Advice and question. Feel free :)

[Shoogs]

Hi there. So I'm new to this site and have a few things that are pondering my mind...

So first off my names Jake, I'm 16 and I've wanted to be a in the army for as long as I can remember, never Navy or Air Force, only ever Army. As the years went by I started to get closer to the age where I had to start making choices.
So I did research, found out the title name of the exact job I've always wanted to undertake, a Commando.

Now as I'm in year 11 I've come to a two way river, do I complete year 12, which I'm really not that keen for, but if it's a requirement for me to become a Commando then I'm going to do it.
Or
Join the RMC-D next year, get experience in and a solid foundation now, then after the 18 months of the College and an additional 2 years of service, apply as a Commando.

The final verdict will be decided with my family, but I would like to have a bit more information before we decide.

So question:
#1 Do I need to have completed year 12 to do anything leading upto the role of a Commando?
#2 Is there a way of continuing VCE while still being in a defence force college, such as the ADFA? (I understand they do bachelors etc, but not sure if they can or can't do VCE)
Can't think of the other questions right now but I'm sure as these are answered a few more will come. Thanks you!

 

[Raven22]

Hi there. So I'm new to this site and have a few things that are pondering my mind...

So first off my names Jake, I'm 16 and I've wanted to be a in the army for as long as I can remember, never Navy or Air Force, only ever Army. As the years went by I started to get closer to the age where I had to start making choices.
So I did research, found out the title name of the exact job I've always wanted to undertake, a Commando.

Now as I'm in year 11 I've come to a two way river, do I complete year 12, which I'm really not that keen for, but if it's a requirement for me to become a Commando then I'm going to do it.
Or
Join the RMC-D next year, get experience in and a solid foundation now, then after the 18 months of the College and an additional 2 years of service, apply as a Commando.

The final verdict will be decided with my family, but I would like to have a bit more information before we decide.

So question:
#1 Do I need to have completed year 12 to do anything leading upto the role of a Commando?
#2 Is there a way of continuing VCE while still being in a defence force college, such as the ADFA? (I understand they do bachelors etc, but not sure if they can or can't do VCE)
Can't think of the other questions right now but I'm sure as these are answered a few more will come. Thanks you!

G'day Jake.

Firstly, becoming a Commando is a long way away for you. There is a whole lot of water to go under the bridge before that happens, particularly as an officer, before that becomes a realistic option. It's good you have that as your goal, but you do need an interest in a career in big army to avoid a whole lot of disappointment.

If you want to go to become an officer (RMC or ADFA) then Year 12 is a must. There might be a backdoor way you can get to RMC without it, but those doors wont be open to you at 17. In addition, doing Year 12 opens the doors a lot wider in other career choices as well. You might not want to do it, but you will have to do a lot of things you don't want to do to achieve your goal of becoming a Commando. I would suggest in Year 12 doing a lot of other activities that will make you more attractive at recruiting. Things like being part of the school leadership team, taking part in team sports, cadets, volunteering etc. These are all things that will help you at the selection board.

At your age, if you want to become an officer I would highly encourage you to go to ADFA. You get a free degree, very good pay (for the work) and it helps you mature before you get to RMC. Having a degree will also make you far more competitive as an officer, particularly after the rank of captain. Going straight to RMC at ~18 does happen, but cadets often struggle at that age, and junior officers in their teens often struggle out in the army.

Either way, the earliest an officer can attempt selection for special forces is in their last year as a Lieutenant, although most wait until their first year as a Captain. That is ~3 years after graduation from RMC, so that is a long road. Of course, if you are mad keen on becoming a commando there is the soldier stream (through Kapooka) which would potentially get you there much quicker. But if you are interested in becoming an officer I would highly encourage you to do so.

Good luck

 

[old faithful]

As an ex soldier, O.R. I would advise you to complete year 12 no matter what you decide to do in life.
I joined the Army at 17 years of age, and wanted to do the most gung ho thing it had to offer, at the time, it was as a para in 3RAR.
That was 1985, And 20 years of service seemed like a life time. ( i planned for 20 years, did 8) In reality, its not a long time, and you still have a long working life ahead of you. Year 2014, what jobs are in the civie work place for ex paratroopers with little education? Not a lot, however ex army back ground is highly regarded....in some areas.
My advice would be, finish school, go to ADFA, become a manager, officer, qnd you will have a bright future after your time as a soldier.

 

[Volkodav]

I would add that the services offer a lot of trade and technical options as well. They are not as sexy as Commandos but they do set you up for life and also there is nothing stopping you applying for special forces from RAE, RAEME or RASigs once you have those technical quals. Nothing stopping you applying for officer training after technical training either.

It also gives you options to fall back on once you have stuffed your knees and lower back if you decide you want to be a career soldier.

In civilian life service technical training is very highly regarded and leads to some very well paying jobs in the defence industry and mining etc. Join at 17-18 you are 37-38 after 20 years and you are still a long way off 55 where you can draw you defence super so ad old faithful advised get some saleable qualifications while you are in uniform.

 

[StobieWan]

Completing school will probably make you more attractive to recruiters - they really don't want someone who's just focussed on one slot in the force - if you wash out of that for whatever reason, they'd prefer someone who has a plan B (and C)

 

[King Wally]

Speaking generally here, spending that extra year to complete High School is something which at 16 feels like a lifetime but in hindsight later on in life you will be very glad you did it. You got a lot of working life to get through, be it in the military for X many years or something entirely different later on. Life is a marathon race, not a sprint to the finish line as they say.

Understandably you probably really dislike school so try and find some aspects to that extra year that you can get into and enjoy at the same time. Maybe the cadets or a local sport you enjoy, perhaps an after school job for a little cash and work experience for example. Even if you don't do amazingly well in marks I think you'll get something good out of seeing it through. Good luck!