ADF so bloated with 'star-ranked' commanders its combat ­effectiveness is at risk

The Australian Defence Force is so bloated with ‘star-ranked’ commanders its combat effectiveness is at risk of being undermined, a new research paper suggests.

Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Australian Defence Force is so bloated with “star-ranked” commanders that its combat ­effectiveness is at risk of being undermined, a new research paper has argued.

The paper’s author, RAAF Wing Commander David Borg, argues the air force is “top-heavy, unbalanced and rank-inefficient” and is “no longer fit for the purpose it was designed”.

He said further research across the ADF would “yield ­additional examples of bloating, duplication of effort and other ­organisational waste and mismanagement”.

“Each of these characteristics inhibit the development of a combat effective defence force,” Wing Commander Borg said.

The paper highlights a surge in the number of RAAF command positions over the past two decades, to the point that the air force has a star-ranked officer (air commodore or above) for every 262 aviators.

Australian and US soldiers during Exercise Super Garuda Shield 2023. Picture: Australian Department of Defence

The paper suggests the Australian Army is slightly more efficient, with a star-ranked officer (brigadier or above) for every 343 soldiers, while senior US commanders are responsible for up to 11 times more personnel than their Australian counterparts.

The US Air Force’s star officer to enlisted personnel ratio is 1:1150; the US Army’s is 1:2045; and the US Marines’ is1:2919.

Wing Commander Borg, who completed the research during a sabbatical at the US School of Advanced Air and Space Studies in Alabama, argued the RAAF’s organisational structure “inhibits the planning and execution of ­effective, combat-oriented” training and sustainment.

“The RAAF is too compartmentalised, resulting in stove­piped training, inhibiting high-end, networked and integrated joint collective training,” he wrote.

He called for sweeping changes to ensure the service was prepared for a potential Indo-­Pacific conflict.

The paper was published on Defence’s Air and Space Power Centre and endorsed by the centre’s director, Group Captain Jason Baldock, as “an objective and blunt assessment” that had “significantly influenced senior level decision-making on the ­future shape of the air force”.

Defence analyst Lesley Seebeck said the ADF’s organisational structure was in need of a major overhaul.

“The top-heavy nature of the RAAF is evident elsewhere in the ADF, and the APS, which tells us there are other, underlying issues,” Dr Seebeck said.

“Those include political reluctance to do sustained, serious reform, which is difficult, costs money to do well, and has little immediate reward. Yet it is clearly needed.”

She said assessments of military capability typically focused on “platforms and kit”, but organisational structure was also key.

“Organisation can be a force multiplier, and so we should pay more attention to how the military is led and structured, and the internal drivers of behaviours,” Dr Seebeck said.

She said “stronger, knowledgeable civilian control” was needed to force change on the ADF, or “it will be ill-prepared for the challenges of the next few years”.

The top ranks of the ADF have grown markedly in recent times with a rush of “three-star” appointments, including a new chief of nuclear submarines, a chief of guided weapons and explosive ­ordnance, and a new chief of ­defence personnel.

In the US system, three-star ­officers typically command corps of up to 45,000 troops – a force well over the size of the 30,000-strong Australian Army.

ADF salaries for senior commanders are also far higher. Australian Defence Chief Angus Campbell earns about $928,000 a year, compared to about $316,000 for the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

US Studies Centre defence program director Peter Dean, who supported the development of the defence strategic review, said there was no doubt the ADF had seen an increase in senior leadership roles.