Queensland University Regiment Regiment Association Inc

QURA mini NEWSLETTER

4 July 2017

BRIGADIER R. I. HARRISON

MBE, RFD, ED (RL)

APPOINTED AS THE PATRON OF

THE QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY

REGIMENT ASSOCIATION

The Queeensland University Regiment

Association wishes to congratulate

Brigadier Sam Harrison on his

appointment as the ﬁrst Patron of the

Sam Harrison joined the newly formed unit of QUR in 1948 as one

of its first recruits. He progressed through the usual infantry

appointments to become its Commanding Officer from 1965 to 1968.

He has the distinction of being QUR’s first recruit to become its CO.

Following his command of the Regiment, he became the

Commander of the 1

Training Group in 1977 as a Colonel and then in

1980 was promoted to Brigadier to command the 1

Field Force Group

( then 7

Brigade) at Kelvin Grove. He transferred to the Inactive List of

Officers in 1984.

During his service, he was honoured with the award of an MBE

(Member of the Order of the British Empire) in recognition of his

services to QUR and the Army Reserve and was also awarded the

Reserve Force Decoration and Efficiency Decoration. He also had the

distinction of being appointed as an Honorary Aide de Camp to Her

Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Sam was later appointed Honorary Colonel of the Regiment from

1992 until 1998.

In 1983 he was instrumental in the formation of the Queensland

University Regiment Association and was elected as its foundation

President, continuing in that role until 1988. He was made a Life

Member of the QUR Association in 1990.

The Association’s executive recently took the decision to appoint

Sam as our Patron in recognition of his long and exemplary contribution

to both the Regiment and the Association. This appointment

acknowledges his unique record and service.

NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT

QURA was recently invited to

organise an exhibit of the “History of QUR”

at a recent QUR Open Day. The

Association displayed a range of

photographs and equipment from the early

days of QUR to the present time. Some

charts showed signiﬁcant dates in the

history of QUR. The Association used

some of the newly acquired QURA ﬂags

and banners.

The Annual General Meeting and

Dinner for QURA will be held on

Wednesday 13 September 2017 at the

United Service Club. With the aim of

keeping the costs of the dinner to a

reasonable level the Executive decided to

offer a two course meal with alternative

drop and dinner wines/ port . Pre dinner

drinks will be served at members expense.

See your invitation on a later page in this

newsletter.

At the end of this year there will be a

change of the Commanding Oﬁcer for the

Regiment. The new CO will be the 25th

CO posted to the Regiment. This

milestone will be celebrated at the AGM/

Dinner.

The Executive of QURA has

commenced the updating of the written

and collected works on the “History of

QUR”. You will have noted us asking you

for contributions to the QUR history in

previous newsletters. As this year marks

the year when the 25th CO is posted to the

Unit the theme for the AGM function will be

the “History of QUR”.

Major General John Pearn kas

kindly agreed to speak at the AGM on the

importance of the gathering and recording

of the history of QUR.

This focus on history on the night is

a perfect time for you to contact those

soldiers with whom served during your

time in QUR, and ask them to celebrate

your time at the AGM.

Last Farewell

It is with great sadness that we record the passing of

Colonel Allan Press.

Allan served in QUR in the late 1970’s as a Company Commander

and went on to command the 9th Battalion, The Royal Queensland

Regiment.

He was a caring and well respected officer with a unique ability of

knowing all his soldiers by name. Allan will be especially

remembered for his in-camp concerts ,which he organised so well.

QURA DISPLAY OF QUR HISTORY

at QUR Open Day 17 June 2017

Request for Dates

Help us with History

We want to conﬁrm the date of some events in the

history of QUR. If you know the year when the

event listed below happened please reply to Trevor

Luttrell with the information. If you can help with the

full date or any additional information that would be

appreciated. Please email your information to

trevor.luttrell@gmail.com or phone 0437 442 964.

Disbandment of the following:

• QUR Band

• Mortar Platoon

• Assault Pioneer Platoon

• Signals Platoon

• SFMG Platoon

• MMG Platoon

• A/ Armoured Platoon

and or the A/ Tank Platoon

• Transport Platoon QM Platoon

• Medical Platoon (RAP)

• Cooks

DID YOU KNOW?

* In 1948 Army Headquarters gave approval for A Company QUR to

be raised. It was to be placed under the command of 9th Battalion,

7th Brigade until it was large enough to be given full Regiment

status

* In 1957 the newly erected Depot at Walcott Street was opened by

the Administrator of Queensland, The Honourable Chief Justice Alan

Mansﬁeld KCMG KCVO (later to become the Governor of

Queensland). A ceremonial parade was held in the Great Court of

the University of Queensland.

* In 1959 the Queen’s and Regimental Colours were presented to

QUR by the Governor of Queensland, Sir Henry Abel Smith KCMG

KCVO DSO

* In 1976 the ﬁrst females were permitted to join QUR as part of the

wider employment of women in the Army.

* In 1981 the QUR band was formed with 14 members.

