THE HON. GREG COMBET MP
Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science
Friday, 4 September 2009
057/2009
COMBET REVIEWS INFANTRY TRAINING IN THE HUNTER
Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, today
observed infantry soldiers going through their paces at the School of Infantry
in Singleton.
Mr Combet received a progress brief on the $40 million upgrade to Lone Pine
Barracks, reinforcing the Government’s commitment to the Hunter region.
“The upgrade to these Barracks will cater for the significant increase in
trainees attending the school, which has more than doubled its output since
2005,” Mr Combet said.
“The facilities to be built or upgraded at the base include new trainee
accommodation, integrated health facilities, a training support headquarters,
gymnasium and an urban operations training facility.”
After inspecting some emerging capability weapons systems, Mr Combet
observed soldiers practising urban operations drills and was impressed by the
soldiers’ level of professionalism, teamwork and dedication to ‘Duty First’ – the
Regimental motto.
“Army as a whole is continuing to expand its numbers to 30,000 by 2016
under the Enhanced Land Force (ELF) initiatives,” Mr Combet said.
“Under ELF, the School of Infantry has been earmarked for a two-stage
upgrade program over a 10-year period, with stage one currently underway
and due for completion in 2011. This will provide enormous benefits for the
Hunter region in terms of commercial opportunities for local businesses.
“The millions of dollars to be spent upgrading local Defence assets support
the Rudd Government’s recognition of the Hunter region as one of the Priority
Employment Areas around the nation.
“The investment in the Infantry School also supports other government
initiatives that support employment in the Hunter, such as the recent
appointment of a Local Employment Coordinator.”
Please note Defence Media has a new phone number: 02 6127 1999.
The existing number will be automatically diverted to the new number for three
months. The existing after-hours duty mobile 0408 498 664 will remain.
Media contacts:
Rod Hilton (Greg Combet):
02 6277 4771 or 0458 276 619
Defence Media Liaison:
02 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664
NEWS 
