Kapooka Army Recruit Training Centre Commandant Colonel Jim Hammett returns as commanding officer after three decades

More than three decades later, Colonel Hammett has now leapt at the opportunity to take charge following the departure of former commanding officer Colonel Rachel Harris last year.

"I joined for a short stretch to see what it was like and I am still in just at the other end of the spectrum these days," Colonel Hammett said.

While not much has changed in regards to appearance, Colonel Hammett said the training centre has moved "leaps and bounds" since his time as a recruit from its instructors and techniques to physical training and mental health.

He said these were areas that he only plans to strengthen in the coming years.

"It is early days, but [my goals] are simple. The first is to maintain and strengthen the strong, deep ties between the army base, Wagga, Riverina and broader community," he said.

"Internally, it is to ensure that all our recruits get the best possible training and preparation for the next stages of their military career."

Colonel Hammett has had a "fairly long, varied career" as a solider and officer. One of his previous postings was Commanding Officer of Task Group Taji 2's Training Unit in Iraq in 2015 and 2016.

Task Group Taji's mission was for Australian soldiers train Iraqi Security Forces on how to defeat the Islamic State terrorist group.

Most recently, Colonel Hammett was the army recruiting director based in Canberra.

"I had a lot of involvement with Kapooka and the base for the various programs and initiatives that they are running," he said.

"I think that is a good start because I am not essentially coming in cold blind, I have a degree of familiarity with developments out there."