What It’s Really Like To Study At The Australian Defence Force Academy, From Someone Who’s Been There

This post is presented in partnership with the Australian Defence Force Academy.

At the tail-end of her three years at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), Student Edge spoke to Officer Cadet Phoebe Sutherland about her journey towards the Australian Army.

How close is she to graduating?

“I had my last exam today.”

Oh, that close.

At the time of this writing, Phoebe is a little over a month away from heading to the Royal Military College (RMC) in Duntroon, where she’ll continue her training to become an Army Officer.

Yet, the 20-year-old officer cadet leaves ADFA with a Bachelor of Business and a new “family” made up of her peers; two results that might surprise many unsure about how life in the Defence Force actually operates. Phoebe’s learnt much over the past few years; chief among them: that those widely-held ideas are mostly misguided.

“I know there’s a lot of misconception about what it’s like to be a female [in the Army] and that a lot of people think there’s possible discrimination or a lot more scrutiny placed on us, when in actual fact it’s not that at all, and everyone’s treated fairly regardless of gender or race,” she said.

“I knew going into Defence it would still be a male-oriented environment, but I know now that the guys that I’m around, and the girls that I’m around, are like family to me.”

It was around the age of 15 that Phoebe first started seriously considering a career in the Australian Army.

“I think it was in Year 10 when I started looking and being critical about what I wanted to do with my future,” she explained.

“I come from a Defence background. My dad used to be in the British Army. Then we emigrated out here in 2007. I guess [I became interested] when I saw him leave and go travel around the world and come back with really exciting stories.”

Phoebe made up her mind after investigating ADFA, which is based in Canberra and was close to the Sutherlands' Aussie home.

“I looked at which service I’d be most aligned with and found that the Army offered me challenges that no other occupation could, with training that I thought was like nothing else I’d get in the civilian world,” she said.

Though she was supported by her family and good friends, she admitted that some in her life were dubious about her decision.

“My good friends were really supportive and knew that it was something I was passionate about and driven towards, [but] a couple of other people didn’t really know what was going on; what the Army entailed or what ADFA entailed,” she said.

On the other side of her time at ADFA, Phoebe wants to communicate precisely what the experience involved.

“At ADFA, no two days are ever going to be the same, and you’re constantly having to juggle between your military life and your academic, combined with your sporting and your family and friends,” she said.

“ADFA also has voluntary extra-curricular clubs available, if you like photography or fencing or anything else like that.”

However, just because she embarked on a Business degree – provided by the University of New South Wales, through ADFA – doesn’t mean she missed out on the more hands-on side of Army training.

“Army at ADFA does two training blocks a year, which pretty much takes you through the fundamentals about infantry minor tactics… and you go and do shooting practice, you learn about different weapons, you learn about section attacks and other infantry tactics at section level,” she said.

“You get some experiences that are incomparable to my civilian counterparts. I went to Japan just recently, paid for by defence… and last year at ADFA’s open day I was privileged enough to go on a Black Hawk [helicopter] ride.

“For the most part you’re feeling pretty comfortable with the day to day stuff, but then you’re afforded some opportunities that make you think, ‘Wow, I’m doing this. I’m so lucky to be a part of something bigger.’”

Photo supplied by ADFA.

The Defence Force is currently recruiting in a number of roles. For further information on military training and study at ADFA visit: defencejobs.gov.au/adfa or call 13 19 01.