The Military of Australia Portal
The Military of Australia officially known as the Australian Defence Force (ADF) since 1976 consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The Australian Department of Defence administers the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) which consists of the ADF and the civilian personnel supporting the ADF. Approximately 53,000 men and women serve in the ADF with another 21,600 serving in the three reserve components.
The ADF is constituted under the Executive Government sections of the Australian Constitution, Section 68, that says, "The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the Queen's representative." In practice, the control of the ADF is, politically, vested in the Minister for Defence and several subordinate ministers. The Minister acts on most matters alone, however, important matters are considered by the National Security Committee of Cabinet. The Minister then advises the Governor-General who acts as advised in the normal form of executive government. The current Chief of the Australian Defence Force is Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston.
The Military history of Australia covers a period of around 200 years starting with the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Australians have fought in nearly every major war of the 20th Century including the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War as well as numerous UN peace keeping missions.
 Operation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion of Japan at the end of World War II, but was ultimately never used. It was scheduled to occur in two parts — Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyūshū, set to begin in November, 1945; and later Operation Coronet, the invasion of Honshū near Tokyo, scheduled for the spring of 1946. Kyūshū was to be invaded at three points — Miyazaki beach, Ariake beach, and Kushikino beach. Southern Kyūshū would become a staging ground for operation Coronet, and would give the Allies a valuable airbase from which to operate. Following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan, the Japanese surrendered and the operation was cancelled. If the operation had gone ahead Australia was to play a part. The 20 squadrons strong First Tactical Air Force was earmarked to take part in both Olympic and Coronet, while a planned Australian 10th Division was to land during Coronet. Any Invasion of Japan would have also seen the Royal Australian Navy play a role.
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Army • History
Armoured Units, Army Aviation, Australian Imperial Force, Brigades, Cadets, College, Enlisted Ranks, Memorial, Officer Ranks, RAR, Regiments, Senior Officers, Regional Surveillance Units, Structure, VC Winners, Weapons
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RAAF • History
Aircraft, Airfield Defence Guards, Bases, Chief of Air Force, Flights, First Tactical Air Force, Ranks, Roulettes, Squadrons, Structure
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RAN • History
Admiral of the Fleet, Bases, Cadets, Clearance Divers, Current Ships, Fleet Air Arm, Future, Historic ships, HMAS, Memorial, Patrol Boat Group, Persian Gulf Operations, RANVR, Reserve, Ship classes, Silent Service, WRANS
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Special Forces
1st Commando Regiment, 171st Suadron, 200 Squadron, 4 RAR, Coastwatchers, Incident Response Regiment, SASR, SOCOMD, Tactical Assault Group, WWII Companies, Z Special Unit
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