Bushmaster training at DECA

It's a fair assumption to make that contractors supplying equipment to the defence forces will understand the operation of said equipment. That's not always the case though.

Take for instance Thales Australia and the Bushmaster infantry mobility vehicle the company has sold to the Australian Army. The Bendigo-based company builds the Bushmaster for use by the army here and in overseas theatres, where it is already providing Aussie troops protection from improvised explosive devices.

But the blokes who will be training army drivers in the operation of the vehicles offroad and in defensive situations, must first receive that training themselves. Four staff from Thales Australia have received training at the Shepparton driver training complex run by DECA, Driver Education Centres of Australia.

"We are responsible for developing our own training courses and then delivering the training to our customers," said Steve Muscolino, Integrated Logistics Support Project Co-ordinator with Thales Australia.

"We found the experience with DECA invaluable in helping us develop and deliver the most appropriate level of vehicle-specific training so that our customers in tum can train their own personnel."

Muscolino and his three colleagues took part in a four-day course that immersed them in the finer points of operating the Bushmasters offroad and in hostile situations. DECA, a driver-training institution with 35 years' experience behind it, has conducted two Bushmaster courses for Thales so far. In addition to the Shepparton complex, DECA operates other facilities in New South Wales and Tasmania, as well as the Victorian towns and suburbs of Altona North, Carrum Downs, Puckapunyal and Newborough.

Thales Australia developed the Bushmaster for the army with assistance from Timoney Technology, an Irish defence contractor. The Bushmaster is in operation with the Royal Netherlands Army as well as the Australian Army and has acquitted itself with distinction in Iraq.

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