Republic Army Training Program
Purpose and training system
The Republic Army measures initial training from entry into service to individual readiness in an operational unit. The common foundation course lasts twelve months. Enlisted personnel then complete branch schooling and supervised unit integration, making the ordinary route from entry to full occupational qualification three years. Commissioned officers follow a five-year pathway through the Republic Military Academy at Ormstone, civilian universities, reserve officer programmes or senior non-commissioned service.
The programme prepares soldiers for conventional warfighting, counterinsurgency, peacekeeping and disaster support. It treats physical durability, legal judgement, maintenance, communication and care for civilians as parts of combat power. Training is delivered through Ormstone's academy, regional depots, ranges, technical schools, medical establishments and receiving formations. No training establishment gives the Army an independent helicopter fleet; air-mobile and air-cavalry instruction uses attached Republic Air Force H-series squadrons under the joint arrangements described in Republic Army and Republic Air Force.
The training system is governed by the Army's constitutional subordination to elected civil authority. Recruits study the rights and legal constraints in Law and Civil Liberties, the history of the 1956 settlement, military justice, treaty obligations and the distinction between soldiers, military police, civilian police and civil magistrates. Training records include practical performance, written examinations, medical restrictions, safety incidents, remedial instruction and instructor observations.
Common standards
Every month contains four recurring strands:
- Physical conditioning, mobility work, injury prevention, sleep discipline and recovery.
- Equipment care, boot and clothing inspections, battery management, weapons safety and accountability of ammunition or controlled stores.
- Medical readiness, mental-health access, hygiene, nutrition and safeguarding.
- Written reflection, instruction review, after-action reporting and remedial support for literacy, numeracy, language or technical skills.
Instructors may delay a recruit's progression for unsafe weapons handling, deliberate falsification, mistreatment of civilians or fellow soldiers, unresolved medical risk, or failure to maintain essential equipment. Remediation is normally preferred to simple dismissal when the deficiency is teachable. Serious violence, coercion, discriminatory abuse, corruption or deliberate concealment remains a disciplinary matter and is referred through the proper command or legal channel.
Twelve-month common foundation course
The foundation course produces a safe, physically credible and legally accountable Army soldier. It does not make a recruit independently ready for a tank crew, artillery detachment, medical post, signals cell or deployed company. Those qualifications follow in branch schools and units.
| Month | Primary instruction | Practical standard and assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Entry and service | Reception, identity and pay administration, military customs, constitutional history, civil authority, safeguarding, personal fitness baseline, first aid, barracks routine and care of the M23 field uniform, M22 combat helmet, M24 body armour and M23 combat boots. | Recruits pass medical and fitness screening, demonstrate safe movement in uniform and body armour, complete a first-aid assessment, and explain the Army's relationship to Parliament, ministers, courts, states and treaty nations. |
| 2. Individual soldier | M22 adaptive rifle safety and handling, sighting, marksmanship fundamentals, weapon cleaning, ammunition accounting, field hygiene, hydration, foot care, personal camouflage and day movement. M22C familiarisation is provided to recruits likely to serve in vehicle or support appointments. | A recruit must handle, clear, store and account for a weapon without unsafe intervention, meet the foundation marksmanship standard, maintain a serviceable kit, and complete a supervised day patrol. |
| 3. Fieldcraft and communication | Map and compass work, terrain appreciation, concealment, observation, patrol formations, reporting, night orientation, CoreTech encrypted radio procedure, paper-map fallback and protection of communications material. | Recruits navigate a marked route by day and night, send and receive a concise report, operate without a live data link, and recover from a lost-radio or separated-person scenario. |
| 4. Care, hazards and resilience | Combat lifesaving, casualty collection, casualty cards, stretcher movement, evacuation requests, water testing, sanitation, fire prevention, industrial hazards, chemical protection, radiological awareness and disaster-support procedures. | A platoon completes a casualty lane involving multiple patients, contaminated equipment and a damaged route. Recruits must protect themselves before treating others and maintain accurate handover records. |
| 5. Mobility and sustainment | Dismounted and mounted movement, convoy discipline, route selection, vehicle marshalling, load restraint, recovery basics, tyre and track awareness, refuelling safety, field kitchens, water distribution and waste control. Familiarisation uses the M21 Joint Light Vehicle and M24 Common Tactical Truck. | Recruits plan and execute a short convoy, conduct pre-start and post-movement checks, secure a load, report a vehicle defect, and establish a basic water, food and waste point. |
