Australian Defence Force’ Role in Regional Health Security Missions Defined by Infectious Diseases

摘要

History shows that infectious diseases oftendetermined the ability of armed forces to maintainsoldiers on campaign and sailors in ships? Priorto the industrialisation of warfare in World War I,disease casualties outnumbered combat casualtiesoften by a large margin? For example, during the laststages of the Australian Imperial Force’s Palestinecampaign, disease casualties outnumbered combatinjuries > 30:1? 2 Infectious disease threats stillrequire careful pre-deployment planning and goodmedical support, especially in tropical operationswhere insect vectors may greatly increase diseaserisks? On occasion, however, infectious disease hasbeen the mission focus rather than just part of thebattlespace equation? Weapons of mass destructioninclude epidemic infectious diseases, whetherpurposefully introduced or—more likely—as anevolution of a naturally occurring infection? Becausesuch missions are very context and disease-specific,it is worth examining the Australian Defence Force’s(ADF) experience with military missions defined byan infectious disease epidemic? As new infectiousdiseases (Zika, Chikungunya, COVID-19) emergeto spread across the region potentially destabilisingfragile island nations rapidly, the ADF needs toconsider its history in order to inform its planningfor future scenarios where its transport and logisticalassets from both the military and civilian sector couldbe applied in defending Australia by controlling anepidemic in the region.