Page 94 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec-Jan 2021

94 PROJECT REVIEW LAND
DECEMBER 2020 – JANUARY 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
THE YEAR THAT WAS IN THE LAND DOMAIN
2020, thankfully, is coming to a close, which means it’s time to look back at Land capability milestones.
EWEN LEVICK | SYDNEY
FIRST, though, a brief overview of a very difficult year for the ADF and particularly Army. 2020 started with catastrophic bushfires that forced Army to put out a mandatory call to re- servists for the first time in Australian history. The fires saw a huge percentage of the ADF undertaking missions that do not lie strictly within the primary purpose of the military.
Then the pandemic hit, and once again the ADF found it- self deployed across Australia in response to another natu- ral disaster. The obvious gap between what the ADF trains to do, and what it found itself actually doing in 2020, has raised on-going strategic debates.
Lastly, the Brereton inquiry into war crimes committed by Australian special forces in Afghanistan was handed
to Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell in mid-November. Whilst coverage of the inquiry is out- side the editorial focus of ADM, we recognise the effect that it has had on the defence community in what was already a tough year.
LAND 400 PHASE 2 GETS ROLLING
Australian soldiers got their first taste of the new Boxer ve- hicles this year as training began in October, at which point six vehicles have been delivered under Land 400 Phase 2. Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds heralded the Boxers as a ‘world-class combat reconnaissance capability.’
Rheinmetall also set up shop to manufacture the remain-
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