Royal Military College , Duntroon The Royal Military College , Duntroon , is the Australian Army ' s officer training establishment . It was founded at Duntroon , in the Australian Capital Territory , in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin , close to the Department of Defence headquarters at Russell Hill . Duntroon is adjacent to the Australian Defence Force Academy ( ADFA ) , which is Australian Defence Force ' s tri - service military academy that provides military and tertiary academic education for junior officers of the Australian Army , Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Australian Navy . History . The Royal Military College , Duntroon , was opened on 27 June 1911 by the Governor - General , Lord Dudley . Situated on the Campbell family homestead in Canberra , which had been named " Duntroon " ( 1833 ) after Duntrune Castle — their ancestral home on Loch Crinan in Argyll , Scotland — the college was one of the first Commonwealth facilities established in the newly created capital . The Australian Government first rented the Duntroon homestead for two years ( November 1910 – July 1912 ) and finally acquired the freehold to the estate and 370 acres ( 1 . 5 km² ) of land after the creation of the federal capital . The first Commandant of the college was Brigadier General William Bridges , who later died on a hospital ship after being wounded by a sniper on the shores of Gallipoli . Under his recommendations the college was modelled on aspects from the Royal Military College of Canada and the military colleges of Britain , and the United States of America . Several British officers , including Lieutenant Colonel Charles Gwynn as Director of Military Art , were assigned as faculty to the newly established college . During Bridges ' frequent absences , Gwynn served as acting Commandant . The First World War provided the college with its first chance to demonstrate its worth . However , when the war broke out in August 1914 , there had not been enough time for the first class to complete the full Duntroon course . Nevertheless , it was decided to graduate the class early so that they could be sent over to Gallipoli , where General Sir Ian Hamilton , commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force , said that " . . . each Duntroon educated officer was . . . worth his weight in gold " . During the war 158 Duntroon graduates had been sent overseas on active service , of which 42 were killed or died of wounds and another 58 were wounded . In the beginning , the college offered a four - year course , during which the first two years focused upon civil subjects and the last two years focused upon military subjects . Over the entire course , however , there was military specific training , including physical training , drill , signalling and weapon handling . Over the years , however , with the impact of the two World Wars , the duration and focus of the course changed as the requirements of the Army dictated . For a short period of time in the 1930s the college was forced to relocate to the Victoria Barracks , Sydney , due to the economic downturn caused by the Great Depression . During the Second World War short courses of between six months and a year were run , and ultimately 696 graduates of the College undertook active service overseas in either the Australian , British or New Zealand armed forces , while a further 122 former cadets who had not graduated served in varying capacities . Of these 122 , three went on the have quite distinguished careers , with one rising to the rank of brigadier in the Australian Army , another to brigadier in the New Zealand Army and a third , R . C . McCay , reaching the rank of lieutenant general and serving in the British Indian Army and then becoming chief - of - staff of the newly formed Pakistan Army . Following the war , the length of the course was set at four years again and efforts were made to increase the level of academic rigour in the college ' s programs . This culminated in 1967 when the college affiliated with the University of New South Wales ( UNSW ) to offer Bachelor courses in Arts , Science or Engineering , commencing in the 1968 academic year . Under this program , the first degrees from RMC were awarded in 1971 . In order to graduate , cadets had to achieve passes in both military and academic studies and leadership . The link with UNSW was almost severed in 1969 when Duntroon was the centre of an inquiry after Gerry Walsh , a member of the academic staff , revealed details of bastardisation passed on to him by a student at the college . The inquiry resulted in at least one army career ending , while other personnel were severely punished . A further bastardisation scandal was exposed in 1983 . With the closure of the Officer Cadet School , Portsea , in December 1985 , and the closure of the Women ' s Officer Training Wing at Georges Heights , Sydney , in December 1984 , the Royal Military College , Duntroon became the sole General Service Officer training institute in the Australian Army , as all Regular Army officers serving in combat , combat support or service support Corps were required to attend Duntroon in order to be commissioned . Shortly after this , the role of the college changed again with the establishment of the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1986 . As a result of this change , Duntroon ceased to offer university degrees as ADFA became responsible for the academic training of Army cadets , as well as those from the Air Force and Navy . The same year , the college celebrated its 75th anniversary ( 1911 – 1986 ) . As an acknowledgement of this , 33 cent stamps featuring the head of a male officer cadet were printed ; the first day of issue was 27 June 1986 . RMC ' s purview was expanded in 1995 as it " became responsible for the initial military training of all full - time , part - time and specialist service officers in the Australian Army " . This resulted in the centralisation of all officer training courses under the college ' s auspices ; this included short courses for specialist service officers such as doctors , nurses , lawyers and chaplains , under the auspices of Romani Company , as well as the delivery of the final module of the Reserve officer