Given the lack of interest, the crap training, record resignation rate, staff shortages and the ADF in desperate recruitment crisis; well we anticipate RMC Duntroon to go wholly online soon. This would mean applicants can come from anywhere, at any age, no fitness or health checks, but if they can muster a 20-page multi-guess test for RMC officership graduation online from home (ie: Skype) – you’ll be in like Flynn!
Allow 2 minutes per question and that brings down the timing commitment to just 40 minutes from the old 4 year effort. And no need to be bussed to Canberra or the bogging, starching, incessant parade drill or senior cadet bastardisation!
And then not just graduating from RMC as originally after 4 years as a Second Lieutenant with a university degree, and since 1986 after just 18 months (no degree), or more recently (desperately) since January 2024 after just 12 months as a full Lieutenant (no degree, no clue). Well, soon perhaps online graduate as an Australian Army Company Major! And bugger the traditional service requirements (see below). China’s PLA shake in your boots!
‘The Major’ in Faulty Towers…good show old boy!
Further Reading and References:
Modernised officer training being trialled
2 February 2024, https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2024-02-02/modernised-officer-training-being-trialled
Staff cadets of Royal Military College – Duntroon march across the parade ground during the 143rd graduation in Canberra, December 2023. Photo: Mr Jarrad Morreels
A contemporary approach to officer training is being trialled by Royal Military College – Duntroon (RMC-D) this year, condensing the current 18-month program to 12 months. Trainees will receive the same training in a shorter format, meet the same graduation standards and qualifications, and graduate as lieutenants on completion of the course.
Commandant Land Combat College Brigadier Jason Groat said the 12-month officer commissioning program (OCP), being trialled from January 2024 to December 2025, marked a significant development in Army’s commitment to deliver an integrated force that meets the requirement to be simple, scalable and agile. [Otherwise the training so fast-tracked as to be a blur for junior cadets – like Day 1: Welcome to Country smoking ceremony, tick off full kit already laid out on barracks bed (made up), followed by a ‘meet and greet’ by senior cadets (aka ‘leaps, jumps and bishing’). Day 2: weapons training (all of them) in the morning out at Majura, 5 minute rat pack lunch, arvo PT up Mount Pleasant and down, first aid training (10 minutes), all night bush navigation in Civic – BYO iPhone].
“As with all training, we will monitor and evaluate trainees throughout the program. If adjustments need to be made, we will make them,” Brigadier Groat said.
The trial OCP will comprise six modules that include practical applications of leadership, command, foundation warfighting and military planning [2 days]. It is designed to enable the same initial foundation and leadership skills for all officers.
Commanding Officer RMC-D Lieutenant Colonel Brian Hickey said: “As we re-shape and contemporise our training approach [training online via Army App] to be more effective, the training will retain the same core performance elements and critical skills that are the mainstay of Army’s ab initio officer education pathway”. The program design presents an opportunity to increase the speed to capability for service category (SERCAT) 7 generalist officers and inform a training design to benefit other SERCAT and training audiences.
Lieutenant Colonel Hickey said the trial aimed to remove duplication by incorporating technology and new methods of instruction that are sources of efficiency and value for training systems and the receiving units.
On July 1, 2023, RMC-Australia* and Combined Arms Training Centre [CATC] aligned to become Land Combat College (LCC) with headquarters in both Canberra and Puckapunyal (C&P). LCC is the single training authority that delivers foundational training [FT] and combat capabilities [CC] for land specialists [LS’s].
[*NOTE: The ‘Duntroon‘ brand name is clearly withering on the vine. From ‘Duntroon‘ only it became “The Royal Military College Duntroon“, then more recently shortened to ‘RMC Duntroon’, then that abbreviated to just ‘RMC-D‘ (Duntroon Bastardisation had got a bad wrap, and government bureaucracies are passionate about their acronyms), and from 2023 its currently renamed ‘RMC-Australia‘. So the word Duntroon disappears altogether! Perhaps the ADF might totally rename this Canberran suburb next, say with some PC-correct Aboriginal name like ‘Ngunnawal‘ then shift all the training down to Pucka (P) or back to Portsea (P)?]
Duntroon cutting officer training time by a third
29/01/2024 by Brian Hartigan, https://www.contactairlandandsea.com/2024/01/29/duntroon-cutting-officer-training-by-a-third/
Royal Military College–Duntroon will trial a new approach to officer training this year, which will shorten the current 18-month program to 12 months.
Commandant Land Combat College Brigadier Jason Groat said trainees would receive the same training in a shorter format, meet the same graduation standards and qualifications, and graduate as lieutenants [bugger the second lieutenant ranking] on completion of the course.
“The 12-month OCP, to be trialled from January 2024 to December 2025, marks a significant development in the Army’s commitment to deliver an integrated force that meets the requirement to be simple, scalable and agile,” Brigadier Goat said. “As with all training, we will monitor and evaluate trainees throughout the program and, if adjustments need to be made, we will make them.”
Brigadier Goat said the trial officer course would comprise six modules that include practical applications of (1) leadership, (2) command [different to leadership], (3) foundation warfighting and (4) military planning [plus unmentioned (5) drill/marching, and (6) bastardisation]… and was designed to enable the same initial foundation and leadership skills for all officers.
Commanding officer RMC–Duntroon Lieutenant-Colonel Brian Hickey said, “as we re-shape and contemporise our training approach to be more effective, the training will retain the same core performance elements and critical skills that are the mainstay of Army’s ab-initio officer education pathway”.
“The trial aims to remove duplication by incorporating technology [iPhone Apps] and new methods of instruction [Skype] that are sources of efficiency and value for training systems and the receiving units”, Lieutenant-Colonel Hickey said. “The program design presents an opportunity to increase the speed-to-capability for generalist officers and inform a training design to benefit other audiences.” [ie: onlooking parents at graduation]
ADFA cadets [same hill] will still do the same training, with delivery broken into modules to allow them to join their RMC class to complete their usual 12 months.
[We’re one step ahead…’RMC-A‘…]
COMMENT by ‘MoonOutGoonsOut’ (not his real name), (2022) [Reddit]
This is a good counterpoint, OCS produced some good tactical junior leaders in a timely fashion who were immediately deployed to combat. However a fair chunk of the extra growth in training liability has been in governance, pers and unit administration, risk management, WHS and the like. Don’t get me wrong these are necessary inclusions but just stating there are reasons the training was lengthened. Probably also worth noting that weapons and communication systems are now more complex and require more time training. I am concerned that if there is a reduction to length if training what will ultimately give will be depth of tactical training and resilience/leadership because no one will be brave enough to reduce the governance/admin/drill. I think then the expectation is that the ROBCs will have to pick up the shortfalls.
