In Episode 6, Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge get into why the complex, top heavy leadership structure of Defence affects performance and demotivates those below it. They discuss what the latest Parliamentary questioning of Defence officials at Senate Estimates revealed about the recruitment and retention crisis in the Australian military that’s unfolded since 2016 – a force that’s meant to have grown has shrunk – and finish with insights about the state of the US Navy from a report to Congress released as Mr Albanese left Washington. That report matters more than all the positive words about AUKUS on the trip.