Camp Todd CQC drills to command
For 28 years since 1996 we have been conducting the annual Australasian course in March every year.
The course was initially conducted at Todd Group HQ but over the past 18 years it has been conducted at primarily Camp Todd with evening training sessions at Todd Group HQ.
Todd Group HQ CQC training hall evening training on course
This course is very important for all ranks wanting to train on a weeklong intensive course of instruction the mil CQC way. It is also an opportunity for assistant instructors and instructors to train and qualify or get their instructing hours up.
The course duration for Phase 3 Specialist proponents is eight days and for Phase 2 Advanced exponents seven days with Phase 1 Basic exponents undertaking a six day course
This year both Phase 2 Advanced and Phase 1 Basic testing was conducted.
Visiting Australian and new entry NZ Phase 1 exponents were able to for the first time train at Todd Group HQ and look around our Combat Sports School and Todd Group Mil close combat history room.
One Australian member post course emailed the following comment.
This year was my 11th March Course & with complete honesty I can say that I’ve never experienced a bad course. In fact there is no place I would rather be than in Dunedin on a March course. There is just nothing that compares or even comes close to the entire experience.
The upgrades undertaken at Camp Todd pre-course provided better facilities indoors and outdoors.
Just like under urban or domestic assault our courses do not have gender separation under training or testing and exponents and proponents must prove themselves in training and under testing regardless of gender, age or physical size.
Anything less will not best arm the underdog to effectively deal with and defeat an over dog assaulter.
The only exponent to pass testing this year was a female undertaking Phase 2 advanced testing.
The testing regime requires mandatory completed training hours prior to volunteering for testing.
Skills are instructed the mil CQC trade-craft intensive training way including being TOC (test of competency) individually assessed and critiqued.
TOC test of competency assessment and critiquing Camp Todd
Outdoors training at Camp Todd is advantageous for developing terrain related competency and becoming situationally aware of where your boots are and having everything from your brain to your boots involved in threat neutralisation.
Having wide ranging outdoors training areas including hill and flat land as well as swamp mud and bush environments enables wide ranging and varied training environments.
Phase 2 advanced and Phase 3 Specialist training is restricted to only those that have earned the right to promotion and advancement.
Phase 3 Specialist training includes armed combat and CQB.
Phase 3 Specialists riot stick training
The indoors training hall and outdoors training shelter and other buildings not only provide wet weather training areas but also for specific or specialist training courses fitting training facilities.
Camp Todd training hall warming up by skills executions
The lads and lasses on this year’s course were committed to completing their courses of instruction and achieving increased self-defence and CQC capabilities.
There are no easy or soft options under training or testing and no backhand salutes or political passes.
Attendees that do not complete their full course duration will not receive course completion certification.
Attendees need to be hands on practical realists that can take orders and instructions and complete tasks without question or complaint.
The chain of command must be respected and only the instructor has the authority to deliver instructions, advice or comment on exponent’s skills.
Candidates under testing must be self-motivated and other attendees at testing phases must not advise or encourage them, and if they do they will be told not to in no uncertain terms.
The camaraderie on courses is something that adds to the experience and our top exponents and proponents thrive under the training and testing regimes and often comment they expect nothing less than at times a hard heavy and hostile environment, positive bastardisation and right good old bollocking when character adjustment is required.
Attendees on this year’s course included many that have attended many previous annual Australasian courses as well as Thailand conducted courses.
The course concluded with the annual prize giving and spit roast lunch.
The longevity and high regard this annual course is held in by serious mil close combat enthusiasts is because of its unique status of not being available elsewhere and our longest history in our trade-craft as well as our highest level military Master-Instructors conducting the courses. The fact that course joining is not a given right as a civilian and is a privilege that demands attendees being vetted and meeting course joining integrity and responsibility standards ensures the course musters are made up of likeminded individuals.
All members know that any wrongdoing including their first may well be their last undertaking and any non-members that apply and are accepted and do not course join, will not be accepted for any future courses that they apply for.
We simply do not want those that are not responsible not of integrity and that are not committed to being the best they can be.
It’s all about setting and maintaining highest standards and that all begins with recruiting those that meet our training joining requirements.
Now it’s preparing for the next International course at our hub training country Thailand late May.
Joining information instructions and online application facility https://toddgroup.com/thailand-all-phases/