training continuum . For a brief period , under the Ready Reserve Scheme , Reserve officers attended the college for a cut - down six - month version of the full - time course . For the full - time General Service Officer cadets , though , the program essentially unchanged from that which had been established after the formation of ADFA , when the course had been reduced to 18 months , and broken up into three distinct classes — III , II and I Class . Under this program , which has been maintained since 1986 , cadets who wish to pursue a degree attend ADFA for three years upon appointment before going to Duntroon for 12 months , and starting the course in II Class . Anonymous reviews of officer training in 2007 brought to light racism and harassment of female recruits . In 2011 , Andrew Wilkie admitted to be being both a victim and perpetrator of bullying while at Duntroon . The same year , the college celebrated its cententary ( 1911 – 2011 ) ; as part of the celebrations , Queen Elizabeth II presented the college with new colours . A series of 1 oz silver dollar coins were also minted . Present day . Organisation . The majority of the cadets at Duntroon are members of the Australian Army , although the college also trains some Royal Australian Air Force personnel who are training to become Ground Defence Officers . By tradition a small number of officer cadets from New Zealand also attend the college , while since 1967 there has been a steady number of foreign cadets attending the college from nations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East . While at the College , officer cadets are referred to by the honorary title of ' staff cadet ' , which is used as a substitute for the cadet ' s rank which is technically ' officer cadet ' . This title came about due to the fact that originally graduates entered the Staff Officer Corps of the Australian Army . After the late 1940s , however , graduates were assigned different corps upon graduation and were no longer posted to the Staff Corps . The title was kept on as a tradition at Duntroon , however , although officer trainees at all other Australian Army officer training establishments are referred to as ' officer cadets ' . Administratively , the cadets are organised into a nominal infantry battalion structure , which is known internally as the 11th Infantry Battalion , with companies , platoons and sections which form the Corps of Staff Cadets . Within each of these formations there are cadets from all three classes ( levels of training ) , who are organised into an internal hierarchy that gives the cadets themselves responsibility for looking after their own administration while the Corps is in barracks , albeit with guidance and supervision from training staff . Field training , however , is delivered by the non commissioned officers and commissioned officers of the training staff and during this phase the cadets are separated into their distinct class groups . Since its inception , the size of the Corps of Staff Cadets has fluctuated . Initially the Corps was organised into a single company , however , in 1922 the decline in the number of cadets being admitted meant that in reality only two platoons existed . Nevertheless since then the Corps has largely increased . In 1947 , when the four - year course was re - established following its suspension during the Second World War , the Corps was organised into two companies that were designated alphabetically ' A ' and ' B ' . In 1950 , however , as the size of the Corps rose to 190 cadets , a third company , designated ' C ' Company was established . These companies were re - organised the following year , however , as the Corps was expanded to 210 cadets and a fourth company raised . At this time the alphabetical designations were replaced with geographical names that were chosen based upon places where Australians had fought : Gallipoli , Bardia , Alamein and Kokoda . By 1954 the number of cadets had risen further to 260 , necessitating the raising of a fifth company and at this stage it was decided to name the companies after famous Australian battles , these names being : Alamein , Gallipoli , Kokoda , Kapyong and Romani . Following this expansion , however , the size of the Corps dropped and in 1958 the number of cadets had fallen to 200 and as a result Romani Company was disbanded . In 1974 a fifth company was raised — Long Tan — while in 1976 , a sixth company was raised and Romani Company was re - established . In 1986 , as a result of the changing role of Duntroon , the Corps was reduced to four companies again , with Kokoda and Romani Companies being disbanded . Kokoda was reformed in 1987 as the size of the Corps reached 370 cadets , while Long Tan was disbanded in 1991 and reformed in 1995 . There are currently five full - time companies making up the Corps , these are : Long Tan , Alamein , Gallipoli , Kapyong and Kokoda . The sixth company , Romani , is used for Reserve officers who come to the College in January and July to complete the final module of their training . There is also a rehabilitation and administration company known as Bridges Company , established in October 1989 . Over the course of the training semester the five full - time companies compete through sporting events and academic studies for the honour of carrying the Sovereign ' s Banner on parade , with the first placed company taking the title of ' Sovereign ' s Company ' for the next semester and taking their place on the right flank when the Corps is on parade . Programs . The charter of the Royal Military College , Duntroon is " to produce officers capable of commanding platoon - sized elements in the Hardened and Networked Army concept , and to prepare specialist candidates for commissioning . The College prepares cadets and other selected candidates for careers in the Army by promoting leadership and integrity ; by promoting high ideals and the pursuit of excellence , and by inculcating a sense of duty , loyalty and service to the nation " . The current full - time program is a course of 18 months in duration , broken into three distinct classes , numbered as III , II and I Class . Each class lasts six months in duration and cadets must successfully complete each component in order to graduate and