Army celebrates its 124th birthday

The Australian Army was established on 1st of March 1901 and this year marks 124 years of Army’s service to the nation.

Army was established as a result of federation as the Commonwealth sought to combine the military forces of each colony and create a unified force.

Since its inception, Army has undergone significant changes in terms of its structure, organisation, and capabilities.

Initially, Army relied on horse-mounted cavalry units and basic infantry weapons. Today, Army is equipped with advanced technology, including state-of-the-art armoured vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles and cyber and electronic warfare capabilities.

In the early years, Army was organised into small, independent units, with little coordination or cooperation between them. Today, Army is organised into a unified, integrated force that is optimised for littoral manoeuvre with long-range land and maritime strike capability. This integration is aimed at enhancing Army's ability to conduct joint, combined, and interagency operations in a complex and rapidly changing operational environment.

The training and education of Army personnel has also changed significantly. In the beginning, training was simple and focused on basic infantry skills. Today, training is comprehensive and emphasises innovation and agility, diversity and inclusion, strengthening alliances and partnerships, and improving leadership development.

Despite these significant changes, Army remains true to its core values of service, courage, respect, integrity and excellence.

Each year, during the birthday celebrations, Army focuses on its people and their accomplishments. Since its inception, Army has celebrated the Jonathan Church Good Soldiering Awards on its birthday. These awards recognise junior leaders in Army who have exemplified Army values in their conduct, and demonstrated leadership, compassion, and ethical soldiering. This year’s award recipients will be announced during an afternoon tea at Army’s Russell Offices in celebration of the birthday.

We encourage you to celebrate Army’s birthday by learning more about its history and future direction. You can also get in contact with your local Army base to learn about their planned birthday activities.