Getting it right: integrating the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance enterprise

This paper examines the nature of the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance challenge confronting Australia and how that challenge is currently being met. Introduction Understanding the environment in which a conflict is being or will be conducted has always been a central element of military thinking. In today’s world, this understanding is embraced by three elements: Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). Whilst ISR has traditionally focussed on military operations, the last century has seen an increasing emergence of ISR as a construct and capability that might support a broader ‘national interest’. Indeed, today the national security community is engaged as both a user and contributor, and the need has recently emerged for an ISR capability that supports border protection in which a ‘national’ or ‘sovereign’ interest, as opposed to a ‘military’ paradigm, has come to the fore. Conceptually, an ISR capability allows for the observation and analysis of events and the production of useful, timely information to support a national interest. In reality, this simple ISR construct is challenged by several factors: the number of events; the ability to observe; processing the observed events and the increasing amount of data; the time taken to conduct an analysis; the time to determine a course of action; and the time taken to respond. The simple ISR construct is further challenged when the many networked and linked sensors used to observe events are taken into consideration. Increased sensor inputs provide greater situational awareness and better predictive intelligence necessary to achieve superior decision-making and, hence, more effective operations. However, modern-day ISR systems have also significantly reduced the available time in the decision cycle for making sense of what is occurring and for carrying out an action as a result. The challenge, therefore, is to balance the greater situational awareness and better predictive intelligence with ensuring that decisions are not delayed waiting for additional information. The purpose of this Kokoda ISR Project is to develop new ideas for a future Australian ISR Enterprise that complements the emerging national security framework and positions ISR as a sovereign capability. Concerns have been expressed that the opportunities, challenges and risks confronting the National ISR Community have increased and become more diverse in recent years. Consequently, the potential for extending the current Whole-of-Government approach to exploiting ISR and better accommodating Industry into the National ISR infrastructure needs to be explored. Innovation and integration of new ISR methods, systems, and concepts will be important for future success. For the immediate future, Australia’s military and law-enforcement organisations will need to embrace strategic, operational, organisational, technological, process, and cultural change in a tough fiscal climate, and demonstrate how they can achieve more with existing assets and organisations. They will face challenges as they seek to cooperate more closely, yet feel the need to retain some of their traditional boundaries (noting that many of the traditional boundaries are set in legislation). They will need to meet the public expectation of effectiveness, responsiveness and accountability, and a well-integrated and robust ISR function will be critical in this respect. This Kokoda Paper examines the nature of the ISR challenge confronting Australia and how that challenge is currently being met. It argues that an extension of current policy approaches that involve making the most of Australia’s organisations, capabilities, and international and national cooperation is called for. It identifies those other key areas for improved policy and argues the importance of adopting a whole-of-nation approach, improving public engagement, accelerating the data-to-decision cycle, and synchronising ISR capabilities; and recommends specific proposals for pursuing these policy outcomes

Job satisfaction of slot department shift managers in Las Vegas casinos

The problem statement for this thesis was as follows: Low job satisfaction exists among slot department shift managers in Las Vegas casinos. The objectives were to define job satisfaction of slot department shift managers, compare job level satisfaction of slot department shift managers among different Las Vegas casinos, and analyze how job satisfaction of slot department shift managers may be improved in Las Vegas casinos; It was hypothesized that job satisfaction levels of slot department shift managers would be the same among Las Vegas casinos. Using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Test, the null hypothesis was accepted except for one job dissatisfying factor. This problem area was identified using (ANOVA) results narrowing the issue to: (1) Non-satisfying aspects; (2) Solving customer discrepancies with changepersons, carousel attendants, and booth cashiers, and; (3) The day shift. These three elements applied to all properties

Australia and Cyberwarfare

This book explores Australia’s prospective cyber-warfare requirements and challenges. It describes the current state of planning and thinking within the Australian Defence Force with respect to Network Centric Warfare, and discusses the vulnerabilities that accompany the use by Defence of the National Information Infrastructure (NII), as well as Defence’s responsibility for the protection of the NII. It notes the multitude of agencies concerned in various ways with information security, and argues that mechanisms are required to enhance coordination between them. It also argues that Australia has been laggard with respect to the development of offensive cyber-warfare plans and capabilities. Finally, it proposes the establishment of an Australian Cyber-warfare Centre responsible for the planning and conduct of both the defensive and offensive dimensions of cyber-warfare, for developing doctrine and operational concepts, and for identifying new capability requirements. It argues that the matter is urgent in order to ensure that Australia will have the necessary capabilities for conducting technically and strategically sophisticated cyber-warfare activities by the 2020s. The Foreword has been contributed by Professor Kim C. Beazley, former Minister for Defence (1984–90), who describes it as ‘a timely book which transcends old debates on priorities for the defence of Australia or forward commitments, [and] debates about globalism and regionalism’, and as ‘an invaluable compendium’ to the current process of refining the strategic guidance for Australia’s future defence policies and capabilities

Trajectory Mapping and Applications to Data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

