Unit Training

Soldiers within the 16th Battalion are highly committed and well trained individuals. In order to maintain and develop their skill sets and professionalism training is conducted on a regular basis. Soldiers are required to parade regularly on Tuesday evenings, attend approximately one weekend of training per month and attend a period of two weeks continuous training every year.

Tuesday Night Parades

16 Battalion parades every Tuesday night with the exception of a stand down period around Christmas and New Year. Tuesday night parades provide an opportunity for individual and group training, Pre-Exercise and battle preparation, and unit administration.

Training is conducted, generally with a focus on up and coming exercise or major training activities. Routine training, such as weapons and physical training are also conducted on Tuesday parades nights. This ensures that soldiers do not slip below the high standards expected of them.

Tuesday night parades commence at 1900h, and conclude at 2200h. After 2200h most members take the opportunity to enjoy a beverage at the soldiers Mess, The 'Omeara's VC Club', or one of the 13 Brigade Messes.

Soldiers who are unable to parade on Tuesday nights may elect to complete training at other periods during the week. The unit is adaptable to suit the individual availability of its members, and flexible to support and encourage both employers and the reserve member of changing demands throughout their career. Some of the members of the unit are persons such as farmers or others who can only parade at special times of the year. These people sign up for special reporting conditions and attend generally two nine day activities per year with some weekends and Anzac Day.

Week End Exercises

Over the course of a training year 16 RWAR is involved in (on average) one weekend of training per month.

Weekend training most often takes the form of an exercise, where the Battalion deploys to a training area and conducts realistic operations against a fictional enemy. Whilst the ammunition used on such exercises is blank, efforts are made to ensure that this training is both challenging and relevant to tasks and capability, that the unit could be employed in today's changing environment.

Other forms of weekend training and activities include administrative weekends, live-fire shoots that include live fire attacks, throwing grenades, anti armour weapons and grenade launchers, recruiting and ceremonial occasions.

Continuous Training

It is a requirement that soldiers undertake a minimum of one period of continuous training amounting to not less than 2 weeks per year. This may take the form of a two week exercise (similar to a weekend exercise but with a more detailed and generally larger scenario) or an Army course (see courses).

Periods of continuous training are often conducted interstate (sometimes even overseas). This often provides soldiers with an opportunity to see another part of the country or the world without paying a cent!