The 1934 Army Training Regulations describe Collective Training as activities that, 'afford leaders opportunities of exercising command in the field under warlike conditions, to train units and formations, and to develop mutual confidence and co-operation between them.'  85 years on, how well does the Army's Collective Training live up to this past intent?

The act of training and preparing for war must be the second most sacred act which defence personnel can engage in, second only to the act of war itself.  Indeed training is a consistent presence in the mission statements for the Army and units alike.  However Thomas Basan, author of this paper, has found himself consistently frustrated by the seeming 'inability to coherently, logically and rationally discuss' the use of resources to create effective and efficient training.  Too often training planning considerations are reduced to how to fill time blocks while the 'consistent approach' and 'common understanding' of the system fails to live up to its promise.

These frustrations have led Thomas to explore the training doctrine of other allies and partner nations such as the UK, Germany and the US.  It has also led him to the world of professional sport and music and 'how they grow virtuosos and highly-successful teams'.  From this exploration he has discovered some sunlit uplands, insights from which he offers in this Friday Long-Read paper.