Training

Eager to push the edge in training 4/3 RNSWR conduct bayonet assault training.   Sgt Pye at Gallery range shoot. By Cpl Cameron Jamieson Service in the Australian Army might well be described as being on “the edge”, but how close can you get without falling? This was the question recently put to members of 4/3RNSWR when they were pushed beyond their normal limits during Exercise Lys. The nine-day exercise was designed to focus on infantry minor tactics, providing a break from recent force-protection and response-force training. Gradually, the soldiers progressed from individual weapons and movement skills to section attacks, before finally facing a personal test of their military skills, endurance and resolve. Amidst the stillness and cold of the pre-dawn morning, groups of four soldiers were dispatched on a march of unknown duration. Throughout their journey they encountered different scenarios designed to challenge their skills and character. While some of the tests offered a chance for a quick rest and a laugh, there inevitably came the time to push-on towards an unknown destination. Adjt 4/3RNSWR Capt Dave French said the idea of the activity was to push the soldiers further than they thought they could go. “Everyone had to be active, there were no tail-end Charlies dragging their feet,” Capt French said. The epic trek ended with a 5km timed run, which did much to exhaust the soldier’s bodies but not their minds. Capt French was pleased with the feedback from the exercise. “I heard comments such as ‘the best training I’d ever done’, and ‘the best exercise in ten years’,” he said. 4/3RNSWR are keen to recruit more soldiers into the battalion, particularly full-time Army personnel who are discharging and may be considering part-time service. Depots are located in Sutherland, Wollongong, Holsworthy and Canberra. For more information call 4/3RNSWR recruiting officer on (02) 9600 2033.