When Tony Abbott and his colleagues on the National Security Committee of cabinet sit down to have their first serious look at defence this week they will find a dispirited and disjointed department in need of direction and renewal.
Probably no other major government department has experienced the degree of leadership, budgetary and organisational churn as Defence or had its culture and business decisions so openly and frequently criticised.
Recognising the malaise, and the need to restore his department to good health, Defence Minister David Johnston has signalled his intention to conduct a root and branch reform of the defence organisation.
But the task is herculean and his good intentions will founder on the rock of intransigence unless the Prime Minister empowers Johnston to challenge vested interests and institutional inertia by establishing an independent inquiry with a broad remit.