| 6. Section and platoon battle drills | Fire and movement, use of cover, immediate action, defensive positions, obstacles, smoke, casualty extraction, section communications, platoon control, night movement and live-fire safety. The M24 automatic rifle and M25 medium machine gun are introduced to their future users while others learn their safety and support implications. | Recruits complete a day and night section exercise, respond to a casualty and communications failure, and pass a live-fire safety board before joining collective firing. |
| 7. Branch orientation and assignment | Visits and practical rotations through armoured, artillery, mechanised infantry, light infantry, engineering, signals, logistics, medical, intelligence, air-mobile and military-police establishments. Aptitude, medical status, performance and Army requirements inform assignment. | Each recruit receives a documented training plan. The recruit must demonstrate an informed understanding of the selected branch's risks, equipment, legal duties and relationship to other arms. |
| 8. Branch equipment and technical foundations | Initial trade instruction begins. Armoured and mechanised personnel use M22A1 tanks, M23 infantry fighting vehicles and M20 armoured multi-role vehicles. Artillery personnel use M22 automated howitzers, M24 rocket systems and counter-battery networks. Engineers, signals, logistics and medical personnel work with their assigned stores. | Recruits pass branch safety, maintenance and reporting checks. Technical personnel must identify a fault or unsafe condition and take the correct protective action even when they cannot yet repair it. |
| 9. Joint support and air-ground work | Integration with artillery, engineers, medical units, logistics, intelligence and public affairs. Air-mobile and air-cavalry recruits train with attached Republic Air Force H-series squadrons on aircraft loading, landing-zone discipline, communications, casualty movement and aircraft safety. Army personnel do not operate or maintain an Army-owned helicopter fleet. | A joint exercise tests requests for fire, engineering, medical evacuation, resupply and aviation support. Recruits must use the correct authority, terminology and safety boundaries for each supporting arm. |
| 10. Operations among civilians | Peacekeeping, counterinsurgency, civilian protection, de-escalation, cultural and language awareness, treaty land access, rules of engagement, lawful detention, evidence preservation, property protection, media handling and public information. The course reinforces the separate pathway of the Commando Service. | Recruits complete a scenario involving civilians, a local authority, a suspected detainee, damaged property and conflicting information. The assessment rewards restraint, accurate records, lawful escalation and clear handover rather than aggression. |
| 11. Integrated company exercise | A continuous field exercise combines light or mechanised movement, reconnaissance, communications, logistics, medical support, engineering tasks, indirect-fire coordination, drone observation and degraded-system procedures. The Kestrel Scout micro-UAV, ground sensor kit, field kitchen and water plant are used by the relevant support personnel. | The company evaluates endurance, command response, equipment care, resupply, casualty handling, reporting and recovery over several days and nights. Individual failures receive remedial training before the final board. |
| 12. Qualification and transition | Final weapons and safety checks, physical re-test, medical review, legal examination, maintenance inspection, personal interview, after-action review and preparation for branch school or receiving-unit life. | A foundation board confirms safe soldiering, basic field competence, legal judgement, physical readiness and reliable teamwork. A recruit who passes receives foundation qualification; operational readiness remains the responsibility of the branch school and receiving unit. |
Enlisted qualification pipeline
Months 13–24: Branch schools
Enlisted personnel spend the second year in occupational education. Combat arms train on the equipment and tactical systems of their assigned formations. Armoured crews learn vehicle driving, gunnery, crew coordination, recovery and maintenance around the M22A1 and related platforms. Mechanised infantry learn vehicle-dismount integration, troop-compartment safety, anti-armour and support-weapon procedures. Artillery personnel learn survey, fire control, ammunition handling, counter-battery reporting and the operation of M22 automated howitzers or M24 rocket systems.
Combat-support personnel follow technical routes. Engineers qualify on route clearance, bridging, breaching, earthmoving and water systems. Signals and intelligence personnel learn CoreTech radios, secure tablets, ground sensors, micro-UAVs, electronic protection and the legal boundaries on information access. Logistics personnel train on the M24 Common Tactical Truck, fuel, ammunition, ration, battery and repair chains. Medical personnel train with the Medical Corps on trauma care, MS-22 surgical shelters, oxygen, blood refrigeration and evacuation coordination. Military police receive additional instruction in custody, evidence, use of force and civil-police handover.
Every branch school includes live or realistic simulation, equipment maintenance, written technical examinations, field living and a period of supervised work with an operational formation. Specialist qualifications are recorded separately from basic soldier qualification.
