Army - The Soldiers' Newspaper

Cpl Brendan Nash, 3RAR, removes a pressure switch from a protective package during booby trap training.

Assault boats whip through Botany Bay during the two-week watermanship module.

Cpl Jason Braun, School of Infantry, checks out the servicability of a F1A1 booby trap switch before hooking up to an electrical circuit and a simulated explosive charge.
Photos by Bill Cunneen

The emphasis on hard work is made clear by the back breaking task of removing earth from the command post site. Cpl Trelawney McGregor, 25/49RQR, pulls a wheelbarrow of dirt from the command post site. Lt Trevor Hogan, 1RAR, is on the handle end.
Photo by Bill Cunneen

Assault with deadly weapons
Pioneer managers get down and dirty at SME

By Maj John Liston
The Army's infantry battalions will start the new year with 12 more personnel qualified to supervise assault pioneer operations following the completion of the School of Military Engineering's only officer/NCO assault pioneer course last year.

The six-week course conducted by the school's assault pioneer section qualified 12 officers and soldiers and one RAAF Airfield Defence Guard in the skills required to be Assault Pioneer Platoon Commanders.

The graduates are now qualified to supervise a variety of field engineering tasks, instruct in mine warfare training, act as demolition supervisors and supervise watermanship operations.

OIC assault pioneer section Capt Chris Doppler said there was a lot of demand for these skills in infantry battalions.

Assault pioneers were widely utilised in their units for mobility, counter-mobility and survivability tasks in all phases of war and all spectrums of conflict.

"Assault pioneers conduct minor engineering tasks of an expedient nature so the structures and repairs they complete are temporary but effective enough to provide a short-term solution when needed," he said.

Although assault pioneers were all trained riflemen and could fight as a rifle platoon, their value to the battalion was in their versatility.

'Assault pioneers were widely utilised in their units for mobility, counter-mobility and survivability tasks in all phases of war and all spectrums of conflict'

They include breaching a path through a minefield during an attack, constructing the battalion command post in defence, restoring damaged roofs during peacekeeping operations, conducting building clearances during urban fighting, and conducting tactical river crossings.

The six-week course reflects this diversity of skills with a field engineering and watermanship module of two weeks and a four-week long demolitions and mine warfare module.

If you thought the officer/NCO course was all theory in the classroom you were wrong.

"We are not just assessing assault pioneer knowledge and skill," Capt Doppler said.

"We place a large emphasis on the capacity for hard work, because assault pioneers operate without plant equipment and trainees on this course may go for two to three days without sleep - it's not for the faint-hearted".