A section commander of 1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), who led the winning Duke of Gloucester (DoG) Cup squad and scored gold at an international military skills competition, has been named the RAR’s most outstanding junior leader.  

Corporal Tiger Jefferys believed his team’s high-profile achievements helped him clinch the Hassett Award, which was presented in Canberra last month.

After taking out champion section at Army’s prestigious DoG Cup – this year held in the saturated Tully jungle – Corporal Jefferys led his team to earn top points at the Cambrian Patrol in the United Kingdom.

Considered one of the toughest tests of grit, teams are required to complete manoeuvres such as trench assaults and treating battlefield casualties, while patrolling more than 60km across the Cambrian Mountains in Wales.

1RAR was one of 20 teams that scored gold out of a field of more than 100.

Although the Cambrian Patrol is regarded as the world’s premier military skills competition, Corporal Jefferys said winning the DoG Cup was a greater achievement.

'I needed to really inspire them on DoG Cup – the weather was pretty poor.'

His team battled torrential rain and flooded jungle, competing against the best sections from each of Army’s infantry battalions.

“All the boys were pretty happy on Cambrian Patrol because it was such a big opportunity,” Corporal Jefferys said.

“Regardless of how difficult it got, the morale stayed high because of the opportunity; everyone understood the gravity of it.

“I needed to really inspire them on DoG Cup – the weather was pretty poor.”

Each battalion nominates one junior leader for the Hassett Award, which was first presented in 2006.

Nominees travel to Canberra, and the winner is announced at the annual RAR foundation dinner.

Corporal Jefferys said he was surprised to hear his name announced.

“There were other nominees who were all as deserving of it as I was,” he said.

“But it was a good feeling to have been nominated and to win it.”

The Hassett Award nominees will travel to Vietnam next year for a battlefield tour with a Vietnam veteran from the RAR foundation.

“It’s a very special thing to be given a battlefield tour by someone who was there,” Corporal Jefferys said.