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The Australian Defence Force’s 2nd Division has retrained on Mark IV 84mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifle and sustained fire with MAG 58 machine guns after an absence of two decades.
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The Australian Army’s part-time units conducted a three-week Direct Fire Support Weapons course at Singleton Military Area in September to familiarise themselves with anti-armour and general purpose machine gun weapons.
Commanding Officer 4th/3rd Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Hukins said soldiers received training on three main weapon systems.
“The soldiers on this course are provided with a very challenging and rich experience. They have been exposed to a series of new skills, capabilities, and weapon systems,” LTCOL Hukins said.
“This represents the first time that 2 Div is training soldiers on the Javelin weapon system.”
LTCOL Hukins said the Singleton Military Area in the Hunter region was the ideal location to run the course for soldiers from across Australia.
“The ranges are purpose-designed to support us, as well as the fact the School of Infantry and the Tactics Wing here have a DFSW team,” LTCOL Hukins said.
“That team has been integral in setting us up for success, as well as the instructors from across 2 Div.”
Corporal Michael Sullivan of 11th/28th Battalion, Royal Western Australian Regiment, was impressed with the capability it offered.
“We use a tripod and we can shoot out pretty far, close to its 800 metres maximum effective range,” CPL Sullivan said.
“We can essentially use it as a support for larger manoeuvre forces, which you can’t really do in a normal rifle company.”
Lance Corporal Sean Tambinayagam of 25th/49th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment, said the soldiers on course would take their recently gained expertise back to their home units.
“I’ll go back and spread my knowledge throughout the battalion and hopefully get some more people interested in getting these qualifications,” LCPL Tambinayagam said.
“Coming in and working as part of a team, it has been quite amazing. Especially as most of the guys on this course I haven’t met before, we built that capability very quickly.”
CPL Sullivan was impressed with the number of rounds he and his fellow soldiers sent down range.
