As the holiday season approaches, Defence News shares stories on the good work and achievements of ADF members from throughout the year.
Army's 8th Brigade partnered with three universities to deliver a series of military ethics symposiums this year to enhance civil-military dialogue on the ethical dimensions of contemporary warfare.
At three university campuses across the country from July to September, personnel, academics and subject matter experts discussed ethical challenges arising in their Defence-related research and regional military capabilities.
Commander 8th Brigade, Brigadier Arran Hassell, said the symposiums were designed to strengthen thinking around ethics and Defence's civilian partnerships.
"Our goals were simple: uplift ethical thinking across 8th Brigade and strengthen our relationships with the universities, after which our university regiments are named," Brigadier Hassell said.
"Presenters were deep in their knowledge, thought-provoking in their concepts and, at times, challenging to the audience. This enabled rich and meaningful discussions around a number of important ethical topics.
"As military professionals, we should always challenge ourselves to choose the hard-right, challenge normalised thinking and remain aware of the potential for ethical drift."
The University of Queensland and Queensland University Regiment co-hosted the first symposium. The second took place in Adelaide, hosted by Adelaide University and the Adelaide University Regiment, with the final co-hosted by the University of NSW and University of NSW Regiment.
Some of the topics included recent operational environments, the use of autonomous weapons systems, artificial intelligence, decision-making processes around capability acquisition, and the implications of increased strike distance in the battlespace.
The panel presentations also drew on the Chief of Army's three pillars of the modern Army profession and considered the continuing training transformation underway across the ADF.
