Widening Minds by Frame Tom;

Author:Frame, Tom;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of New South Wales Press
Published: 2017-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

A compromise was sought which would cover up this dichotomy since there was a desire to create a sense of unity at this stage. The phrase ‘within the ambit’ was accepted because it has a geographical connotation (‘within the perimeter of ’) which both sides could accept, while stopping short of stating that the University College was part of the Academy.13

The Agreement reflected and deflected the tensions and the ambiguities that had not been resolved by mid-1981. The ADF wanted to avoid the appearance that it had no control over junior officer education, while UNSW wanted to avert any criticism that Defence was controlling the curriculum. There was, however, trust on both sides and an acceptance that a complex, if slightly contradictory, agreement was the best they could achieve within the available time. Despite previous reservations about the benefits of a tri-Service Academy in some sections of the ADF and the Defence Department, once the 1981 Agreement was signed there was complete commitment on all sides to seeing it built efficiently and on time. The Defence interface would initially be led by Colonel Alan Hodges of the Defence Force Policy Division (representing the ADF) and Rob Tonkin, the CEO of the Defence Training Branch (representing the Defence Department). Defence was pleased to be working with UNSW and did not anticipate any major difficulties during the building phase. The University was highly respected within Defence and well regarded within the higher education community.

The principal challenge, according to Tonkin, was for Defence to be clear about what it wanted and needed from the University.14 While there was agreement that the undergraduate student body would not include civilians, on the grounds that they would dilute the military culture, there was no vision for postgraduate education and no articulated strategy for exploiting academic research. Defence accepted that postgraduates were needed to promote a research culture. There had been postgraduates at Duntroon, albeit in limited numbers. The postgraduates could use the new facilities beyond 4 p.m., when most cadets were engaged in recreational sport and military training. Defence was yet to appreciate that it would benefit directly from the presence of postgraduates and their supervisors at the Academy in terms of research outputs. In the years that followed and particularly in relation to Masters courses, military students mixed with mid-level public servants and formed relationships across government departments and agencies that would prove invaluable when goodwill and collaboration were needed for a whole-of-government initiative.

Defence certainly wanted to see an increase in cadet retention levels, as the combined resignation and failure rate was then approaching 20 per cent. Tonkin saw the evolving relationship between the two institutions as a diarchy, with the Rector and Commandant reporting to a Council that would ensure the Academy pursued a consistent purpose. The Council had no executive authority over the Academy or the College. It was to serve as a forum to express concerns and exert influence. Behind the scenes, the Chief of Defence Force Staff (renamed Chief of the

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