A month in the field
Volume 11, No. 39, March 23, 2006
By Sgt John Waddell

Non stop: IETs move on to the bayonet assault course.Photos by Sgt John Waddell.

Wringing wet: Pte Ben Odgers, D Coy Taree, 41RNSWR (left), gets a hand with his kit after the 50m swim.

Loving it: Pte Peter Davis, C Coy Coffs Harbour, 41RNSWR (inset), giving everything to the bayonet assault course.

41RNSWR moved to the Wide Bay Training Area in May for a month of field exercises and courses that included module-one and module-two RAInf IET courses for reservists who have completed their recruit course.

NCO training was also conducted along with a train-the-trainer weapons course on the 84mm MDFSW, MAG58, M72A6 LDFSW and a nine-day company field exercise.

Two 16-day IET courses were run back to back which, according to the Adjt 41RNSWR Capt Ralph Schweizer, provided the unit with qualified riflemen who could then progress to more advanced training or be used in a wider variety of interesting tasks all around Australia.

Course manager WO2 Jason Hall said the concept worked extremely well. “There’s never enough time to train soldiers, but these soldiers will have a good understanding of their infantry role,” he said.

Course manager WO2 Roly Walker said participants on the IET courses had come from numerous units including 41RNSWR, 2/17RNSWR, 9RQR and 25/49RQR.

“This is the most effective way to run these types of courses for reserve units. The diggers who do both modules in situ will not develop bad habits or lose skills, which can occur when there are long breaks between training periods,” WO2 Walker said.

The soldiers benefited from some of the best instructional experience available to the Army Reserve.

Their instructors have collective operational experience from Northern Ireland, South East Asia, East Timor, Solomon Islands and the Middle East, and on various security operations within Australia.

Pte Adam Atkins, A Coy Lismore, said, “It’s fantastic – the course instructors are first class and really know their stuff.
“I love the hands-on training and the camaraderie in my section.