* In 1986 the Freedom of the City of Brisbane was granted to QUR

by Lord Mayor Sallyanne Atkinson.

* In 1997 the last graduation parade of Ofﬁcer Cadets by QUR was

held. From then all became graduates of the Royal Military College,

Duntroon.

A GOOD STORY FROM THE PAST

Back in the 1960s, QUR (along with rest of CMF and Army) would wear a

woolen khaki brown uniform called Battle Dress in winter time.

Along with badges of rank etc the uniform had to be adorned with a

shoulder ﬂash designated the unit the wearer belonged to.

QUR (being designated an infantry corps unit) wore red coloured shoulder

ﬂashes with Queensland University Regiment emblazoned in white cotton

letters.!

When originally issued from the Q Store, these shoulder ﬂashes had a

stitched cotton white boundary or margin.

But some smart person way up the hierarchy decided that the white

boundary was to be removed.! And so the routine orders (RO) went out.!

Now this hit the fan when QUR was on annual camp at Wacol. ! In order to

encourage soldiers to comply with the directive sooner than later, some

equally smart person in the Regiment issued the order that a leave night

was coming up but all soldiers wishing to go on leave must wear battle

dress and further any soldier who had not removed the white borders would

be denied leave.! This was to be effected by way of leave passes had to be

obtained from the Orderly Room and the Orderly Ofﬁcer, who would only

issue same if he inspected and saw the soldier was wearing a uniform with

shoulder ﬂashes suitably altered as per the RO.

Now in my case (not being adept with needle and thread etc) had not

removed the white borders on my shoulder ﬂashes, and further the Orderly

ofﬁcer known to us by the nick name of Tex (that is a completely different

story how he came by that nickname) was on my case as he knew I had not

yet ﬁxed my shoulder ﬂashes.

However I had a plan which involved going to the orderly room in company

of another Staff Sergeant who had already ﬁxed his shoulder ﬂashes.! So

he went in ﬁrst, got his leave pass, then came out.! He and I then

exchanged battle dress blouses (as they were called) and then I went in

and asked the Orderly Sergeant for my leave pass.! Immediately the

Orderly Ofﬁcer pounced only to see that I was regimentally correctly

dressed so begrudgingly issued the pass.

Anyhow after a few drinks in town, back in our own uniforms, I found a good

friend of the opposite gender who suitably ﬁxed and re-sewed on my

shoulder ﬂashes - and I was now compliant. !(

But it was good feeling to have put one over that Orderly Ofﬁcer.

A Little Help

The following information will provide some

explanation for some of the detail in figure 2 of the

QUR new structure in the CO’s letter on page 5.

A.!!!!!!!!!!! RIC = Recruit Induction Company – QUR will be

responsible for the administration of Recruits from

enlistment until completion of Initial Employment Training.!

Most of the training will be done in QUR but specific to

corps will continue to be conducted at each of the

Schools (less RAINF which is all done at QUR).

B.!!!!!!!!!!! The courses for promotion to Captain and Major

are for “all corps” courses with the special to corps courses

still run at Corps schools.

C.!!!!!!!!!!! The Combat Arms Module is a weapons course

for RAA, RAAC, RAE and RAINF that is conducted over two

weeks.! Focus is on communications, shooting, grenade,

claymore, and anti-armour weapons

D.!!!!!!!!!!! For the Officer Cadets we manage them to

ensure they attend the five training blocks (TB) required to

be commissioned.! Some training is done in QUR through

instruction and assessment, with field weekends focussed

on confirmation of skills.! The time allowed for an OCDT to

graduate is three (3) years but on average it takes four (4)

years) in South Queensland and five (5) years in North

Queensland (different work dynamics due to the age of

the OCDT).

E.!!!!!!!!!!! The Unit Establishment has improved our number

of instructors on the books’ however, given personnel

civilian workloads we will still require support for some

instruction and most of the support staff functions.! It is not

perfect but it’s an improvement.

F.!!!!!!!!!!! DTR is the Directed Training Requirement which is

the number of personnel we have been tasked to push

through the respective courses each year.! The % is our

achievement of that target.

The President of the Queensland University Regiment

Association

requests the pleasure of your company at the

QURA Annual General Meeting and

Dinner

to be held at the United Service Club

Wickham Terrace, Brisbane,

Cost: $75

Including : 2 course meal with wine and port,

Meet for pre dinner drinks at members expense in the main bar

Dress: Civilian - Business Attire (Coat/Tie)

RSVP: NLT 8 September 2017

I understand that from 8 September 2017, should I later ﬁnd that

I cannot attend, I will be liable to pay for the function.

Please email RSVP to Trevor Luttrell (trevor.luttrell@gmail.com)

Payment: Payment can be made with internet banking direct to the QURA Bank Account.

BSB 064 129, Account 0090 4500, Name QUR Association Inc.

Please ensure your name is supplied with your payment details.

Payment will be accepted on the night.

