2. Plan BEERSHEBA (Army Adaptive Campaign Plan – Next Phase)
Brief to Land Environment Working Group
BRIG Greg Bilton
DGDP-A
28 Jun 11

3. Objective of Plan BEERSHEBA Method and implementation
Scope
Transition drivers
Objective of Plan BEERSHEBA
Method and implementation
Plan BEERSHEBA structures the Australian Army to focus on its two most important tasks – ensuring the best preparation for forces deploying on operations (preparing for ‘the war’) and sustaining Army’s foundation war fighting skills (preparing for ‘a war’), against the tasks required by Government within the resources allocated to it through Defence White Paper 2009.
Plan BEERSHEBA will result in:
The broadest array of sustainable Military Response Options to government;
More effective conduct on operations through rotational formed teams, better ability to maintain prolonged operations, provide reinforcement as required and a more predicable fleet management, allocation and training cycle;
Improvement in Professional Mastery through common skill requirements resulting in greater opportunity for postings to more units and locations (enhanced posting opportunities means increased retention and increased Regulars transferring to Reserves on separation);
Greater opportunity for foundation warfighting collective training and respite;
Simpler analysis in Basis of Provisioning for DCP projects, rather than having three unique types of formation (mechanised, light and motorised);
Meet cost of ownership requirements and effective use of resources, especially within major capital projects (including Land 400, 121, 75 and 125 and Joint Project 2048 and 2072), workforce and training/skilling;
Fundamental integration of Reserve, civilian and contractor capability (along with appropriate adjustment of policy on conditions of service) in accordance with Reference C; and
Easier force balancing decisions:
‘plug and play’ principle extended across three ‘like’ manoeuvre brigades; and
Clearer capability attribution decisions, for example, a broader range of forces available for amphibious capability
Director General Development and Plans - Army

4. Transition drivers Operations generation imperatives
Disposition and Future Defence Estate Profile
Major Capital Facilities
Defence Capability Plan implications - Basis of Provisioning
Defence Support Group, Joint Logistics Command, Joint Health Command, Chief Information Officer Group
People (including establishment hollowness)
Resources
Director General Development and Plans - Army

5. Plan BEERSHEBA Objective
Next phase of Adaptive Army
Maximise the development of joint capability
Preparedness and Force Generation as force structure determinants
Development of multi-role manoeuvre brigades
Dedicated amphibious capability
Living within our means
A better balanced force
Preparedness and Force Generation
2:1 ‘Threes’ for manoeuvre brigades - Ready, Reset, Readying
3:1 ‘fours’ for enables where possible - Ready, Deployed, Reset, Readying
FSR13 priority intent is to develop arguments to reinforce 3:1 within enabling structures to ensure that a ‘one shot’ deployment is supportable alongside a sustained commitment without breaking the enabler FORGEN model
Strategic Reform Program, Defence Capability Plan and Defence Budgetary Guidance
The intent of Plan BEERSHEBA is to provide for a force structure that is easier to manage in preparedness, force generation and budgetary terms.
The primary resource direction for Plan BEERSHEBA is to implement the plan within available means and to aim to decrease the medium to long term cost of ownership of forces to ensure Army is able to provide the maximum capability to Government within the budget principles and guidance described in Defence White Paper 2009, the Strategic Reform Program and long term budget direction. The adoption of Plan BEERSHEBA is not expected to provide ‘savings’ beyond existing budgetary guidance.
Increased commonality and changes to the way Army distributes and employs its personnel, equipment, facilities and other resources underpin Plan BEERSHEBA.
Better Balanced Force
The adoption of common Manoeuvre Brigade structures and force generation cycles within Specialist Brigades and formations enable a clearer statement of the capacity and concurrency issues in the Land Forces.
Director General Development and Plans - Army

6. Force Generation: Key Force Structure Determinant
READY
RESET
READYING
Force Preparation
BRIGADE BASED TASK FORCE
ONE DEPLOYABLE MAJOR JTF
FOUR DEPLOYABLE MINOR JTF
THREE LIKE DEPLOYABLE MANOEUVRE BRIGADES
SPECIAL FORCES TASK GROUPS
SPECIALIST BRIGADES AND COMMANDS
READY FE
READYING
RESET
DEPLOYED
AB INITIO
SKILLS AND CAREER
IET / ROBC
Enabling
Formations & Commands
The illustration on this slide outlines the force generation construct developed under the Plan Beersheba Army structure. The three combat brigades (1st, 3rd and 7th Brigades located in Darwin, Townsville and Brisbane respectively) are currently structured along functional lines with mechanised, motorised and airmobile forces. A decade of enduring operations has proven this to be inefficient with deployed forces for each rotation being comprised of units and capabilities from each of Army’s brigades in order to meet the specific mission. This is disruptive for training, unit cohesion and families. A transition to an organisational structure of three ‘alike’ brigades will provide significant efficiencies and importantly provide a better ability to force generate sustainable Army combat forces across the broadest range of Military Response Options. The intent of this change is to structure each of the three combat Brigades with a range of capabilities that provide sufficient protection, firepower and mobility to draw all of the combat power required for a greater range of missions, from within each brigade.
The enabling capabilities that supplement the combat brigades, but of which Army does not have sufficient to provide dedicated elements to all three, are to be retained in three additional specialist brigades. These brigades provide aviation, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance and electronic warfare, logistics and other joint capabilities as different missions may demand. These specialised brigades have been formed over the past few years (16th Brigade (Aviation); 17th Brigade (Combat Service Support); and 6th Brigade (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Reconnaissance, Electronic Warfare, force engineering and regional surveillance), but will need some reorganisation and enhancement to optimise effectiveness.
Although the optimal force generation ratio is four force element to sustain one deployed (readying-ready-deployed-reset), the adoption of ‘alike brigades’ will at least optimise three force elements to sustain one deployable (readying-ready-reset) Army combat brigades. However, Army will seek to develop four force elements to sustain one deployed of high demand, niche capabilities currently resident within its specialist brigades.
Each ‘alike’ brigade will include standardised infantry battalions, an Armoured Cavalry Regiment capable of covering the spectrum of tasks from close combat, protected mobility through formation reconnaissance and tanks. Standardised Offensive support, engineering and communications capabilities will be replicated as well as supporting logistics units.
When three brigades are structured the same, it makes decisions on balancing the Army capability across the force easier to decide like: command and control arrangements (especially for the rapid reassignment of forces between brigades); training area and basing requirements (facilities issues become more similar rather than disparate based on peculiarities of brigades and units); balancing the roles and tasks of Special Operations Command with conventional force (like the removal of duplication in the parachute capability); and support to joint capabilities (like contribution of land forces for amphibious operations).
Training Formations
Like Manoeuvre Formations
Director General Development and Plans - Army 6

