[Julian Knight continues…]
Hallway Incident
‘By mid-May 1987, I was having regular clashes with the senior cadets of Kokoda Company.
One incident happened during the evening of Friday 15 May 1987. I was walking along the hallway on the second storey of the south wing of the (Kokoda Company) barracks, heading towards the south wing ablutions to have a shower. I would have used the ablutions in the north wing of the barracks except the north wing’s hot water and heating system had completely broken down in early April 1987. [It was approaching winter in inland Canberra]
Then I came across a group of about ten 1st Class cadets sitting on the floor on both sides of the corridor. [Barracks bullying protocol]: I halted, stood to attention and requested permission to pass from the most senior cadet present. (By this stage, I was the only 3rd Class cadet still being held to this initial assimilation requirement).
The most senior cadet present was Staff Cadet Sergeant Stephen ALEXANDER (CSC No 5008), a 23-year-old ex-Wormald security officer.
Before Sergeant ALEXANDER could reply, Lance Corporal Colin THORP asked me, “How many times have you been charged, Knight?” I answered, “A few times, corporal.”
Corporal THOMSON then interjected:
“Have you been charged with being a fuck-bucket yet?”
At this point the senior cadets present burst out laughing. I told THOMSON I had not, so THOMSON and THORP continued to ridicule me. I quickly tired of the ridicule so I again requested permission from Sergeant ALEXANDER to pass. ALEXANDER granted me permission over the ridicule of THOMSON and THORP so I walked on to the showers, despite efforts by senior cadets to trip me up as I passed.
Parade Rehearsal
On another occasion in mid-May 1987, during a parade rehearsal the 2nd Class cadet behind me in the formation, Staff Cadet Robert HAMBURGER (CSC No 4548), a 22-year-old ADFA graduate, constantly abused me throughout the rehearsal for not being able to march.
HAMBURGER complemented the abuse by kicking my heels throughout the rehearsal. I was more than competent in the skill of marching and had been marching since I joined the Army Cadets seven years previously.
HAMBURGER simply did not like me and after the rehearsal he told a 1st Class Staff Cadet Sergeant Michael THOMSON (CSC No 5131), a 25-year-old former RAEME electrical technician, that I could not march and that I should be given Extra Drill parades. Such punitive parades could only be awarded by 1st Class cadets and were conducted during the Defaulters Parades. Sergeant THOMSON accepted HAMBURGER’s accusations without question and immediately ordered me to attend two EDs [Extra Drills] (as punishment).
Other Rank Tendencies
In addition to being constantly told to resign my appointment, I was also constantly abused by [Duntroon] senior cadets for supposedly having “Other Rank Tendencies” (ORTs).
Senior cadets claimed that ORTs were traits usually associated with private [non-commissioned] soldiers and which senior [officer] cadets considered to be ‘un-officer like’ and unacceptable traits for officers. ORTs were not, however, outlined in any manual or Standing Orders, and were not referred to by the authorities. Nearly all of the traits that the senior cadets considered ORTs and which they complained about, were simply petty examples of their own personal prejudices.
I was, for instance, constantly abused because of my crew cut hair. Even though it was cut within regulation length [Duntroon employed a barber on campus] , it was considered an ORT by senior cadets.
At one stage, I was ordered to grow my hair and Staff Cadet Ashley COLMER ordered me to “Show Parade a haircut” in a week’s time. On another occasion, Staff Cadet Dale BURNSIDE (CSC No 4775), a 21-year-old ADFA graduate, told me that:
“Your men won’t respect you with hair like that!“
My side-burns were also considered an ORT by senior cadets, even though they were within regulation length. They frequently harassed me over them and repeatedly ordered me to shave them off. The fact that I constantly refused to shave them off angered them further. During one evening in the barracks in mid-May 1987, I was warned by Staff Cadet BURNSIDE that:
“If you don’t shave them off, someone might run in on you and shave them off themselves.”
Sideburn Shave Assault
Two evenings later, I was studying at my desk in my room when I noticed a group of about six 3rd Class cadets standing around my doorway. They were staring at me and quietly laughing.
When I asked them what was going on they rushed into my room, pulled me struggling off my chair, and pinned me to the floor. I was held down as one of them plugged in an electric razor into a nearby wall socket and, despite my protests and my attempts to escape, completely shaved off my right sideburn. They then quickly let go of me and hurriedly left the room laughing.
I was not impressed with having my side-burn shaved off, but I took what happened in good cheer because it was fellow 3rd Class cadets who did it and who did it without malice. I later learnt, however, that they had done it at the instigation of senior cadets in the company.
Senior Cadets Persecution of Private Car
I was also constantly abused by senior cadets for owning a Torana SLR 5000 because it was considered by senior cadets as “not a suitable vehicle for an officer.”
This was regardless of the fact that the RMC authorities permitted staff cadets to own any type of vehicle except motorcycles. During the final stage of the ICT at Majura, I had even queried Major Todd VERCOE about owning a Torana SLR 5000 and was told that it was quite alright to own such a car.
On a weekend in May 1987, I was washing my car in the car park outside the front of the Kokoda Company barracks when Staff Cadet Corporal Matt THOMSON, Lance-Corporal Colin THORP and Staff Cadet Nick EVERINGHAM walked out of the barracks’ middle foyer.
They were dressed in civilian attire as it was the weekend and they were all off-duty. EVERINGHAM strode angrily over to my car and yelled at me, “What’s this fucking shit box doing here?!” [NOTE: same descriptor as used by Philip ‘Mongo’ Reed weeks prior].
I stated the obvious: “I’m washing it.”
EVERINGHAM screamed back “What?!” I calmly replied: “I’m washing it… Staff Cadet Everingham.”
EVERINGHAM mumbled something then curtly ordered: “Move that fucking heap of shit out of here as soon as you’re finished.”
I simply nodded in reply as EVERINGHAM, THOMSON and THORP got into a nearby car and drove off.
I was even harassed by senior cadets over such things as my choice of music “hard rock” groups such as ACDC, The Angels and Rose Tattoo – and my choice of civilian clothes.
Many senior cadets also abused and ridiculed me for supposedly having “lout” friends, even though they did not know any of my civilian friends. This was in addition to the abusive references they made to my girlfriends and other female civilian friends. On occasions whilst on local leave senior cadets even went as far as sexually harassing my girlfriends or other female friends.’
Lord of The Flies Analogy
The 1954 best-selling novel ‘Lord of the Flies” by British author William Golding is a dark tale scenario of a group of pre-teenage boys stranded on an uninhabited jungle island isolated from civilization, and of their disastrous attempt to try to govern themselves. They end up resorting to being savages and killers of their own.
Left to themselves, the real-life tribal contrived lore, antics and bastardisation by senior cadets in Duntroon’s Kokoda Company of 1987 in many ways emulated the fictional juvenile tribal characteristics of the boys in Lord of the Flies. In both cases, they descend into immoral behaviour, primal brutality, and hate. Just as Golding in his novel demonstrates the potential for mob mentality, violence and cruelty can be inherent in children in his character Jack, so too the senior cadets of Kokoda Company under senior cadet chief bully Mongo Reed in his unqualified role playing Company Sergeant Major (CSM).
[SOURCE: The above is an extract in a series of Julian KNIGHT’s records as part of his 97-page ‘Personal Account’ of his 6-month relentless persecution at RMC Duntroon submitted to the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce dated 26 November 2013, pp. 47-49].