RAAF Air Power Conference: The Art of Air Power
29-30 March, 2010
National Convention Centre, Canberra
I invite your attention to the forthcoming RAAF Air Power Conference—The Art of Air Power— to be held in Canberra. This event will offer an excellent opportunity for all who have a professional interest in larger national security issues to obtain a contemporary understanding of the complexity of employing air power efficiently.
This conference reinstitutes an RAAF tradition that had been in force until 2004. I am glad to announce that biennial air power conferences will again be part of broader RAAF engagement and educational activities, with the aim of encouraging strategic thinking and informed debate about the role of air power and air forces in these changing times.
Global security is a primary concern for all governments. Defence forces worldwide are being employed regularly, and at times for lengthy continuous periods, in pursuit of national security. The inherent flexibility of armed forces has generally ensured that they cope with the enormous responsibilities that they shoulder. It is, however, imperative that the Royal Australian Air Force examines the impact of international security developments at the strategic level, if it wishes to be effective into the future.
Evolving strategies and concepts are the foundations on which the success of an air force is built. There is no room for complacency in this. This conference has been organised with a view to clarifying—at the strategic, philosophical level—the issues that face the application of air power, and to suggest the optimum way forward in aligning air forces with broader national security imperatives. A select group of international and Australian experts have been invited to share their opinions with conference participants in the form of presentations.
I hope that a significant number of Defence personnel, commentators on defence issues, and the general public, will take this opportunity to attend what promises to be a thought-provoking event. I commend the conference to you and invite you to join me at the National Convention Centre in Canberra on 29 and 30 March 2010.
Air Marshal Mark Binskin,
AM
Chief of Air Force (CAF)