Monash University Regiment

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Monash University Regiment is a reserve officer training regiment of the Australian Army, based in Victoria near Monash University. It is a part of the Royal Military College of Australia. The Regiment is associated with the university, but this proved to be a difficult relationship during the Vietnam War-era when Monash University's Clayton campus was a hotbed of student activism. Recruiting on the campus ended when members of the student association stole three weapons during a recruiting campaign, recovered when members of the unit borrowed an Armoured Personnel Carrier and drove through the university.

The regiment is named in honour of General Sir John Monash, Australia's greatest soldier and probably the most effective commander on the Western Front during World War I.

The current Commanding Officer is Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Smith, and the Honorary Colonel is Brigadier John Deighton AM, MC who succeeded Major General Jim Hughes AO, DSO, MC.

1 History
2 Structure
3 Traditions
4 External links

[edit] History

The regiment, which is known as MONUR (not to be confused with MUR which is Melbourne University Regiment), traces its origins back to 8 March 1966, when Monash University Company was formed as a detachment of MUR.

On the 23 February 1970 it ceased to be the Monash University Company of MUR, and became its own regiment. MONUR recently celebrated its 37th birthday.

[edit] Structure

The Regiment is structured into a Regimental (Battalion) Headquarters and two sub-units: Cadet Company and Logistic Support Company. Cadet Company contains all the Staff Cadets, who are completing the Part Time General Service Officer First Appointment Course (PT GSO FAC) to become commissioned officers in the Australian Army. Cadet Company also contains a number of SCDTs who are part of the Officer Tertiary Recruitment Scheme (OTRS) which involves training at the Regiment while completing a university degree, then being posted to the Royal Military College of Australia's full-time facility at Duntroon (RMC-D) in Canberra to complete the GSO FAC on a full-time basis. A return of service obligation of four years exists for this scheme, but does not apply for reservists.

Monash University Regiment sends approximately 10 people to RMC-D each year to complete the PT GSO FAC, graduates of which are commissioned as Second Lieutenants before being allocated to their Corps and posted to their first unit.

[edit] Traditions

The Regiment's motto is Ancora Imparo which is attributed to Michelangelo and translates as "I am still learning", which is also the University's motto. Members of the Regiment wear an Academic Blue (or Cambridge Blue) lanyard which signifies the unit's link with Monash University, which in turn adopted many of the traditions of Cambridge University. The Regimental badge is backed by a red 'aura' which signifies the alliance of MONUR with the British Army's Light Infantry, now amalgamated into The Rifles. The mascot of MONUR is a black sheep (ram) indicative of the status and culture of the Regiment. MONUR's Regimental quick march is "Imperial Echoes", which was composed by Arnold Safroni in 1913 and used as the signature tune of the BBC Newsreel feature during WWII.