Enemy party intake induction training in a CQC padded pod configuration mockup

Thursday, March 18 was the final training at Todd Group HQ before the annual Australasian course at Camp Todd kicks off on Saturday.

Enemy party training is an important part of ensuring high standards are set for intake inductions and testing phases as well as urban environments threat neutralisation training.

The training includes not only the required physical tactics and skills but also wide ranging training in enemy related verbiage as well as threatening actions and attitudes.

It’s all about ensuring the environment and the enemy party actions are as real as possible.

The in-house manufactured mock-ups are made high level impact absorbent foam to reduce the effects of contact impact and enable us to set up a lot of configurations very quickly.

These new training set ups are specific to CQC/MSD and have been in-house custom designed to ensure high intensity training can be conducted indoors with high level safety.

You simply cannot conduct such high intensity realistic training in a non-specific custom designed training environment and not being able to get extensive hours up in a practical threat specific training environment is not best preparing exponents for the realities of testing and real life actions on assaults threat neutralisation.

This is important for not only the intake inductions but also civilian and urban operators self- defence training.

We will continue to add to and develop the practical training set-ups to provide very diverse training environment configurations.

Camp Todd provides wide ranging outdoors training areas and is fully equipped for all our close combat training.

Having a central city HQ facility that is fully functional for urban environments training will ensure exponents get fitting training environments exposure with high level safety built in.

The more training hours racked up in realistic environments under sudden shock actions on, the more competent and capable exponents with the smarts and resolve will become in real life urban environments self-defence situations.

It is becoming more necessary to train enemy parties to ensure exponents in training and candidates under testing phases face formidable enemy Pers.

A lot of today’s new exponents simply have little understanding of the realities of urban violence and what to expect when targeted by violent aggressors.

Aggressive actions, foul language, posturing, intimidating as well as cunning covert set ups of violent actions on were included in the enemy party training.

Practical realists looking for high level training expect not only our most current military close combat and self-defence training from military Master-Instructors but also practical realism in training and testing.

Battle handling exercises and scenario training as well as assault inoculation require violent realism and this means extensive specialist training environments and trained formidable enemy pers.

Such exposure and inoculation is required to enhance mental toughness to enable combatants to overcome effects of fear and enable them to effectively and safely neutralise such threats.

Intake inductions that have not only introductory training, but the opportunity to employ new skills in an unfamiliar environment that is set up to provide high level factor of confusion and sudden aggressive shock actions enable instructors to identify applicants strengths and weaknesses. These new mock-ups include hallways and rooms where exponents have to make their way through doorways into the unexpected and unknown.

Such intake inductions have achieved very good results in recruiting solid exponents and those that are not up for it self-eliminate.

We have had more female exponents join our ranks in recent years than ever before and they have proven themselves formidable under training and testing.

Challenging intake inductions and testing phases amount to accepted exponents numbers being maintained and higher level competency across all intake exponents.

They seem to be more reliable, responsible, committed and willing.

Being able to change the mock-up layouts and configurations at real time including the lighting is extremely beneficial in not only skills training but also in the enhancement of mental toughness for self- protection and close combat.

Immediately after going through such an unknown and unfamiliar experience at an intake induction at the de-brief it is apparent by the looks on the faces of the applicants how pleased they are with themselves and those that were not up for the challenge self-identify and withdraw.

It’s never about recruiting the masses and is very much about our military CQC/MSD being a privilege and not a given right that appeals to practical realists looking for high level most current military close combat and self-defence training. From the rest come the CQC best is what it amounts to.

In recent times with recruiting we decline or bin more than we accept.

This pre-annual course training ensured more enemy pers received enemy party training that will be utilised during the testing phases on the annual course.

There will also be more enemy party training conducted on the annual course for attending members with the required rank.

Manufacturing our own training equipment including urban environments mock-ups that are modular and can be set up in minutes will certainly be beneficial to all ranks on-going training.

We are involved in all aspects of our professional trade-craft and have been for over 90 years testament to our commitment to our members.

The traditional and sporting equipment available in the market place is not mil CQC/MSD specific or in a lot of cases is not safe or suitable and has led to our increasing our in-house design and manufacture division.

We do not market externally and do not need to as our HQ Camp and national and international training depots keep us running at capacity.

We receive a lot of external requests to use our facilities but we do not offer them for external use.

We provide full close combat and self-defence training for wide ranging roles and requirements as well as related and required training needed to set and maintain highest standards and enemy party training is one such important required capability.

Enemy party training has always been a mil close combat trade-craft training skill set for as long as mil close combat training has been conducted.