Two soldiers have earned the Chief of Army Instructor of the Year award - one for advancing Special Forces medical skills and the other for modernising watercraft maintenance.
The recipients are Corporal S, a Special Forces Medic Instructor at the Australian Defence Force School of Special Operations, and Maritime Engineer Instructor Sergeant Matthew Booth, of the Army School of Transport.
Corporal S is passionate about designing, delivering and advancing medical training for Special Forces.
"Our team works hard to modernise and enhance training to align with operational demands unique to Special Operations Command to ensure that our people are best prepared to provide life-saving medical care," she said.
To help her students manage the intensity of training and stressors, she developed specialised learning tools, training aides and checklists to support them during high-pressure situations.
"Conditioning our people reduces the cognitive load in high-stress environments and reduces the potential of clinical error," she said.
She also enhanced the realism of her training by integrating a variety of simulation modalities, across different platforms and environments.
"We aim to expose trainees to the realities of pre-hospital casualty care in special operations, so the environments we simulate are dynamic and tactically complex, which helps them adapt to working under extreme pressure," she said.
This is not the first time her expertise as an instructor has been recognised. She was selected to represent the Australian Army on a NATO Cold Weather Medic Instructor Course in Norway and on a Canadian Special Operations Medic Course.
"Insights gained from the international exposure ensured that the medical training we provide here is not only current but is also benchmarked against the best military medical programs in the world," Corporal S said.
'The impact you can have is far greater than you think.'
She said the award was unexpected but rewarding and a reflection of the combined efforts of the medical cell.
"The award to me isn't a reflection of my contributions. It's a reflection of the combined efforts of my team to deliver high-quality medical training," she said.
"It's rewarding in itself to know clinicians and first responders leave our training confident and competent to respond to emergencies."
For Sergeant Booth, the award was particularly significant as it came during his first instructional posting.
Despite being new to the role, he identified critical gaps and took the initiative to overhaul and combine two courses from a combined 64 days into a singular 50-day maintainer course at the School of Transport.
While navigating a staff shortfall, his leadership ensured the training continued to deliver mission-ready technicians.
"The idea was to reduce the total course duration and create a more practical day-to-day-focused curriculum," he said.
He also collaborated with a TAFE institute to integrate civilian-recognised qualifications into Army training.
"By collaborating with TAFE, we've been able to ensure our soldiers walk away with not just Army skills, but civilian-recognised qualifications that value-add to their careers," Sergeant Booth said.
He said receiving the award was meaningful as it proved he had successfully fixed the issues he had identified while a student.
His message to junior soldiers was to seek opportunity and give it a go.
"The impact you can have is far greater than you think," Sergeant Booth said.