Months 25–36: Unit integration
During the third year, soldiers join their permanent companies, batteries, squadrons, platoons or support units. They take part in local training, battalion and regiment exercises, collective maintenance, field deployments, disaster-support rehearsals and joint work with attached formations. Commanders certify individual readiness only after observing the soldier in the duties for which the soldier is trained.
The final certification includes medical and dental readiness, weapons handling, communications, navigation, equipment maintenance, branch skill, legal knowledge, physical conditioning, teamwork and conduct. Soldiers who are not ready remain under supervision with a written remediation plan. Substantive appointment to a specialist role requires the relevant branch qualification even when the soldier has completed the three-year general pipeline.
Officers and non-commissioned leaders
Officer candidates complete a five-year route. The first year combines soldiering, physical conditioning, constitutional and military law, history of the Republic, fieldcraft, weapons safety, communications and leadership foundations at Ormstone. The second year covers navigation, logistics, intelligence boundaries, civil-military relations, joint planning and rotations through combat and support arms. Years three and four provide branch education, university or technical study where required, simulator work, staff exercises and supervised platoon or detachment leadership. The fifth year is operational conversion in a receiving formation and ends with a command-readiness board.
The Army draws officers from civilian universities, the Republic Military Academy, reserve officer programmes and senior enlisted ranks. No route removes the requirement to understand constitutional subordination, treaty obligations, military justice, public reasons, procurement ethics or the limits on domestic military support.
The formal routes are open, but they do not carry identical social signals. Officers from service families may arrive with inherited familiarity with postings, academy customs, mess life and the language of command. Civilian university entrants and late-entry professionals may bring valuable technical, legal, medical or managerial experience while needing to learn those conventions after appointment. Senior-NCO commissions carry practical authority and credibility with soldiers but may be treated differently by officers whose networks began at the Republic Military Academy or a civilian university. Promotion boards are required to assess performance and readiness, yet informal sponsorship and institutional pedigree remain part of the Army's social environment.
NCO development is continuous rather than a separate commission track. Promotion courses teach instruction, discipline, welfare, reporting, maintenance control, small-unit leadership, casualty management and the correction of unsafe practice. Corporals and sergeants are assessed partly on whether their soldiers can perform safely and understand their legal duties. A technically capable leader who cannot protect subordinates or maintain accurate records is not treated as ready for higher responsibility.
Reserve and continuation training
Reserve personnel complete the same foundation, branch and safety standards as regular personnel, with training distributed across approved depots, technical colleges and annual collective periods. Their employers and state authorities receive the notice and qualification information required by law, while personal medical and welfare information remains protected. Reserve units train for mobilisation, local defence, disaster support and reinforcement of regular formations; they do not receive lower standards for weapons, communications, medical care or lawful conduct.
After initial qualification, every soldier remains in a recurring readiness cycle. Physical and medical readiness, weapons handling, communications, first aid, equipment care and legal instruction are revalidated at scheduled intervals. Artillery, medical, signals, engineering, intelligence, air-mobile and military-police qualifications lapse when their holders fail to complete the prescribed practical currency or safety review. Conversion to new equipment requires supervised familiarisation rather than assumption that a similar designation means identical operation.
Assessment, welfare and accountability
Training uses written examinations, practical demonstrations, observed field exercises, simulator records, maintenance logs, medical reviews and instructor reports. Results are reviewed by the chain of command and may be audited by legal, medical, safety or personnel authorities. Recruits and soldiers can report abuse, unsafe orders, discriminatory treatment, medical concerns or unlawful conduct through command, welfare, inspector or legal channels without being required to treat the immediate instructor as the only route of complaint.
The Army records injuries and near misses as readiness information rather than personal failure. Commanders are expected to adjust loads, heat and cold exposure, sleep plans, disability accommodations and religious or cultural arrangements when operationally possible. The purpose of discipline is reliable public service: a soldier must be capable of force when lawfully ordered, capable of restraint when force is not lawful, and capable of explaining what happened afterwards.
Political costs and opposition
High training standards reduce battlefield and public-safety failures, but they consume time that soldiers, families and civilian employers would otherwise use for work, study or care. Recurrent medical, legal and equipment qualifications protect the Army while reservists and small employers absorb scheduling costs. Remote units pay more for instructors and travel, while urban units can draw on larger training infrastructure.
Welfare, injury reporting and accommodation rules protect service members but make readiness slower to measure and more expensive to sustain. Commanders who want a simple availability number face a more honest but less flattering record of injuries, fatigue and failed qualifications. The compromise is recurring currency, inspector access and adjusted training, preserving a professional force without pretending that readiness is free of human cost.