receive their commission . Throughout the course , cadets receive training in leadership , tactics , weapons systems , military law , military accounting systems , corporate governance and military history . The course is designed to test the cadets physically and mentally and graduation is by no means guaranteed . Upon graduating , cadets are promoted to the rank of lieutenant and receive a Diploma in Military Leadership . Within the full - time course , there are two streams of cadets , those that enter from the Australian Defence Force Academy and those that enter through the direct entry method . Direct Entry cadets complete the eighteen month course , whilst cadets from ADFA join Duntroon in II Class , combining with the Direct Entry cadets and completing twelve months at the college . The leadership and military training provided at ADFA during the three years of training is considered the equivalent of III Class at RMC . The College also oversees the program for training officers in the Australian Army Reserve . Upon appointment to the Reserves , members join a University Regiment within their location and then undertake their training over the course of five modules run by the various University Regiments around Australia . Additionally , they are required to parade at their unit one night a week and one weekend a month . The final six and a half week module of the Reserve officer course is conducted at Duntroon . In January 2008 , the Part - time Officers course was shortened to a duration of 104 days , with further employment training , specific to Corps allocation , conducted thereafter . In 2003 , the Officer Tertiary Recruitment Scheme ( OTRS ) was introduced , which involves the recruitment of officers enrolled in tertiary study . Essentially , this program involves undergraduate sponsorship of university students , who are appointed as Officer Cadets in the Australian Regular Army , while they study . During their tertiary study , they train with the applicable University Regiment as reservists and conduct modules of training as they are able to fit in around their studies . At the conclusion of their study ( provided they have completed the necessary modules ) they enroll at Duntroon in II Class . The Band of the Royal Military College , Duntroon . The Band of the Royal Military College , Duntroon has been in existence in some shape or form since 1916 when a part - time band was established from volunteers drawn from the riding staff . Nevertheless , it was not until 1954 that they were officially established , when a band formed from members of the Regular Army was established at the College . In 1968 it became part of the Australian Army Band Corps and since then it has become a regular feature of the ceremonies and parades conducted at the College , as well as at other events around Australia and overseas . Perhaps the most notable of these performances was in 2000 , when the Band accompanied a detachment of the Australian Federation Guard to Great Britain where , as part of the celebrations of the centenary of Australia ' s federation , the AFG mounted the Queen ' s Guard at Buckingham Palace , while the RMC Band provided the Guards Band . Recently the band has also supported Australian troops serving overseas . In the 1980s the band began performing shows for local charities , known as the " Strike up the Band " shows and this continues today , albeit under the guise of the " Music at Midday " shows which the band performs six times a year , with proceeds going to local charities . Buildings and features . The College itself is situated at the foot of Mount Pleasant on the Duntroon estate . The base is one of the only military bases in Australia that is open to the general public , consisting of a large area of land incorporating a golf course , a library , a residential area for Defence members and their families , various area logistics and infrastructure units , a military hospital , a retail area , vast sporting facilities and the Australian Defence Force Academy . The ship ' s bell from the troopship " Duntroon " was removed when the ship was decommissioned from Australian service and presented to the College in 1978 . It is now positioned at the base of the flag station near the parade ground and is used daily as part of the cadets ' flag duties . Many of the original buildings from when the College was first opened in 1911 still stand and continue to be used today , having been heritage listed . An example of this is the officers ' mess , known as ' Duntroon House ' , which is an imposing stone building , that was actually built as the Campbell family ' s house before the land was purchased by the Crown . The Majura Training Area is located nearby and is currently where cadets from the College undertake the majority of their basic field training in III Class . Queen ' s Medal . The Queen ' s Medal is awarded to the cadet graduating top of their class academically . It was originally instituted in 1919 , when it was called the King ' s Medal , and all cadets , including foreign cadets attending the College , are eligible . Indeed , Singaporean cadets established a long tradition of receiving this honour , doing so in 1975 , 1978 , 1979 , 1980 and 1982 according to a 1986 source . Reserve Units of the Royal Military College – Australia . In 1997 the Royal Military College took responsibility for overseeing the training provided to Reserve officer cadets and as a result in 1998 the Royal Military College of Australia was established as a formation . As a part of this formation , the following University Regiments were placed under the College ' s command : In July 2008 , however , responsibility for Reserve officer training was taken away from Duntroon , and these units were placed under the command of the 2nd Division , with each regiment reporting directly to its parent brigade unit . Nevertheless , they continue to follow the Duntroon curriculum in modularised format , and Reserve officer cadets attend the College for their final four - week training block prior to commissioning . Commandants . The following officers served as commandants of the college : Plaque . In 2010 , a plaque dedicated to RMC graduates was placed on the ACT Honour Walk . It reads : Other nations :