Hardship – Loyalty – Devotion to Duty Traditional Cache
braelair: Unfortunately, I am unable to return to this location to service the cache. Hopefully, in 2021 an amended cache will make its way here.
Hardship – Loyalty – Devotion to Duty
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This is a tribute and welcome to one of the harshest schools in the world. The CTC-Jungle Training battle school!
But you don't have to take on the harshness of the jungle training area just to look for the 400ml Systema container painted matt black. At publishing, cache contains a very memorable and limited edition highly sought-after FTF prize, log, pencil, ANZAC Badge (swap) and a Singapore keyring (swap). This is definitely a FTF not to miss.
In 1980 Brigadier 'Warry' George Mansford, as the first Commanding Officer, opened the Battle School (which is now the Combat Training Centre-Jungle Training Wing) to toughen up soldiers. He chose Tully because it had lots of mountains, lots of jungle and was one of the wettest places in Australia. The school was established because there were concerns the Army was losing its basic skills and too much time was spent in the lecture room. BRIG Mansford was ordered by Canberra to - “get back to the basics in a tough environment”.
He was appointed the CO of basically nothing. “There were some old barracks and it had no power. A generator was used to get electricity.” But this was the way he liked it. During his time as CO he was determined to establish a HQ in Townsville, which he was always promised but hadn't received.
He invited the battalion commanders to lunch on a lawn outside one of the messes next to brigade HQ. “I put up a sign 'Battle School HQ',” he said. “The incumbent brigadier drove past and saw all his COs having lunch with me on a solid fuel stove and he got the message. I had a HQ that same afternoon.”
On his departure, BRIG Mansford presented the battle school with a plaque which read;
“The oath to serve your country did not include a contract for normal luxury and comforts enjoyed within our society. On the contrary, it implied hardships, loyalty and devotion to duty, regardless of your rank. This battle school is here to remind you of that oath”.
The same message is now on a sign strategically placed in front of the mess, one of the few comforts a soldier at the school has at Combat Training Centre-Jungle Training.
Since that time the quote has been adopted all over the Australian Army and extended to various battle schools around the world. And the Battle School has continued for over 30 years, with mainly the same facilities as the original school, to hone the jungle warfighting skills and abilities of our soldiers, and in the harshest of environments.
Surviving in the jungle is tough; fighting in the jungle is even tougher. Every day the staff at the battle school train soldiers in what they know best – the art of jungle warfare.
REMEMBER:
- The jungle is not your friend
- The jungle is not your enemy
– The jungle just is!
WARNING XXXXX
ENSURE YOU PULL COMPLETELY OFF THE ROAD AS BANANA TRUCKS CAN AT TIMES PASS BY HERE VERY FAST!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ab arrq gb pebff nal sraprf be bcra nal tngrf - ng purfg urvtug, va gur qnex erprffrf!
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures