Defence

Personnel

Indigenous cadets set to soar

Improving Indigenous participation in the Australian Defence Force Cadets (ADFC), particularly for the ‘youth up north’, is about providing all Australians with the opportunity to realise their potential, said the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General (LTGEN) Peter Leahy at last year’s inaugural Indigenous Participation Program workshop in Canberra. Gai Brodtmann explains.

Chief of Army and Head Cadet Policy with Lee Smallwood and Graham Kickett.
Photo by Gai Brodtmann

The workshop, which was organised by the Cadet Policy Branch, was attended by Navy, Army and Air Force Cadets and branch representatives and the Commanding Officers of NORFORCE, 51^st Far North Queensland Regiment and the Pilbara Regiment, given the pivotal role the Regional Force Surveillance Units play in remote north Australian communities.

“Due to the pride you take in working with your communities, you create a sense of leadership, commitment and hope for Indigenous youth,” LTGEN Leahy said to the Commanding Officers.

“You’ve been great at helping remote Indigenous communities with infrastructure, such as roads and air strips. But what think you’ve done best is giving the youth in these communities an education.

“Cadets is not only about wearing a uniform. It’s about being a better Australian. Cadets gives Indigenous youth a sense of community and leadership.

“We should be able to offer all Australians the opportunity to be their best. I want Indigenous youth to be part of cadets, and I want your help in getting them involved,” he said.

That said, the path to improved Indigenous participation in cadets will not be without its challenges, given it is still ‘unchartered territory’.

“We’ve got to be quite deliberate about it,” said LTGEN Leahy.

“We can’t just roll in and set up, because we’ll be setting up to fail. We need to think it through very carefully. We need to work out what the communities want. We need to respect their wishes. It’s all about talking to and relating to the communities.

“Traditional cadet programs can’t cope with the isolationism of these communities. We’ve got to promote pride in Indigenous cultures, and we’ve got to allow the youth to have fun. We’ve got to have the right people and our program has to be compassionate and closely involve the communities around the Indigenous youth.”

Head Cadet Policy, Major General (MAJGEN) Mick Fairweather, agreed.

“These communities will not respond to a more mainstream structure being imposed on them,” he said.

“Communities want cadets,” according to ADFC Indigenous Liaison Officer – Northern Territory, Mr Graham Kickett.

“The difficulty they have is getting suitable volunteers to lead units, particularly given the range of administrative, logistical, governance and youth development skills the ADFC requires of its staff.

“That’s why I think staff should be employed by the school, so the cadet program is embedded in the school curriculum, infrastructure and the commander’s duty statement,” he said.

All workshop participants acknowledged that Army would need to be the leader in improving Indigenous participation in cadets.

“Army has the presence and history in the north, and that is why they will take the lead,” said MAJGEN Fairweather.

“It’s not an Army takeover, it’s about sustainability and respect.”

ADFC Indigenous Liaison Officer – Queensland, Ms Lee Smallwood, maintains Army is the only ‘force’ that is acknowledged and known in a number of far north Queensland communities.

“Indigenous communities are looking to encourage more of their young people to join the Army as a career,” she said.

While all the workshop participants acknowledged the challenges ahead, they were buoyed by the level of commitment across the Navy, Army and Air Force.

“I’ve got a sense of confidence we can make something of this, because it’s the right thing to do,” said LTGEN Leahy.

Since the workshop, MAJGEN Fairweather and Commander of the Australian Army Cadets, Brigadier Andrew Murdoch, have been working together to chart the way forward. The first step is, in the words of the Chief of Army, to “make something of this”. Consultation with the Indigenous communities and marshalling the necessary resources are key.

The Indigenous Participation Program is one of the original Cadet Enhancement Program initiatives.

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