Where are they when you need them?: support arrangements for deployed air power

Abstract

Air power requires the provision of a large range of support services, such as aircraft maintenance, personnel accommodation, catering, and so on. Decisions need to be made about where these services should be positioned: some may be collocated with the aircraft squadrons they are supporting, whereas others may remain in their normal peacetime locations, which may be several thousand kilometres away from the operational squadrons. Locations anywhere in between these two extremes may also be suitable. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with each possible choice of location. A balance needs to be struck between the advantages and disadvantages, to determine the most appropriate location for each support function. It is topical to consider these issues at the present time since they are related to many changes currently occurring within the Australian defence organisation. Among these are the increasing emphasis on overseas operations in the government's strategic guidance, the increasing commercialisation of defence support services, efforts to improve the utility of reserve forces, and the need to deal with a severely over-stretched defence budget. This book discusses 20 factors that should guide decisions about where a support function should be performed. Examples from recent military operations are used to demonstrate the effects of each factor. A framework is then proposed that shows how the competing factors may be reconciled, and conclusions relevant to higher level defence management are drawn out. Show more