Exercise Gauntlet Strike, an intense officer training course held during the past week at Puckapunyal Military Area, has seen 154 of the Australian Army’s combat arms officers rise to the challenge of troop leader or platoon commander.
The exercise, which, including instructors, involved 268 Army personnel, was the culmination of the Regimental Officer Basic Course for the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and for the Mechanised Regimental Officer Course for infantry officers to learn manoeuvres in Army’s armoured personnel carriers.
Commandant of the Combined Arms Training Centre, Colonel Patrick Davison, said these courses qualify Army’s latest cohort of combat arms lieutenants to confidently command their soldiers in combined arms teams.
“While they are artillery, armour or infantry officers first, Army expects them to confidently lead teams who can achieve a combination of army capabilities. Exercise Gauntlet Strike exposes officers to a mix of combat arms and tests their ability to plan and execute realistic missions,” Colonel Davison said.
“The Combined Arms Training Centre provides world-class training that is purposefully demanding, to ensure the next generation of combat leaders is equipped to fight and win under arduous conditions and challenging circumstances.
“Their performance has been outstanding. I’m confident they can meet the challenges of command and are equipped to face the complexities of warfighting now and into the future.”
The officers successfully completed a range of tasks as part of a combat team, against a realistic opposition force. They will now post as a qualified junior officer to their battalion or regiment in one of Army’s combat brigades.
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