James Goldrick retired from the Australian Navy in 2012 as a two-star Rear-Admiral. His previous books include studies of the opening months of the First World War at sea (The King's Ships Were at Sea, USNI, 1984) and of the development of South Asian navies (No Easy Answers, Lancer, 1997).

Jack McCaffrie retired from the RAN as a Commodore (one-star) in 2003. He currently works with the RAN Sea Power Centre where he is writing the second edition of the RAN's Australian Maritime Operations doctrine publication. He also works with the Centre for Ocean Resources and Security at Wollongong University.