Whole of Government

The 21st century security environment poses challenges to military paradigms that have existed for generations. Events around the world demonstrate how military forces are increasingly assisting in a variety of civil crises and national emergencies using different methods and working with agencies with which there was limited or no interaction in the past. Joint and interagency operations are becoming the norm and an integral part of successful operations across the spectrum of conflict, and will continue into the near future. The ability of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to work across organizations, leveraging and promoting interoperability across the community has been the focus of an unprecedented effort to gain a truly "Whole of Government Approach" for over thirty years. The crux of whole of government operations lies in achieving interoperability between the highly-structured military organizations staffed by trained professionals and less-rigid civilian agencies focused around individual motivations. A look at the synthesis between the organizations involved within the Australian whole of government approach in comparison with the United States'; unified action doctrine demonstrates an increased operational flexibility practiced by this relatively small organization.