Australia has had an interesting association with Somalia, a nation now better known for its piracy than anything else at the moment.

The temptation to put all simulation efforts into a single one size fits all box marked ‘computer geeks' is not nearly as compelling as it once was.

Your correspondent read the recent the recent Sydney Morning Herald series on dodgy defence accounting with great interest but was disappointed to discover a complete absence of expenditure on prostitutes or bribes to or from international arms dealers.

As Defence and Industry prepare to reform how various ship classes are maintained and undergo repairs under the new batching concept, it may be worthwhile examining the home port concept.

At the ADM2010 Congress last month, many speakers reflected on the need for cultural change and for more trust between Defence and Industry, from both sides of the equation.

Over a great many years in the media business, your correspondent has perused numerous reports of assorted official inquiries, Royal Commissions and the like.

As we are now well aware, the Strategic Reform Program (SRP) is how Defence will save $20 billion across 10 years to fund the raft of new platforms and capabilities to be built in that time.

Iran may not have a nuclear weapon right now but it does have what's been suggested is the next best thing - an ability to close or attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz.