It's been a busy few years for the Australian Defence Force.
There have been military operations in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, and troops remain in other spots around the globe.
There have been humanitarian efforts in places like Tonga, devastated by a recent tsunami.
But the workload on the home front has been extraordinary.
There were the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-2020, and then COVID-19. Troops were running hotel quarantine, manning state borders, delivering vaccines and are still helping out in aged care homes.
Now, 5,000 troops have been made available for the flood effort in northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland.
For some, it's all a bit late.
While they are welcome now, many are questioning where they were when the waters were raging.
Defence says it is ready and willing to help, as it is whenever it is called upon in such a situation.
But some experts are wondering if constantly calling upon the ADF — a force with the primary task of fighting wars — is the best answer to disasters at home.
'I would've loved to have heard a Black Hawk'
As floodwaters rose in Lismore, and residents sheltered in ceilings or on roofs, some wondered if the military might arrive.
Lismore MP Janelle Saffin, who was forced to swim from a friend's inundated home for safety, said they could have done with the help.
"I would have loved to have heard a Black Hawk," she said.
"It would have been just such a great sound at that time."
Defence did help with the immediate emergency response —133 people were rescued by Defence teams, who say they were somewhat hampered by the weather conditions.
Ms Saffin said there was still frustration within the community about whether the ADF could have done more.
"And look they were here, but they wanted them here immediately, because they know they've got choppers, they've got these capabilities."
The NSW Labor MP said Defence's help was incredibly welcome, both in the immediate emergency and the clean-up.
Ms Saffin said frustration continued as the waters receded when it was not immediately clear exactly what the ADF was able to do.
"Communicate to people so that we understand exactly what they are doing," Ms Saffin said.
"We can then have our expectations in order."
The ADF's presence is building as the clean-up effort grows. As of Monday, there were 637 ADF troops in northern New South Wales, and 1,358 in south-east Queensland.
That will grow to around 5,000 as roads reopen, and crews and equipment can access more areas.
Assistance is coming from abroad too – two Singaporean Chinook helicopters, which were already in Australia, are helping out.
Singapore is also sending over a relief package with tents, blankets, meals and medical supplies.
A natural fit for disasters
The ADF has a long history of helping out when disaster strikes.
It played an enormous role during the Black Summer bushfires, in everything from logistics and air support, to evacuations, search and rescue and even catering.
The Royal Commission into Natural Disaster Arrangements, called in response to the fires, examined the role of the ADF — and noted the public's expectations often do not match reality.
"The public perception was that the ADF could assist in every aspect and was always readily available," it found.
"This is not, in fact, the case. Nor is it a reasonable expectation of the ADF."
It suggested the ADF should not be seen as a first responder for disaster, or relied upon as such.
It also found while the ADF does have unique capacity to support response and recovery efforts, there was a widespread lack of understanding among governments and agencies as to what exactly it can and cannot do.
Defence itself argues it is well prepared and well placed to respond to events like the current floods.
An 'emergency support force' is on standby during the high-risk weather season, made up of 150 people in each state and territory, available at 24 hours notice.
And there are well-known and well-used protocols for state governments, who have the primary task of disaster response, to call on the ADF for help when their capacity is stretched.
Major General David Thomae, who is leading the ADF's response to domestic disasters, said while the military might be a fighting force its skills translated well to disasters.
"Our core skills, which are our purpose for a defence force, provide a level of training that allows us to then respond to domestic circumstances," he said.
"And since the bushfires in 2019 till today, the ADF has been supporting the community whether it's during COVID or floods in 2020, and we have increased our equipment which is better suited to domestic operations.
"An example of that is we now have helicopters that operate specifically for domestic operations, and they are operating right now in northern New South Wales."
Fighting on too many fronts
Military expert Michael Shoebridge, from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, agrees the ADF is very good at responding to disasters.
But he questions if that is becoming somewhat to its detriment — particularly as the global strategic situation is increasingly tense.
"Defence has had to do all of these things, while deterring aggression in our in our region, and investing to build the kind of defence capability to deal with that strategic environment," he said.
"And the problem is defence being torn in two, because it's meeting these concurrent demands.
"But in meeting them, it's undercutting its warfighting capability."
Defence is often tasked with re-purposing military assets, and combat skillsets, for domestic disasters.
Mr Shoebridge said that approach had worked for a long time, but might not work forever.
"Everything it does is around structuring for war, and then it makes ad hoc contributions to everything else," he said.
"But the problem is the scale of these national and domestic events, and how often they're happening, has been going up."
His solution is to equip the ADF for the specific task of responding to domestic needs and leave the rest of the military to deal with its primary mission.
A dedicated unit could handle disasters at home, and be deployed for humanitarian and relief missions abroad.
"The answer for Defence is to structure accordingly, and not see these domestic and regional assistance tasks as ad hoc things that happen just from time to time, and can be made out of the force that's built for war.
"That's going to take new money into the defence budget, and it's also going to mean that the ADF has to recruit additional people that are trained and equipped to do these national and regional disaster assistance jobs.
"And that actually will protect Defence's ability to deal with the dangerous strategic environment that we have, and meet public and government expectations."
'People expect they will do everything'; why the ADF may not always be the best team for the job
Others push back against the idea of making disaster response a core responsibility for the ADF.
Neil James from the Australia Defence Association wants a better appreciation of what Defence can and cannot do to help.
"There's this belief that the ADF should be instantly available everywhere to do no matter what's asked for it, it just can't be done," he said.
"Particularly considering that a large part of the field element of the army is based in Northern Australia, away from where most Australians live.
"And a lot of the criticism hasn't taken that into account. Why has it taken so long to deploy? Well, it's because they're a long way away."
Mr James is critical of the idea of setting up a dedicated ADF unit for disaster response, arguing a better solution is to invest more in existing emergency-response agencies.
He also questions whether the workforce is there to support it, given many people with the skillset and motivation required already volunteer their time.
"The idea that we should have a dedicated natural disaster force just on permanent standby falls into a heap for the simple reason that we've already got them in the state emergency services," he said.
"And they have trouble recruiting enough people."
Janelle Saffin disputes the suggestion that the ADF should not be called upon to help respond to disasters, in circumstances like rescuing people off roofs during floods.
"If it can be done, it should be done," she said.
"There are questions around if it can be done — but if it can be done, it should be done."
