nine VCs awarded for the Gallipoli campaign were for courage in a single action at Lone Pine. The citation for Alexander Burton in the list of Australian winners of the Victoria Cross reads:
It was during the Turkish counter-attack on the Lone Pine trenches on 9 August (1915) that Burton performed the actions for which he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The Turks advanced up a slope and blew in a sandbag barricade which Burton, Tubb (also a VC winner) and Dunstan (also a VC winner) quickly re-erected after they had repulsed the attackers. The enemy attacked twice more and destroyed the barricade. This was rebuilt when the enemy were driven off. Burton was killed by one of several bombs which exploded as he was attempting to rebuild the parapet. His body was never recovered.’ (http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/medals/vc/austlist.html).
This account captures the courage and tenacity of young men fighting doggedly in the face of impossible odds. Despite their fear, terrible wounds, and the onslaught from the enemy, they continued to obey their orders and try to hold the trench. Only Corporal Dunstan survived the war.
Nearly one hundred years have passed. Military and civilian technologies have changed enormously. This is the age of media celebrities. Also, because of new communication technologies and easier travel, Australians are much more knowledgeable about, and sensitive to, other cultures and the more complex issues and disputes in the world.
The Australian Defense Force (ADF) also conducts its operations in a very different way. Often our soldiers are peace keepers. In Iraq and Afghanistan many SAS personnel have been involved in building capacity, often among civilians, in very volatile and insecure conditions. For this work their identities are protected. Many work with civilian support, interpreters, embedded photographers and others.
The threats of terrorist ambush and the need for intelligence support to deal with terrorist activity have resulted in strategic changes to the way decisions are made on the ground.
People are trained to achieve their objectives by working in smaller more mobile units that communicate with others and are supported by intelligence and other information. Courage now also involves making decisions and acting to minimize harm and achieve operational objectives within a wider military network, and among those civilians who are supporting the unit. It is clear that ‘mateship’ and loyalty are still key factors in the way conspicuous acts are recognised. However, leadership often arises in the heat of the moment. Now soldiers often need to act more independently.
This is very much reflected in the recent accounts of Trooper Mark Donaldson who was awarded a Victoria Cross for his actions with the SAS in Oruzgan, Afghanistan in September last year. When his unit was hit by an ambush, nine Australian soldiers were wounded and Trooper Donaldson’s citation notes say he was awarded the Victoria Cross for
“most conspicuous acts of gallantry in a circumstance of great peril ….During a prolonged and effective enemy ambush on numerous occasions he deliberately drew the enemy’s fire in order to allow wounded soldiers to be moved to safety…. As the battle raged around him he saw that a coalition force interpreter was lying motionless on exposed ground. With complete disregard for his own safety, on his initiative and alone, Trooper Donaldson ran back 80 metres across exposed ground to rescue the interpreter and carry him back to the vehicle…Trooper Donaldson then rejoined his patrol and continued to engage the enemy while remaining exposed to heavy enemy fire’
(Mark Dodd and Christian Kerr , The Australian, January 16, 2009).
Trooper Mark Donaldson awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous acts of gallantry in Afghanistan
Trooper Donaldson returned to Australia this year to receive his award amid much publicity. His identity is celebrated. He will spend the rest of the year as an ADF ‘ambassador’. However, after some deliberation, his request to eventually return to active duty in the armed forces has been accepted and respected. This represents another change of military practice, but also demonstrates the unchanging thread of selfless courage and initiative that has always been at the core of the Australian soldier at war.
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