By Robbin Laird We have raised for some time the question of whether the liberal democracies can effectively crisis manage. And our colleague John Blackburn set up a new Institute in Australia a couple of years ago to focus attention on how Australia could become a more resilient society in…
By Pierre Tran Paris - French arms companies have taken major steps following a national lock down ordered last week against the coronavirus, with some factories closed or cutting back, staff working from home, and shipyards working at a slower pace. The government has declared a state of emergency in…
Historical change is generated through crises. And clearly we are facing one now. But as General Stonewall Jackson put it: "Never take counsel of your fears." Clearly, it is not being governed by our fears that we will do the kind of resiliency reset we need to address and to set…
By Kenneth Maxwell I am quarantined on my hill in Devon. The British Media had been celebrating the “Dunkirk” spirit. The British Prime Minister, the old Etonian, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, better know as as “Boris” or “BoJo” is the author of a book on Winston Churchill. He likes…
By Robbin Laird The first time I met Vice Admiral (Retired) Tim Barrett was at the 2016 Williams Foundation Seminar in which he addressed the evolving role of the Australian Navy in the transformation of the Australian Defence Force. He provided a keynote presentation to the August 2016 Seminar on…
By Pierre Tran Paris - The French navy sailed a helicopter carrier to the Mediterranean island of Corsica to pick up patients hit by the coronavirus infection, the armed forces ministry said March 22. Florence Parly tweeted the arrival today of Thunder, a Mistral class helicopter carrier, at the port…
By Robbin Laird The Australian Offshore Patrol Vessel or the Arafura Class OPV program is the launch program for the new Australian approach to shipbuilding. Termed a “continuous shipbuilding process,” the core point is to have an ongoing shipbuilding effort, rather than a start and stop approach built around a…
By Pierre Tran Paris - On March 18, 2020, the French air force flew six civilian patients severely hit by the deadly coronavirus in an A330 MRTT military transport jet fitted out with an onboard medical evacuation unit, the armed forces ministry said. That was the first time the service…
