AUSTRALIAN Army recruit Blake Kernan probably would not have had the confidence to say this before he joined the Indigenous Pre-Recruitment Program (IPRP).
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“To become a general would be great,” he said with a laugh when asked about his long-term military career ambition.
“It’s a high ambition, but you have to start somewhere.”
Recruit Kernan described the program as amazing.
“I was quite the shy one, but being here has helped me lift my voice,” he said.
“They have given me leadership and a lot of courage.
“I am proud to be who I am.”
The 20-year-old Wiradjuri man was one of 11 men and one woman who graduated on Thursday from the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) latest six-week IPRP course at Kapooka.
The group included navy graduates for the first time.
The ceremony included a stunning Indigenous snake dance in front of senior officers and invited guests.
Recruit Kernan said the course included a lot of team building, cultural awareness, physical training “and a lot of drill”.
The army graduates will now undertake recruit training at Kapooka, while the four navy graduates will tackle recruit training at HMAS Cerberus.
The Commander of Forces Command, Major General Gus McLachlan, attended the graduation ceremony and paid his respects to Indigenous men and women who had joined the ADF in the past, many of whom had done so before Australia recognised their citizenship.
Turning his attention to the graduates, Major General McLachlan said it was uplifting to see such wonderful talent coming into the ADF.
“There will be ups and downs, there will be good days and there will be bad days, but at the end of it you will look back with immense pride in what you do,” he told them.
Major General McLachlan praised the Indigenous role models at Kapooka for providing “excellent leadership and passage of your traditions and culture to the young men and women” in the program.
And he said Kapooka Commandant, Colonel Mick Garraway, and his staff at the recruit training battalion should be proud of their contribution to the ADF and the nation by giving the Indigenous recruits confidence in their ability to take the next step.
Speaking after the ceremony, Major General McLachlan said pre-recruitment training would increase.
“You will see more of this, not less,” he said.
The commander said one Indigenous recruit told him he had learnt more about his culture in the IPRP than outside the course.
“We are proud of not just preparing them for the defence force, but also preserving their Indigenous culture,” Major General McLachlan said.
