Australian Army Cadets
Australian Army Cadets (AAC) around Australia conducted exercises and courses that varied from state to state in the September/October 2021 school holidays.
All AAC Brigades traditionally conduct their Annual Field Exercises (AFX) in the spring school holidays. This year, for the second year in a row, each regional Brigade or Battalion had to adapt the specific COVID-19 restrictions that applied in its State or Territory.
Whilst varying degrees of lockdown in all of the eastern states restricted their Brigades to the conduct of online courses and camps, Western Australia, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory were able to return to the field for their AFX or courses camps.
“Due to COVID-19, there had been a massive lack of outside training in the first half of the year”, said Cadet Under Officer (CUO) Emerald Kidd, of the Tasmanian AAC Battalion. “So everyone was keen to get back out in the field for the AFX”, she added.
While the outer states were not in lock down, numerous COVID related restrictions affected the way that the AFXs could be conducted and each regional Headquarters adapted to meet the challenges of conducting a safe activity.
Western Australia AAC Brigade met the challenge by allocating a separate Area of Operations within the same training area to each battalion in the Brigade. “The separate AO model was a first, but worked well and was very well received,” said Colonel David Jones, the Brigade Commander. “We achieved the necessary cohorting and controls while able to provide close support and efficiencies within the overall training area,” he added.
The WA Brigade AFX at Bindoon Training Area featured abseiling and engineering activities and range practices. ADF support and visits to the exercise came from 16 RWAR and 10 LHR, with the Bushmaster and Hawkei vehicles on display proving a hit with the cadets.
SA Brigade also conducted a split AFX, with over 500 cadets exercising at three separate training areas, Murray Bridge, Koltana and Mount Gambier. Recent graduates of the Brigade Public Affairs course publicised the broad range of courses on offer in daily facebook posts featuring videos from Regional CUO Amelia Bau and Regional Cadet WO Harriett White.
Tasmania Battalion was small enough to conduct a single AFX at Stony Head Training Area, with ADF personnel assisting with safety at the range practices. The AFX also featured attendance by a group of Australian Navy Cadets.
“We’ve always encouraged cadets from Navy and Air Force Cadets to attend our activities”, explains CUO Kidd. “It was amazing to see the Navy Cadets training with us and learning Army skills like Radio Telephone Procedure”, she said.
The Tasmanian Battalion AFX also featured a Navigation challenge in sections, a Company versus Company “Olympics” competition and a visit from the Governor, the Honourable Barbara Baker, AC.
The Australian Army Cadets (AAC) provides a personal development program for young people and is conducted by the Australian Army in cooperation with the community and aims to benefit the nation by developing individuals and their communities.
The AAC adopts the values of the Australian Army – Service, Courage, Respect, Integrity and Excellence – to empower youth to achieve their potential.
There are more than 17,500 Army Cadets based in over 240 units around Australia
Thu, 09 Dec 2021 15:05:26 GMT