Formation of the Association of Australian Army Training Teams

A message from the AAATT

Have you served with one of the many contemporary Security Force Capacity Building Teams undertaken by the Australian Defence Force? If you did, you may be interested in joining the recently formed Association of Australian Army Training Teams (AAATT). 

Brigadier Ash Collingburn DSM, former Commanding Officer of the Task Group Taji 1 Training Team (2015), encourages serving and retired veterans to join the AAATT. ‘Why should you join?’ he says. ‘To preserve the legacy of all Australian Army trainers who have served their nation abroad, and to foster the mateship and close ties you have forged through shared training team experiences.’

The Australian Army has a strong and significant history of training partner forces on operations and exercises. Since 1917, thousands of Australian Army servicemen and women have deployed on training missions in support of allies and partners. Often these deployments comprise bespoke contingents drawn from across the breadth of Army. Training missions have been conducted both as complementary operations to the well-known conflicts and large-scale deployments that Australia has participated in since Federation, as well as standalone missions, deployed to many countries including Vietnam, Malaya/Malaysia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Philippines. Training missions rarely attract the profile of combat deployments and much of their history has been forgotten.

Doctrinally, Security Force Capacity Building is the Australian Defence Force (ADF)’s contribution to a broader, whole-of-government approach to building Host Nation capacity and has become a key element of contemporary ADF operations that will likely endure. For this reason, and to capture the history, preserve the legacy, and provide an enduring memorial for Australian Army Trainers, the AAATT was formed, with endorsement of Army Headquarters.

If you are interested in joining the AAATT, finding out more about the Association, wanting to contribute photographs (for our Instagram and Facebook webpages), read a history of Australian Army Training Teams, or wish to volunteer to assist the growth of the AAATT, please email:

  • secretaryaaatt [at] optusnet.com.au (secretaryaaatt[at]optusnet[dot]com[dot]au)
  • aaattsteeringgp [at] gmail.com (aaattsteeringgp[at]gmail[dot]com) 

or view

Black and white photo of eight men in uniform posing for camera

Australian Army Training Team Vietnam members get together for the traditional toast after the announcement of WO2 Keith Payne's (centre) Victoria Cross, Saigon, Vietnam, 1969.