23 July 2025
An Army undergoing a period of transformation requires a training system that can rapidly meet the needs of the soldier and the nation they serve, as well as emerging security challenges.
At the forefront of the Australian Army’s Land Domain Training System (LDTS) is Land Combat College (LCC) Commandant Brigadier Andrew Moss, who is watching very closely how the complex warfighting scenarios that define Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 are playing out.
“As Commandant LCC, the real benefit to me being here on the ground is that I get to see firsthand what the end-state requirements for our collective training activities and what potential gaps we need to fill,” Brigadier Moss said.
“This is the Land Domain Training System in action; it is a deliberate continuation of our learning, from the schoolhouse and eventually into a realistic and complex warfighting exercise, like Talisman Sabre.
“LCC’s obligation alongside Forces Command is to ensure we inject the right training at the right point of the continuum. A big part of that is adaptation.”
LDTS acts as the backbone of the Australian Army; it prepares soldiers and officers to fight, lead, adapt and win in complex, combined environments.
'I see this as the Army taking hard-won experience, in some cases, and investing it back into their people.'
While Brigadier Moss is focused on the larger training picture, he also fills an important, more personal role, as professional mentor to Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Raven, Commanding Officer 8th/9th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, who is at the pointy end of the fight on Talisman Sabre.
“The mentoring network is a really positive way to engage with our commanders in the field and take them on a practical learning journey,” Brigadier Moss said.
“Helping them consider their decisions and ask questions like: 'What can I do better? How can I develop my team?'
“I see this as the Army taking hard-won experience, in some cases, and investing it back into their people.”
As the Commanding Officer of Battle Group Ram, Lieutenant Colonel Raven considers the mentoring experience an essential part of his ongoing training journey.
“The mentor sits outside of the exercise and the Chain of Command, and for me, it is a voice of experience, a voice of reason and allows me to test ideas and tactics,” he said.
“I’m being coached by a Brigadier, but within the battle group we have lance corporals mentoring privates and sergeants mentoring corporals. For us, it has become an essential part of our learning.”
