Officer Training Unit, Scheyville
| Type | Military college |
|---|---|
| Established | 1965–73 |
| Location | Scheyville, New South Wales, Australia |
| Website | Officer Training Unit Association |
The Officer Training Unit, Scheyville (OTU Scheyville) was an officer training establishment of the Australian Army. It was opened in April 1965 to train officer cadets that had been called up for service under the national service scheme and offered a short, but rigorous commissioning course for trainees, tailored to meet the Army's need to increase the number of junior officers being produced in order to meet commitments to train national servicemen, and to provide platoon commanders for units serving overseas in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia. It was closed down in 1973 after the national service scheme was abolished in December 1972.
On 24 November 1964, the National Service Act was passed through the Australian Federal parliament, allowing the Menzies government to re-establish the national service scheme—which had been suspended in 1959—as a response to growing uncertainty in Australia's strategic outlook in Southeast Asia. Unlike previous versions of national or compulsory service which had limited the liability of men called up to service in Australian territory within the meaning of the Defence Act (1903) only, the new scheme envisaged conscripted soldiers serving in Regular Army units to bolster their numbers for deployment being sent overseas to meet Australia's commitments in Southeast Asia. As such many would take part in the fighting Vietnam and Malaysia.
Although largely opposed by the Australian Army hierarchy, the re-introduction of conscription necessitated a requirement for the expansion of the Army's training establishments to meet the increased numbers of men undergoing training. This, coupled with the expansion of the Royal Australian Regiment to nine battalions, meant that there was a need for the Army to increase the numbers of junior officers serving in its ranks in order to oversee the training of national servicemen and to command platoons on operations overseas. In order to meet this requirement the decision was made to create a new officer training unit (OTU) to deliver this course. Brigadier Ian Geddes was given the responsibility of bringing this organisation into being, and on 1 April 1965 the OTU was established at Scheyville, New South Wales.
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