If you know any ex members of QUR who are not members of the

Association please invite them to join us on the evening.

QURA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS

Should you wish to nominate for any of the positions on the Executive Management Committee

please nominate by emailing the President QURA at (trevor.luttrell@ gmail.com).

If you are prepared to serve on the committee we will arrange for a proposer and seconder to

sign your nomination.

Send your name and the position/ positions you would like to nominate for:

Positions available:

• President

• Vice President

• Secretary/ Treasurer

• Executive Committee Members (6) or more

• Membership Secretary

Queensland University Regiment Association

COMMANDING OFFICER/CHIEF INSTRUCTOR UPDATE

To the Association,

I would like to thank you for your continued support of the Regiment and, in

particular, your support to our recent Open Day on 17 June 2017. I know that the

members of the Regiment appreciate your attendance and interest in our activities.

Last year I highlighted that we are going through a Unit Establishment Review

process. I am now able to inform you that the Chief of Army has signed off the

organisational structure that will be implemented from 1 January 2018. There are

some repechages on additional personnel in some areas to support our training

liability that are under consideration, but these will not change the organisational

structure. I have included both the old and new structures below to show the

changes in our structure. There will be no change in our mission which is to deliver

training in order to generate combat capability.

The key change for us will be the responsibility for management of all recruits within

Queensland which will result in two dedicated companies in North and South

Queensland. We do lose the Administration Company Headquarters but retain the

Q-store and administrative support personnel. Our drivers will become driving

Australian Army

Queensland University Regiment

24 Walcott St, St Lucia, QLD, 4067

instructors which is a real opportunity for upskilling our personnel.

With our restructure also comes a change in command status. From 6 October

2017 QUR will be under command Headquarters 8

Brigade (Training) – HQ 8 BDE

(TRG). This will see all of the University Regiments come under the one command

structure (again). The benefit of this will be one formation purely focussed on

training of the Reserve Soldier and Officer. This will bring some challenges but also

opportunities for improvement in resourcing, training delivery and professional

development.

Our Officer Cadet numbers

remain solid, although we are

not graduating as many

numbers as previous years. At

this time we will have three

graduates for 2017. This is an

area that I will focus on with my

staff for the remaining six

months of this year. Based on

the training pipeline we should

see solid numbers graduating

next year for South Queensland but we are struggling in North Queensland.

Our ability to meet the directed training requirement (DTR) continues to improve

with significant increases in the last three years. This is a combination of changes in

instructional approach within QUR, increased recruiting numbers, and command

COMMANDING OFFICER/CHIEF INSTRUCTOR UPDATE

efforts across the 2

Division to ensure personnel attend promotion and/or trade

courses. Attached below is a summary showing our achievements to date (the first half

are soldier courses related to combat arms or driver courses, with the ACCC/ACMC

relating to promotion courses to Captain and Major).

Finally my replacement as the Commanding Officer/Chief Instructor has been

appointed by the Chief of the Army. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Denner is no stranger to

QUR having been an instructor several postings ago. I know Scott is very excited to

assume command and will do so from effect 28 November 2017 at our end of year

parade.

I thank you for your continued support.

Yours Sincerely,

RJ Peace

Lieutenant Colonel

Commanding Officer/Chief Instructor

07 3721 4333

richard.peace@defence.gov.au

COMMANDING OFFICER/CHIEF INSTRUCTOR UPDATE

CAN YOU NAME THESE OLD QUR SOLDIERS?

NEW COMMANDING OFFICER FOR QUR

We have been advised that the new Commanding Ofﬁcer for QUR is Major Scott Denner -

Artillery) (on promotion to Lieutenant Colonel). The hand over will take place in November

2017.

He commenced his career as an Army Ofﬁcer followed by a period in the private sector where

he gained international experience in logistics, functional management, business continuity

management, risk management and business process improvement.

After returning to Australia he was self-employed as a management consultant for three years,

providing professional services to organisations including Tarong Energy, QSuper, Flight

Centre and EDS. Following deployment to Iraq as a reserve Army Ofﬁcer in 2008 he

commenced with the SEQ Water Grid Manager as the acting Operations Director and then

Director of Risk and Technology, both ‘C-suite’ positions. In 2012 he was deployed to Afghanistan as a reserve Army Ofﬁcer.

Following the merger of the SEQ Water Grid Manager with Seqwater and Linkwater, he was appointed the Manager

Northern Operations, managing the operation and maintenance of the dams, water treatment plants, catchments and

recreation areas that enable water supply water to the 700,000 residents of Northern Brisbane, Moreton, Northern Somerset

and the Sunshine Coast.

In early 2016 he commenced his current role with RSL Queensland, as State Secretary and General Manager, Veterans

Services, RSL Queensland Branch, which enables him to continue his passion for leading people and serving the veteran

community.

President’s Note:

At the Annual General Meeting and Dinner of QURA September we will farewell LTCOL Richard Pearce and hopefully

welcome MAJ Scott Denner on his future command of the Regiment.