It was no coincidence that in October 2013, the centenary of the arrival of the first ships of the Royal Australian Navy in Sydney was celebrated in such a public and spectacular way. With, among other things, an impressive international fleet review on Sydney Harbour, a dazzling fireworks display focused on the Opera House and a massive crowd of people in attendance, including royalty, it was a memorable occasion. That it was such a grand public event was not just a reflection of the Navy's (and the wider defence force's) pride in its history and achievements. It was yet another affirmation of the high esteem in which Australia's defence forces and the military, as an institution, are held in the collective Australian memory. As the anniversary spectacularly underscored, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) does more than bear the burden of the nation's defence and the Department of Defence (Defence) is more than just a great department of state dedicated to providing it with the means to do so. Together, the men and women, both military and civilian, who comprise Australia's defence community, are the contemporary embodiment of an Australian heritage of military affairs that stretches back to well before Federation in 1901. The challenges associated with preparing for war, waging it and dealing with its aftermath are etched deeply into the Australian consciousness. So much so that the nation's history - its political values and even some of its social ideals - have been shaped significantly by conflict. As TB Millar remarked in his path-breaking 1965 study, Australia's Defence, we 'are a people that has been tempered by war, and for whom the memories of war have permeated the years of peace'.1