Australian Defence Force School of Special Operations explained

Unit Name:	Australian Defence Force School of Special Operations
Dates:	1 September 2017 – present
Country:
Branch:	Australian Army
Type:	Military training
Role:	Special operations training
Command Structure:	Special Forces Group
Garrison:	Holsworthy Barracks

The Australian Defence Force School of Special Operations is an Australian Army training unit part of the Defence Special Operations Training and Education Centre (DSOTEC) responsible for the recruitment, selection, training, education and trade management of all Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) personnel.^[1] It is based at Holsworthy Barracks, New South Wales. The school was established on 19 November 2019 following the renaming of the newly formed Special Operations Training and Education Centre.^[2]

History

The Special Forces Training Centre was established on 1 December 1998^[3] at the Lone Pine Barracks outside Singleton, New South Wales as a unit of the Army Training Command to support, validate and develop special forces training. The role of the SFTC grew significantly to manage a broad range of training and training support tasks on behalf of Special Operations Command.In 2004, the SFTC transferred from Training Command to Special Operations Command.^[4]

The SFTC badge featured a Commando knife and a SASR sword overlaying the flame of Gideon, representing the intense heat of the selection process, with a double diamond background representing World War II commando units.

The SFTC was responsible for the delivery of more than 30 courses per year including the conduct of all Special Forces Support Staff Tactical Integration training and the Commando Reinforcement Cycle.^[5]

On 1 September 2017, the SFTC was renamed the Special Operations Training and Education Centre (SOTEC). On 19 November 2019, the SOCOMD training units were reorganised with SOTEC renamed as the Australian Defence Force School of Special Operations and placed under the command of the newly raised Defence Special Operations Training and Education Centre (DSOTEC).^[2]

Role

The School of Special Operations provides the centralised coordination of the selection and training of personnel of the Special Operations Command. The centre is planned to be fully operational by January 2021 and will include a new detachment in Perth.^[6]

The school is to be founded on four pillars of excellence, being:^[7]

• Martial and force projection skills.
• Political/strategic/foreign relations acumen.
• Military and operational excellence.
• Ethical, cultural, social and emotional intelligence acumen.

Special Forces Screen Test

Special Forces selection is open to all serving Australian Defence Force personnel and candidates must complete the Special Forces Screen Test. The Special Forces Screen Test assesses physical fitness, teamwork, mental skills and includes an interview.^[8]

Australian Special Operations Course

The first Australian Special Operations Course (ASOC) was conducted in early 2017. The 12 day course is open to all Australian Defence Force personnel and personnel from other Australian Government agencies to provide an insight into special operations with the first phase theory based and the second phase practical based.^[9]

Further reading

• News: Logue. CAPT Jason. Green skingraft: Direct recruiting of commandos to begin. https://web.archive.org/web/20040103213114/http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews/editions/1085/topstories/story01.htm. 1085. Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. 23 October 2003. Department of Defence. Canberra. 0729-5685. 3 January 2004.
• News: MacKenzie. Hugh. Hard Slog Pays Big Dividends. https://web.archive.org/web/20130626211812/http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews/editions/1138/features/feature02.htm. 1138. Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. 8 March 2006. Department of Defence. Canberra. 0729-5685. 26 June 2013.
• Pittaway. Nigel. Putting the 'E' into Special Operations training. 26. 29. Australian Defence Magazine . September 2018. Yaffa Media. Surry Hills. 1324-6550. 110–115.
• News: Turnbull. CAPT Gabrielle. Burton. CPL Sean. On the SF path. https://web.archive.org/web/20110607140738/http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews/editions/1106/topstories/story11.htm. 1106. Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. 23 September 2004. Department of Defence. Canberra. 0729-5685. 7 June 2011.
• News: Special Arrangement. Navy news: the official newspaper of the Royal Australian Navy. 42. 6. 5 April 1999. 6. Directorate of Defence Newspapers. Canberra. Libraries Australia ID 26771706. https://web.archive.org/web/20020827111029/http://www.defence.gov.au/news/navynews/editions/1999/04_06_99/story08.htm. 27 August 2002.
• News: Special Forces Barrier Test. https://web.archive.org/web/20010720160449/http://www.defence.gov.au/news/armynews/editions/1029/story09.htm. 1029. Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. 21 June 2001. Department of Defence. Canberra. 0729-5685. 20 July 2001.
• Web site: Special Forces Training Centre . Australian Army . http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20150324140427/http://army.gov.au/Who-we-are/Divisions-and-Brigades/Special-Operations-Command/Special-Forces-Training-Centre . 24 March 2015 . 18 October 2018 . live .

External links

• Australian Army - DSOTEC official twitter

Notes and References

1. Web site: Special Operations Training and Education Centre (SOTEC) . Australian Army . 21 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181018084117/https://www.army.gov.au/our-people/units/special-operations-command/special-operations-training-education-centre. 18 October 2018. dead.
2. News: Beurich. Cpl Sebastian. A merger for the future. 1 January 2020. Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. 1457. Department of Defence. Canberra. 0729-5685. 12 December 2019.
3. Book: Kuring, Ian. 2004. Redcoats to Cams: A History of Australian Infantry 1788–2001. Australian Military Historical Publications. Loftus, New South Wales. 1876439998. 435.
4. Web site: Units. Commando Welfare Trust. https://web.archive.org/web/20171205042058/https://www.commandotrust.com/units/ . 5 December 2017. dead.
5. News: Training centre launches. Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. 1404. 7 September 2017. 10. Department of Defence. Canberra. 0729-5685. 18 October 2018.
6. 24 May 2018. Special Operations Training and Education Centre. Television production. Australian Army. 18 October 2018.
7. Web site: Special Operations Training and Education Centre (SOTEC) . Australian Army . http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20171113092229/https://www.army.gov.au/our-people/units/special-operations-command/special-operations-training-education-centre . 13 November 2017 . 5 September 2017 . 4 December 2017 . live .
8. Web site: Department of Defence . Special Forces Screen Test . 2nd Commando Regiment . https://web.archive.org/web/20180105204723/http://2commando.gov.au/careers/special-forces-screen-test . 5 January 2018 . 2013.
9. News: Training centre launches. Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper. 1404. 7 September 2017. 10–11. Department of Defence. Canberra. 0729-5685. 18 October 2018.