Students at the School of Military Engineering (SME) had a blast on the range while learning about explosives, a core skill in their future military careers.
The soon-to-be sappers, or combat engineers, are halfway through their initial employment training (IET) at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney, and are eager to begin their careers as Army engineers.
Private Mitchell Russell is one of the students gaining specialist skills and qualifications during training.
"My favourite part has probably been shooting and learning to use the claymores," Private Russell said.
Private Brodie Tarleton said he is looking forward to the variety in an engineering career.
"It's good to have a big variety of things all in one job," Private Tarleton said.
The role of a combat engineer is a physical and dynamic one, requiring physical strength and an ability to learn specialised technical skills for a range of environments.
Private Patrick Balzary said he is most interested in the explosives side of the job.
'Being part of the troop is really fun, I like working as part of a team.'
"My favourite part of training has been a serial we do called RP3A [combat shooting range practice]," Private Balzary said.
"There was one time we had our night vision headset on. It glows when you hit the target, which I thought was pretty cool."
Many trainees, including Private Tyson Grinter, have served in other roles in Defence before choosing to become a combat engineer.
"Leaving Kapooka, I went to Puckapunyal as Artillery, but I always intended on going [to] Combat Engineers," Private Grinter said.
Before joining the Army, Private Grinter was a carpenter and worked in other trades.
"I'm a very hands-on person … it helps me remember things and keeps me stimulated," he said.
Private Balzary is another 'retread' - the nickname given to members who transfer between ADF jobs.
"I initially started as a truckie, doing IETs at Puckapunyal and then posting to Townsville," Private Balzary said.
"I was able to move around and see many different aspects of the Army.
"I'm a big physical guy, and during school we had some Defence people come to talk about what the job is like.
"After school, I didn't really know where I wanted to go. I thought why not do something bigger and better."
The School of Military Engineering's courses include IET for combat engineers, regimental officer basic courses for engineering officers in the Army and airfield engineers in the Air Force, and promotion courses for members of the Royal Australian Engineer Corps.
Private Balzary said being part of the course, the Corps and Defence comes with a community and support system like no other.
"The people you meet in Defence can come from everywhere - there's a good mix and we all work well together," he said.
"They are kind of like siblings, because they annoy you as well."
Private Tarleton said he has enjoyed the camaraderie.
"Being part of the troop is really fun, I like working as part of a team," Private Tarleton said.
"We can bring all of our differences, strengths and weaknesses all together and work as one to get the job done."
