I was abruptly woken up at 0320 for my piquet. It’s mid-August and I’m in Majura in the middle of winter, harboured up with the rest of my section somewhere in IVO Clark’s Knoll. My Small Group Instructor (SGI) gave a summary of the night's weather a couple of hours ago after the section completed the last tactical action of the day: “It’s gonna be a clear sky tonight with a low of minus 4” he said. I was almost certain he enjoyed seeing the look of disbelief on some of our faces.

As I attempted in vain to remain warm while getting out of my extreme cold weather sleeping bag, I break a thin sheet of ice that had formed on my hootchie. I couldn’t believe I signed up for this.

Growing up in, and coming from, an island country north of Australia the lowest temperature you’d experience was around 22 degrees. I certainly was not ready for what Canberra had to offer. That chilly morning was undoubtedly the first of many instances I had questioned my life’s choices in aspiring to be a commissioned officer in the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF), and my very purpose in getting selected from the Officer Cadet Training Wing back in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to attend the Royal Military College of Australia.

This journey for me and three other colleagues from PNG started at the Defence International Training Centre (DITC) in RAAF Base Laverton in Melbourne, Victoria in June 2013. As international cadets, it was mandatory that we attend a four-week preparatory course along with others from different nationalities and backgrounds. The international “alliance” as what we’d refer to ourselves, was made up of the four of us from PNG, two from Pakistan, and one from Malaysia. Unbeknownst to us, that was the start of a close relationship that is still maintained to this day.

Third Class was interesting. Apart from the weapons training, drill, navigation and section level field craft minor tactics; it was the first time for all of us (internationals) to live with, observe, and learn to work and train alongside our Australian counterparts. It certainly exposed us to humour and banter on a level that none of us had ever experienced. That exposure to experiences such as these and enduring what we perceived were tough times out field forged memorable relationships. As 2013 came to an end, it marked the conclusion of the first part of this journey – the end of Third Class. Two things I can take away from my first six months at RMC were:

1. It’s cold; and
2. No matter how hard you try, the Adjutant will always find carbon in your weapon during BC Day Inspections.

The year 2014, a new year and new experiences. Our ADFA counterparts had come over the hill to join us. This saw the international cohort increase with staff cadets from the Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand. Second Class was undoubtedly the most challenging. Everything that our predecessors said about it was true. With the introduction to planning with the IMAP and TEWTs, exposure to platoon level operations and conventional warfighting, and the dreaded Exercise Shaggy Ridge; I’d be lying if I said I didn’t struggle.

The phrase that was synonymous with Second Class, and overused to a degree by staff when describing how the six months will be, was that you’d be “drinking from a fire hose”. To me personally, it absolutely felt like that. Fortunately, to remedy this I fell back on those close relationships I had forged back in Third Class, the support and the time taken to explain, revise, and clarify key components made my understanding better and enabled me to meet the requirements to progress to First Class; eventually graduate and fulfill my purpose in coming to RMC to commission as an officer in the PNGDF.

Eight years on, the foundation of my career thus far established here at RMC has enabled me to fulfill various regimental and non-regimental appointments in the PNGDF. The most satisfying so far being my current appointment as the seconded PNGDF Instructor and being the only international instructor currently in the College to have been a graduate from RMC. It’s a unique experience to be on the other side this time. I never saw myself coming back as an instructor less than ten years after I had graduated to assist in training and mentoring potential future junior leaders of the Australian Army; an honour and privilege I take seriously.

So much has changed over eight years. But in the six months I’ve spent here thus far, I’ve found that one thing remains constant: that the relationships and friendships forged here last a lifetime. I find myself part of an instructor cohort in which almost all captains were staff cadets in different classes around the same time I was. In addition, prior to coming on as an instructor, I have had the opportunity to take part in joint military exercises involving both the ADF and PNGDF. On one of those exercises, I worked as a platoon commander under an Australian Officer Commanding who was my SGI when I was in First Class. I’ve also had my rugby teammates come over on exchanges and as part of Mentoring Teams throughout the years. Our bilateral partnership between both Defence Forces has and will continue to enable many experiences similar to mine.

It amazes me every time, though big, how small Army can be.