History of the Australian Defence Force and the Defence Force Academy

The legal age for enlistment in the Australian Defence Force is 17 years of age, with parental consent (“Australia”, CIA.gov). In 2011, the ADF consisted of over 80,000 full-time and part-time personnel, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Women have served in the Australian military since the Second World War; at the time, each branch established a separate, all female sector (Dennis, 605). The Royal Australian Air Force was the first branch to fully integrate women in 1977. By 1985, the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Navy had both achieved full integration (Horner, 321). Initially, women were not allowed to serve in combat positions; these restrictions were removed in 1990. In 2010, about 84% of positions were equally available to women as well as men, though women were still barred from all infantry positions and any other positions where there is a high probability of direct hand-to-hand combat (“Roles of Women in the ADF”). This left few positions available in the Army to women, while almost all positions in the Air Force and the Navy were available to females. In 2011, it was announced that all gender-based employment restrictions would be eliminated within the coming five years. In 2013, all Army positions were made available to women, with the exception of Special Forces positions; this last restriction is scheduled to be removed and all ADF positions made available to women by 2016 (“Lifting of Gender Restrictions”). Australia has also allowed gay and lesbian personnel to serve openly since 1992, when the federal government removed the ban on LGBT persons serving (Dennis, 264). Opponents argued that this would harm the military and result in a large number of personnel leaving; this never came to b...

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...e Bachelors in Technology – Aviation allows members to begin flight training a year earlier than other members, and it is believed that soldiers benefit from beginning training at a younger age (Harrap et al, 2007). Along with the university education, students are also provided military training, which is divided into two categories: Common Military Training and Single Service Training. Common Military Training is provided to all three branches and covers a range of areas, such as Leadership Studies, Military Communication, and Weapon Training (“Common Military Training”). Single Service Training is only conducted at the start and end of the year, and is specifically designed to meet the requirements of each individual branch (“Single Service Training”). In addition to undergraduate degrees, the ADFA also offers a variety of postgraduate programs in several fields.