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The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), who is responsible to the Chief of the Defence Force Staff (CDS). The current Chief of the General Staff is Lieutenant General P.F. Leahy, AC.

Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout its history, but only in World War II did Australian territory come under direct attack.

Australian Army Rising Sun badge

Mission

Australian Government websites state that the Army's mission is to provide a potent, versatile and modern Army to promote the security of Australia and protect its people and interests. Further, the Army's key doctrine publication, The Fundamentals of Land Warfare, states that "the Army’s mission is to win the land battle".

Organsation

Regular Forces

Australian soldiers on patrol

The Regular element of the Australian Army is called the Australian Regular Army. The Australian Army consists of a number of Brigades, each of which has different roles. The Brigades are based around Infantry Battalions. Elements from other units, (or the entire units themselves) are attached as required to form Brigade battle groups, or Battalion battle groups

1 Brigade (Mechanised infantry, equipped with CV90A and ASLAV)
- 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
- 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
- 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
2 Brigade (Motorised Infantry, equipped with M113, and ASLAV)
- 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
- 8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
- 9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
3 Brigade (Light Infantry, equipped with Bushmaster IMV, and ASLAV)
- 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
- 1st Battalion, Royal Pacific Islands Regiment
4 Brigade (Airborne)
- 1st Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment (Airborne)
- 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Airborne)

Elements from the following units are attached to the above brigades to form complete battlegroups.

1st Armoured Regiment, Armoured Regiment
Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles, Armoured Regiment
2/8th Armoured Regiment (Light), Light Armoured Regiment, equipped with M8 Buford
2nd Cavalry Regiment, Formation Reconnaissance Regiment
3rd/4th Cavalry Regiment, Formation Reconnaissance Regiment
2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, Formation Reconnaissance Regiment
16 (Aviation) Brigade
- 1st Aviation Regiment, Attack helicopter Regiment
- 5th Aviation Regiment (transport helicopter)
- 173rd Surveillance Squadron (light aircraft)
- Aviation Support Group Workshop
Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery
- 1st Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (Close Support, 2 Light Batteries, 1 Medium Battery)
- 4th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (Close Support, 3 Light Batteries)
- 8th/12th Medium Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (General Support, 3 Medium Batteries)
- 16th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (MANPADS, 3 RBS-70 Batteries)
- 5th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (Light Air Defence, 3 ASLAV-AD Batteries)
- 11th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (Mechanised Air Defence, 3 CV9025A AAV Batteries)
- 9th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery (Medium Range Air Defence)
  - A Battery (MTVL HAWK-AMRAAM)
  - B Battery (HAWK-AMRAAM)
  - C Battery (HAWK-AMRAAM)
  - D Battery (HUMRAAM)
- 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery

Army Reserve

Army Reserve — which is sometimes abbreviated to ARes — is a collective name for the reserve units of the Australian Army. Australian Reservists have a comparatively high level of commitment, with an expected obligation of upto 4 nights and 2 full days per month, alongside a two week annual course. Since September of 2006, Reservist Salaries have been streamlined with those of regular forces as a reflection of overall higher standard of training. This initiative shows that in recent decades, there are now many positions for which there is little training gap at all between Reservists and Permanent Force members.

Infantry (Reserve)

Australia's Reserve Infantry Regiments all have a pre-Federation History, starting as Colonial Regiments, which were amalgamated to form the current regiments.

Royal New South Wales Regiment
- 1st/19th Battalion
- 2nd/17th Battalion
- 4th/3rd Battalion
- 41st Battalion
Royal Queensland Regiment
- 9th Battalion
- 25th/49th Battalion
- 31st Battalion
- 42nd Battalion
Royal South Australia Regiment
- 10th/27th Battalion
Royal Tasmania Regiment
- 12th/40th Battalion
Royal Victoria Regiment
- 5th/6th Battalion
- 8th/7th Battalion
Royal Western Australia Regiment
- 11th/28th Battalion
- 16th Battalion
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
- 3rd Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
- 5th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
- 6th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
- 7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
Royal Pacific Islands Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Pacific Islands Regiment
Fiji Infantry Regiment
- 4th Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment
- 5th Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment
- 7th/8th Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment

Armour/Cavalry (Reserve)

1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers
3rd/9th South Australia Mounted Rifles
4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse
10th Light Horse (A Squadron only)
12th/16th Hunter River Lancers

Artillery (Reserve)

2/10 Medium Regiment
3 Field Regiment
6/13 Field Regiment
7 Field Regiment
23 Field Regiment

Special Forces

Special Forces are controlled by Australian Special Operations Command.

Australian Special Service Regiment
4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Commando Regiment (Australia)
171st Aviation Squadron (Australia)
Incident Response Regiment
- Special response unit for nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological hazards, and explosive hazards.

Regional Force Surveillance Units

Aboriginal soldiers from NORFORCE on operations

The Regional Force Surveillance Units (RFSUs) are specialised units of the Australian Army responsible for patrolling northern Australia. The RFSUs regularly conduct operational patrols during peacetime, and the reservists who make up 90% of the RFSUs personnel carry out most of their training during these patrols.

