This package of Professional Military Education (PME) exercises are designed for the development of all junior officers within combat brigades, units, training and staff environments. They are all-corps and have an operational focus.
In his 2019 Cove Address, the Chief of Army, spoke about the importance of managing tempo for our people. We know how busy our people are; so we designed these exercises to be grabbed ‘off-the-shelf’ when your team has time to spare or as a precursor to mornos in the Officers Mess. These ready-made and 'field tested' PME exercises (with videos, articles, facilitator guidelines, questions and extension activities) provide the foundation to generate insightful and meaningful group based discussions. The primary focus is towards bettering ourselves as individuals in support of organisational capability.
An interesting and demanding requirement of our roles is to be versed in a range of topics, so each PME exercise nests within one of our five knowledge areas:
- Art and Science of Thinking
- Art and Science of War
- Leadership, Ethics and Society
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
- Organisational Management, People and Projects
Some material is more challenging than others, so select the activity with the experience of your team in mind
What are you waiting for?
Edition 1: The Crimes of SEAL Team 6. Warning: This exercise contains graphic details of incidents on operations and may be triggering for some participants. Leadership, Ethics and Society: Allow 3.5hrs; 100mins reading & 2hr discussion.
Edition 2: The Battle of Wanat. Art and Science of War: Allow 2.5hrs; 45mins reading + 40mins video & 1hr discussion.
Edition 3: On the Folly of Rewarding 'A', While Hoping for 'B'. Organisational Management People and Projects: Allow 1.5hrs; 30mins reading & 1hr discussion.
Edition 4: Fifty Shades of Grey: Officer Culture in The Australian Army. Note: This QME is best suited to senior LTs and CAPTs. Leadership, Ethics and Society: Allow 1.5hrs; 25mins reading & 1hr discussion.
Edition 5: Understanding Mythmaking – the Kokoda Campaign, 1942. Art and Science of War: Allow 1.75hrs; 10mins reading + 32mins podcast & 1hr discussion.
Edition 6: Behavioural Psychology and Human Performance. Art and Science of Thinking: Allow1.75hrs; 15mins reading + 31mins video & 1hr discussion.
Edition 7: Commanding Officer’s Observations Mentoring Task Force 3. Art and Science of War: Allow 1.5hrs; 25mins reading & 1hr discussion.
Edition 8: Adolescent Learning. Art and Science of Thinking: Allow 1.5hrs; 10mins reading + 25mins videos & 1hr discussion.
Edition 9: Leadership vs Likership. Leadership, Ethics and Society: Allow 1.5hrs; 20mins reading & 1hr discussion.
Edition 10: Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems. Note: To facilitate a more in-depth discussion, increase reading time up to 2.5hrs. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Allow 3hrs; 60mins reading & 1-2hrs discussion.
Reflection
Reflection is an important element of learning. It allows us to consider theories or events and understand how they might apply to us. One way to conduct reflection is by using the 'what, so what, now what' process. In this instance, this process could be used like this:
- WHAT did I learn from considering this scenario?
- SO WHAT does that learning mean for me as a military professional?
- NOW WHAT am I going to do about (with) what I’ve learned?
Writing this down in a journal, essay or blog post is a good way to consolidate your learning.
Other activities
Want more? Review The Cove's Tips for Junior Officers and Troop/Platoon Commanders from across The Cove.
Concluding comment
If you have suggestions on how we can improve our PME resources; including additional reading, reference material, discussion points or delivery methods – please contact us at the.cove@defence.gov.au.
