The Royal Australian Air Force College (commonly known as the RAAF College and abbreviated as RAAFCOL) is the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

training and education academy which is responsible for all the Air Force's initial, career development, promotion and leadership training. The RAAF College is headquartered at RAAF Base Wagga, 10 km (6 mi) east of the city of

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

History

The RAAF College was founded after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on 1 August 1947 when it was established at Point Cook as an academy training elite aircrew (and some engineering) officer cadets; the majority of the RAAF's most senior commanders received their initial training there. It was renamed as the RAAF Academy in 1961. Its role changed substantially in 2008 when the unit re-formed at RAAF Base Wagga to become a centre for training mainly airmen and airwomenThose in ranks below those of

commissioned officers An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

. at entry and specialist levels, with of a number of schools elsewhere that have similar roles.

Functions and organization

RAAF College also provides entry level and specialist training across a broad range of ground-based musterings ote 3and specialisations including security, fire and ground defence, administration and logistics, technical trades, and explosive ordnance. RAAF College manages the following schools and units in Australia: No. 1 Recruit Training Unit (Wagga); Officer Training School (East Sale); School of Postgraduate Studies (Wagga), with Corporal promotion centres at Richmond and Amberley; Air Force Band (Williams); Defence International Training Centre (Williams); RAAF School of Administration and Logistics Training (Wagga); Defence Explosive Ordnance Training School (Orchard Hills); RAAF School of Technical Training (Wagga); and the RAAF Security and Fire School (Amberley).

Notes

References

{{Air force academies Air force academies Military education and training in Australia Royal Australian Air Force 1947 establishments in Australia Military units and formations established in 1947 Education in Wagga Wagga