The Australian Defence Force School of Special Operations is an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

training unit part of the

Defence Special Operations Training and Education Centre Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

(DSOTEC) responsible for the recruitment, selection, training, education and trade management of all Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) personnel. It is based at

Holsworthy Barracks Holsworthy Barracks is an Australian Army military barracks, located in the Heathcote National Park in Holsworthy approximately from the central business district, in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The barracks is part of ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. The school was established on 19 November 2019 following the renaming of the newly formed Special Operations Training and Education Centre.

History

The Special Forces Training Centre was established on 1 December 1998 at the

Lone Pine Barracks Lone Pine Barracks is an Australian Army base located in New South Wales, south of Singleton. The barracks is home to the Australian Army School of Infantry, Special Forces Training Centre, Defence Support Group Singleton and other regular suppo ...

outside

Singleton, New South Wales Singleton is a town on the banks of the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. Singleton is 197 km (89 mi) north-north-west of Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city ...

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. 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. 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).

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. The school is to be founded on four pillars of excellence, being: * 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.

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.

References

External links