North-West Mobile Force (NORFORCE) (responsible for the Northern Territory and Kimberley region of Western Australia)
The Pilbara Regiment (responsible for the Pilbara region of Western Australia)
51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment (responsible for North Queensland)

Corps

Royal Australian Infantry Corps
Royal Australian Armoured Corps
Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery
Australian Army Aviation
Royal Australian Engineers
Royal Australian Corps of Signals
Royal Australian Infantry Corps
Australian Army Band Corps
Australian Army Intelligence Corps
Royal Australian Corps of Transport
Australian Army Catering Corps
Royal Australian Army Medical Corps
Australian Army Psychology Corps
Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps
Royal Australian Army Dental Corps
Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps
Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Royal Australian Corps of Military Police
Royal Australian Army Pay Corps
Australian Army Legal Corps
Royal Australian Army Education Corps
Royal Australian Chaplains Department
Royal Australian Survey Corps
Australian Army Public Relations Service
Corps of Staff Cadets

Equipment

Small Arms

An F88 Austeyr rifle, standard rifle of the ADF

F89 Minimi, standard Light Lachine Gun

L9A1 Browning Hi-Power Pistol
Heckler und Koch USP Pistol (Special Forces)
F88 Austeyr Rifle
M4A5 Carbine (Special Forces)
Heckler und Koch MP5 Submachine Gun (Special Forces)
F89 Minimi Light Machine Gun
MAG 58 General Purpose Machine Gun
M2 QCHB Heavy Machine Gun
Remington 870 Shotgun
M203-PI Grenade Launcher
Mk 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher
SR-98 Sniper Rifle
AW50F Anti-Material Rifle
66 mm Short-Range Anti-Armour Weapon
84mm Carl Gustav Medium Range Anti-Armour Weapon (MRAAW)
FGM-148 Javelin

Artillery

F1 81mm Mortar
L118 Hamel 105mm Light Gun
M2A2 105mm howitzer (Reserve)
M198 155mm howitzer

Air Defence

RBS-70
AIM-120 AMRAAM
- MTVL HAWK-AMRAAM (M727 Launcher on MTVL chassis with 8 missiles used to provide medium range air defence to Mechanised units)
- HAWK-AMRAAM (Modified M192 towed launcher with 8 missiles used to provide medium range air defence to Motorised, and Light Infantry units)
- HUMRAAM (HMMWV Launched AMRAAM, Australian version has 5 missiles on a Right Hand Drive HMMWV made in Australia Holden under license from AM General, used to provide medium range air defence to Airborne units)

Armoured Vehicles

Australian Army M1A1 Abrams

Australian Army MTVL with Tenix turret (most have an Remote Weapon Station)

Australian Army ASLAV-25

M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank
- M104 Wolverine Heavy Assault Bridge
- M1 Grizzly Engineer Vehicle
M88A2 Hercules Armoured Recovery Vehicle
CV90A (CV90 modified for Australian conditions, including ADF standard communications equipment, and environmental systems for Australian conditions, drinking water cooling and storage)
- CV9040A Original version, upgraded with twin TOW launchers
- CV9025A AAV (Modified Blazer turret with 6 barrel 25mm cannon, and 8 RBS-70 missiles, Battalion level air defence)
- CV90A-AMOS (Twin 120mm Mortar Turret System)
- CV90A-R Armored Recovery Vehicle
Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light (MTVL)
- M901A4 Improved TOW Vehicle
- M577A4 Command Vehicle
- M106A4 Mortar Carrier (MC) armed with M120 120 mm Mortar
- Mobile Tactical Light Recovery Vehicle (MTVR)
- Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light Cargo Carrier (MTVC)
- Mobile Tactical Light Fitters Vehicle (MTVF)
- Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light Ambulance (MTVA)
- M1108 Universal Carrier
- Mobile Tactical Vehicle Engineering Squad Vehicle (MTVE)
M8 Buford
ASLAV
- ASLAV-25 (Reconnaissance)
- ASLAV-S (Surveillance)
- ASLAV-F (Fitter)
- ASLAV-R (Recovery)
- ASLAV-A (Ambulance)
- ASLAV-PC (Personnel Carrier)
- ASLAV-TOW (Anti-Tank)
- ASLAV-AD (Air Defence, Blazer turret 6 barrel 25mm cannon, and 8 RBS-70 missiles)
- ASLAV-AMS (120mm Mortar Carrier)
- ASLAV-CS (Combat Support)
Bushmaster IMV

Reserve Equipment

Reservists use normal Army vehicles with the following exceptions:

M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carrier/Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
- M113 Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle (M113 with Scorpion Turret)
- M125A1 81mm Mortar Carrier
- M577A1 Command Vehicle
- M548A1 "Tilly" (Tracked Load Carrier)
- M579 Fitters Vehicle
- M806 Recovery Vehicle

Aircraft

Australian Army Tiger ARH attack helicopter

UN-1H Iroquois
S-70A Blackhawk
CH-47D Chinook
OH-58A Kiowa
Tiger ARH
Beech King Air
AS 350BA Squirrel

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Boeing ScanEagle
Elbit Systems Skylark

Future Equipment Requirements

The Australian Army is currently examining options for new Artillery systems, both towed and self-propelled.

Combat Uniforms

The Australian Army (along with the Royal Australian Navy, and Royal Australian Air Force wear a distinctive camouflage uniform designed for the Australian environment.

Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform

Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform, suitable for any non-desert environment. DPCU is the standard working dress of the Army and RAAF in Australia.

Disruptive Pattern Desert Uniform

Disruptive Pattern Desert Uniform, suitable for any desert environment.

Australian Defence Force
Australian Army \| Royal Australian Air Force \| Royal Australian Navy

@@ Line 91: / Line 91: @@
 **2nd Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
 **3rd Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
-**4th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
 **5th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
 **6th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
@@ Line 100: / Line 99: @@
 **4th Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment
 **5th Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment
 **7th/8th Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment
 ===Armour/Cavalry (Reserve)===

Australian Army