7. End state-Force Structure
Three multi – role manoeuvre brigades containing all elements of the combined arms team comprising:
Tank, close combat protected mobility, infantry, SP and towed artillery, combat engineer, C2 and close support logistics
Capable of mounted close combat
Integration of amphibious capability (JP2048) and Combined Arms Fighting System
Three specialist bde providing low density, key enablers better able to be force generated centrally (Avn, Logistics and Health, ISTAREW)
SO and Reserve elements force generated separately
Force Structure
The restructure of Army’s three manoeuvre Brigades (1st Brigade in Darwin and Adelaide, 3rd Brigade in Townsville and 7th Brigade in Brisbane) to provide them with a range of structurally identical units that provide sufficient protection, firepower and mobility to draw all of the combat power required for a greater range of missions into each Brigade.
Where Army has insufficient capacity in a capability to provide three full capabilities or where it is more suitable to raise train and sustain these capabilities centrally, they will be held in specialist Brigades. Primarily in the 6th Brigade (Combat Support, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance), 16th Brigade (Aviation) and 17th Combat Service Support Brigade.
The three manoeuvre Brigades will be structured into units that specialise in one area of Army capability and that combine with forces from the other Brigade units to form mission specific Combined Arms Teams. This better reflects the reality of land force operations over the last decade.
Army will have thirty combat subunits (eighteen dismounted combat (infantry); nine mounted combat (armoured reconnaissance and protected lift); and three tank). By comparison, Army currently has twenty-eight combat subunits (nineteen infantry – nine ‘light’, six ‘mechanised’ and four ‘motorised’; six cavalry; one protected lift; and two tank).
Director General Development and Plans - Army

8. Army Amphibious Dedicated Battlegroup -Plan BEERSHEBA Concept
Battle group Headquarters
(10th BG, 7th Infantry Bn HQ)
READY ELEMENTS PROVIDE CAPABILITY BRICKS
Amphib
Land C2
Other Elements
Aviation, CSS, Signals, Protected
Mobility etc
Combat
Team
Amphib
Force
Generation
Element
READY
RESET
READYING FE
DEPLOYED
Joint Amphibious
Operations C2
ASSISTS
Amphib
Maritime C2
RETURN
AT RESET
CSS
Aviation
SHIP’S CREW
Ships’ Boats & connectors
C2, Engineering etc
Commander
Amphib
Task
Group
ADAS CAPABILITY

9. Reserve Main Effort Provision of Capability to total force - Plan BEERSHEBA Concept
Combat Forces (Regular/Reserve)
Reserve in Enabling Component
Deployed force level C2, CSS etc
Integration of Force Structures
(mix of military and civilian skills base)
Integrated
Surge Capability
Aviation Brigade
READY
RESET
READYING FE
DEPLOYED
CSS Brigade
Army C2
Combat Support &
ISTAR Brigade
Ready
Brigade and
enabling Brigade /
Formation force
elements
Special Forces Elements
Integrated
training
force structure
E.g. Medical, Engineering, Surveillance, CSS etc
Integrated force
preparation orgs
Provision of Effects
(generally military skills base)
2nd Division and other
Reserve raise, train
and sustain force
structure
Other deployable capabilities
E.g. Force protection, protected mobility, engineers etc
High Readiness, Active Reserve, other
Standby Reserve

10. Living within our means
Work force
Army of at end state
Removal of 700 hollow establishment positions
Strategic Reform Program
Reinvestment
Changes to extant practises
Defence Capability Plan
Sustainment
Force Structure Review 13
Director General Development and Plans - Army

11. Method Mar – Jun By 30 Jun 11- Best plan finalised
Army internal ongoing deliberations including ARES planning
Engagement with wider Army
By 30 Jun 11- Best plan finalised
By 31 Aug 11- Costing completed
By 30 Sep 11- Plan to CDF/SEC for endorsement
By 31 Oct 11- Framework Plan presented to MINDEF
Director General Development and Plans - Army

12. Implementation Phase 1 - Oct 11 Phase 2 - Annually
Framework Plan and desired end state
Detailed plan for that which is implementable and achievable now
Phase 2 - Annually
Update of the rolling plan as assumptions are confirmed and other decisions taken
Director General Development and Plans - Army

13. Questions
Director General Development and Plans - Army