Carting nearly 40 kilograms in a pack and trekking a marathon-length distance may sound like most people’s worst nightmare. But it’s all worth it for Australian Army soldiers.

At the end of October, trainees from the Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering in Albury Wodonga made the journey to Puckapunyal Army Base to put their soldier skills to the test.

In a scenario-based exercise, involving a designated enemy, soldiers utilised what they’d learnt earlier in their ADF careers at the Army Recruit Training Centre in Kapooka.

Platoon Commander Tahlia Balliet said that while Mother Nature wasn’t always on their side, she loved the thrill of the seven-day exercise.

“We had a pretty grim day on Sunday (October 26). It was pretty windy the next day, too,” she said.

“It’s pretty exhilarating. You’ve got people yelling, ‘go left, go right, hold, go forward’. Then you’ve got all the firing as well, so it’s pretty hectic.

“It definitely gets your heart rate up.”

The exercise was all about honing the soldier skills of ADF trade apprentices.

Private Cody O’Connor, who is on track to becoming an electrician, said it was tricky to manage undertaking a trade through ADF; however, it was definitely worth it.

“Balancing out the soldier skills and trade can be hard sometimes, but it’s something that needs to be done,” he said.

“Defence is really setting me up, I’m close to buying my first home, so I’m looking forward to that, and I plan on doing this for a while.”

Private Shakira Maney said becoming a vehicle mechanic with ADF after leaving high school had provided her with a wealth of opportunity.

“I wanted to serve my country, but I also wanted to challenge myself,” she said.

“I was at a stage where I’d left school and I just wanted to challenge myself out of the ordinary. I gave it a go, and the money’s great as well.

“It’s definitely worth it because of all the different experiences you get, and the opportunity you get from joining the army.”

The field training exercise comprised three components: the soldier skills block, combat service support and live-fire range activity.

Major Dominic Buchan, who commanded the activity, said the overarching scenario was the basic maintenance of soldiering skill sets in the defensive and offensive.

“It’s situational awareness, maintaining defence, daily routine, and establishing and maintaining a battle rhythm whilst looking after your mates in a fatigue environment,” Major Buchan said.

“By day three, people are worn out, yet they have days to go. You can start to really see people’s character shine through in that tense application, particularly for young soldiers that haven’t had the opportunity before.”

Trainees can expect to take part in two iterations a year of the transformed field training exercise, beginning in March.

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Sunday, 30th January 2028

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