The problem of creating synoptic maps from asynoptically gathered trace gas data has prompted the development of a number of schemes. Most notable among these schemes are the Kalman filter, the Salby-Fourier technique, and constituent reconstruction. This paper explores a new technique called trajectory mapping. Trajectory mapping creates synoptic maps from asynoptically gathered data by advecting measurements backward or forward in time using analyzed wind fields. A significant portion of this work is devoted to an analysis of errors in synoptic trajectory maps associated with the calculation of individual parcel trajectories. In particular, we have considered (1) calculational errors; (2) uncertainties in the values and locations of constituent measurements, (3) errors incurred by neglecting diabatic effects, and (4) sensitivity to differences in wind field analyses. These studies reveal that the global fields derived from the advection of large numbers of measurements are relatively insensitive to the errors in the individual trajectories. The trajectory mapping technique has been successfully applied to a variety of problems. In this paper, the following two applications demonstrate the usefulness of the technique: an analysis of dynamical wave-breaking events and an examination of Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite data accuracy

RAAF air power doctrine: a collection of contemporary essays

This collection of essays, written by a group of Australia's leading air power exponents, complements the Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Manual recently produced by the RAAF and aims to contribute further to awareness and understanding of air power in Australia. The essays examine the circumstances which led the RAAF, after seventy years of operation, to develop an air power doctrine unique to Australia; the general theory of air power; the question of control of assets; operations and roles required of air power in Australian conditions; the joint force and political context in which Australian air power operates; the application of air power within the strategy of defence in depth

frystreet + friends

A performance of the Fry Street Quartet and others at the Performance Hall at Utah State University, performed on November 8, 2012.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/music_programs/1174/thumbnail.jp

ISO observations of far-infrared rotational emission lines of water vapor toward the supergiant star VY Canis Majoris

We report the detection of numerous far-infrared emission lines of water vapor toward the supergiant star VY Canis Majoris. A 29.5 - 45 micron grating scan of VY CMa, obtained using the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) of the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) at a spectral resolving power of approximately 2000, reveals at least 41 spectral features due to water vapor that together radiate a total luminosity ~ 25 solar luminosities. In addition to pure rotational transitions within the ground vibrational state, these features include rotational transitions within the (010) excited vibrational state. The spectrum also shows the doublet Pi 1/2 (J=5/2) <-- doublet Pi 3/2 (J=3/2) OH feature near 34.6 micron in absorption. Additional SWS observations of VY CMa were carried out in the instrument's Fabry-Perot mode for three water transitions: the 7(25)-6(16) line at 29.8367 micron, the 4(41)-3(12) line 31.7721 micron, and the 4(32)-3(03) line at 40.6909 micron. The higher spectral resolving power of approximately 30,000 thereby obtained permits the line profiles to be resolved spectrally for the first time and reveals the "P Cygni" profiles that are characteristic of emission from an outflowing envelope.Comment: 11 pages (inc. 2 figures), LaTeX, uses aaspp4.sty, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Can nuclear weapons fallout mark the beginning of the Anthropocene Epoch?

Many scientists are making the case that humanity is living in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, but there is no agreement yet as to when this epoch began. The start might be defined by a historical event, such as the beginning of the fossil-fueled Industrial Revolution or the first nuclear explosion in 1945. Standard stratigraphic practice, however, requires a more significant, globally widespread, and abrupt signature, and the fallout from nuclear weapons testing appears most suitable. The appearance of plutonium 239 (used in post- 1945 above-ground nuclear weapons tests) makes a good marker: This isotope is rare in nature but a significant component of fallout. It has other features to recommend it as a stable marker in layers of sedimentary rock and soil, including: long half-life, low solubility, and high particle reactivity. It may be used in conjunction with other radioactive isotopes, such as americium 241 and carbon 14, to categorize distinct fallout signatures in sediments and ice caps. On a global scale, the first appearance of plutonium 239 in sedimentary sequences corresponds to the early 1950s. While plutonium is easily detectable over the entire Earth using modern measurement techniques, a site to define the Anthropocene (known as a Ògolden spikeÓ) would ideally be located between 30 and 60 degrees north of the equator, where fallout is maximal, within undisturbed marine or lake environments

Operational and technological developments in maritime warfare: implications for the Western Pacific

There is a growing emphasis on maritime capabilities in the development of military forces in the Western Pacific region, particularly in Northeast and Southeast Asia. This reflects both the relative economic prosperity of the region and a growing concern over maritime security issues. Regional countries are seeking to take advantage of the technological developments which have occurred in recent decades in the field of maritime warfare; some are taking steps towards defining their force structures in terms of what can be built locally and what benefits can be gained for their economic development as a whole from transfers of technology. For all regional navies new issues have arisen. There is the thorny question of balancing resources as well as the risk of opting for too high a military capability and being left with the wrong weapon in the wrong fight. Much of the new equipment entering regional force structures is based on state-of-the-art technology and it is necessary to develop the ability both to operate and to maintain it. New problems are faced: of training and management, of shore-side support, and of testing and evaluation. Technologies which lead to force structuring to suit the unique environment of the region also lead to increased rigour in defining missions, tasks and requirements, and ultimately to the refinement of doctrine and tactics. This monograph is based on papers delivered at a seminar jointly hosted by the Royal Australian Navy's Maritime Studies Program and the Australian Naval Institute at HMAS Watson. It explores recent operational and technological developments In all aspects of maritime warfare - air, surface and sub-surface - and touches on many of the issues facing force planners in respect to the future of maritime security