Dream come true for new cav troop commander

Lieutenant Jake Mouritz, from Western Australia, has graduated as a new cavalry troop commander, something he dreamed about for a long time.

CAPTION: Lieutenant Jake Mouritz on Exercise Gauntlet Strike at Puckapunyal Military Training Area, Victoria. Story by Captain Tom Maclean. Photo by Corporal Robert Whitmore.

“Being a cavalry team troop leader has been the culmination of two years of training. It’s something I’ve aspired to do since I was young,” Lieutenant Mouritz said.

He was one of just 12 cavalry troop commanders graduating this year from the Army’s Regimental Officers’ Basic Course and participated in Exercise Gauntlet Strike.

Lieutenant Mouritz made lifelong friendships during the course.

“We’ve been through thick and thin. The weather here hasn’t been the best, but it’s certainly brought us closer together,” he said.

The scenarios combined tanks, combat reconnaissance vehicles, armoured troop carriers, infantry, combat engineers and artillery for a combined attack. The different crews proved they could work together to defeat a large enemy force.

“Cavalry is a very unique role. Our job requires us to move very fast very quickly over large sparse terrain,” Lieutenant Mouritz said.

“We’re required to bring an effect to the battlefield quite often against an enemy superior to our number.”

After graduation, Lieutenant Mouritz will move to Adelaide where he’ll take up the role of a cavalry troop commander with 1 Armoured Regiment.

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