The Commander of the 6th Brigade has released this list of resources to help support his professional military education plan while the Brigade is affected by the COVID-19 restrictions. While it is aimed at the Information Warfare Professional, it is a comprehensive guide that includes not only books but also podcasts, websites, articles, essays and people to follow.

Forward

Learning is a continuous journey for all military professionals and this Information Warfare reference guide is a valuable starting point for thinking about how information interacts with the other levers of national power. To paraphrase former US Defence Secretary, General Mattis, reading won’t give you all the answers but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.

This collection of references is one way we seek to develop and promote an understanding of Information Warfare in the Australian Army and across the Australian Defence Force.

The Australian Army’s operational concept outlined in Accelerated Warfare identifies just how important information is as a lever of power when it states ‘competition and conflict define the natural state of the international system. It is a contest for influence, access and information’.

Information War is fought across all domains and at all levels. It is a joint and partnered undertaking that affects the physical, psychological and cognitive systems that it targets. To fight and win in the information domain, the military professional must form and lead teams of multi discipline capabilities that advise and assure commanders and decision makers, and generate effects that impacts an adversary or supports a partner during times of cooperation, competition and conflict.

I commend this professional learning guide and urge you to take an active role in defining the future of the Australian Defence Force’s Information Warfare capabilities.

Brigadier Mark Ascough
CSC, DSM
Commander 6th Brigade

A PDF copy of list can be found at the link below: Readings for the Information Warfare Professional 2020.