In 2006 the Government of the United States of America lodged a reservation against the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR (2005)) that effectively nullified certain provisions with respect to the operations of USA Armed Forces. The aim of the IHR (2005) is to detect, prevent and control public health events of international concern; it does not contain provisions that explicitly relate to the militaries of States Parties. While public health considerations are undoubtedly important to the military, it is difficult to envisage how an international treaty on public health might directly obstruct military operations. This article will outline how certain provisions of the IHR (2005) might perceivably affect the ability of militaries to conduct operations in accordance with military priorities. The article concludes that to secure operational manoeuvrability, the Australian Government should consider lodging similar exemptions to future international treaties, even if those treaties do not appear to affect the Australian Defence Force directly.