Army | Challenge Yourself

Training prepares you for the Army Reserve, so it's incredibly important to us and to you. While we do take it seriously, we want you to have fun and make friends along the way.

Soldiers

When you join the Army Reserve as a soldier, you'll begin by completing Army Recruit Training at Kapooka, near Wagga Wagga in NSW. The training course runs for 28 days.

You are up to the challenge

This is a demanding course but there is no better preparation for life as a soldier in today's Army Reserve. As well as training in the physical aspects, by the end of the course, you'll know a lot about important soldierly qualities, like a will to win, dedication to duty, compassion and mateship. You will gain a huge sense of achievement, purpose and confidence by completing this training, which will undoubtedly serve you and your employer well in your civilian occupation.

Further training

You can be employed as a soldier straight after your Army Recruit Training but most take the step of Initial Employment Training to increase their qualifications. This training will most likely take place in your local region, but you may have to travel interstate. The length of training depends on the job, but will generally take anywhere between two and seven weeks. You have the option of completing it all at once or breaking it up into several Training Blocks over a maximum of 18 months.

Officers

The Initial Training for Army Reserve officers is run by the Royal Military College of Australia and is made up of five residential training blocks conducted at different locations around the country, plus some training in your home unit. This lets you have the flexibility to complete the training around your civilian employment commitments and leave allowances or around common university breaks.

Ideally, you will complete the course within 18 months – 2 years and within a maximum of 3 years. At the end of the course you will be an Army Reserve officer capable of commanding a platoon of 30 soldiers on operations in the Australian Army.

• Training Block 1 – Military Foundation Skills is actually the Reserve Recruit Training Course and will be conducted at Army Recruit Training Centre, Kapooka near Wagga Wagga in NSW. Qualified soldiers who are selected to be officers may be granted recognition of this training and commence at Training Block 2. Likewise any officer candidate who does not wish to continue officer training is able to become a soldier on completion of this training block. This training block is 28 days long and is usually undertaken in January and July. It is also available at other times of the year, if required.

• Training Block 2 – Small Military Team Leader Theory is 16 days long and is conducted in April and October by Adelaide University Regiment or Western Australian University Regiment in either South or West Australia. This training block builds on the skills introduced at Recruit Training and introduces new operational, weapons and navigation skills.

• Training Block 3 – Small Military Team Leader is 16 days long and is conducted in January and June by University of New South Wales Regiment at RMC Duntroon in Canberra. This training block introduces command, leadership and management skills in addition to military administration. This training block is also your first step along the way to learning the leadership and management skills that you will need to successfully command soldiers in the Australian Army.

• Training Block 4 – Team Command, Leadership and Management is 16 days long and is conducted in April and October by Melbourne University Regiment in Puckapunyal, Victoria. This training block revises and tests much of what you will already have learnt about small team level operations as well as building further on your administrative capabilities as a small team leader. This training block also gives qualifications in the conduct of military live fire weapons range practices.

• Training Block 5 – All Corps Army Reserve Platoon Commander is 28 days duration and is conducted in February and July - August by External Training Wing RMC Duntroon and Sydney University Regiment in Canberra. This training block confirms you have all attributes, skills and values to become an officer in the Australian Army. It also confirms that you have the leadership, management, operational skills and knowledge required of a junior officer to command a platoon on likely Army Reserve operations. On the successful completion of Training Block 5 you will be commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Australian Army Reserve.

Training in your unit

In between doing the residential training blocks you will be expected to attend parade nights and weekends organised by your parent Army Reserve University Regiment. Your unit will look after all your administration for attending the Army Reserve officer initial training blocks. The training staff will help you prepare for the residential training blocks, revise the skills you learn as well as provide instruction and assessment on military skills like fieldcraft, drill, training, military justice and writing and oral communication. There are also some additional requirements for training which can be obtained through external organisations. These requirements will be explained to you by unit training staff.