It seems my Kapooka posts are pretty popular, and I’ve been looking at some of the questions people have been googling that got them here. I want to start by saying that if you have a specific question, you should feel free to ask them through the comment section below.

One question I’ve been seeing lately is: How much money will I spend at Kapooka?

Naturally, I can’t really give a definitive answer to that one. For the first few weeks, you’re not going to be spending a whole lot, since you never really get to go anywhere. Maybe the odd trip to the canteen for some juice or supplies, but nothing really exciting. After that, you’ll get to go into Wagga Wagga for the day, and naturally you can spend as much or as little as you like. A lot of guys like to go see a movie or do some shopping, but usually, you end up at a bar, so make sure you have enough money for some drinks.

Between that trip and the end of Kapooka, I think you get another day or two in town, plus your trips to the canteen become more frequent, and right near the end of training, you get to go to “the boozer” a few times, where you can indulge in some drinks with your platoon.

There’s an ATM on base, plus of course there’s ATMs in Wagga Wagga, so don’t feel you need to carry hundreds of dollars in cash when you leave home.

Another query I see a lot runs along the lines of: What percentage of recruits pass Kapooka

This one really is quite easy to answer – around 98%. There’s very few reasons why you WOULDN’T pass Kapooka. Recruit training – like every course you’ll ever do in the Army – is actually designed to get you through with a pass. If you’re struggling with the training and can’t keep up, they will start by providing extra training to help you improve your skills in the area where you’re struggling.

You’ll generally only get about a week to improve any sub-standard skills, since any longer than that will start to effect your ability to keep up with your platoon. So if you can’t improve to a suitable standard in that week, you may find yourself “back squadded”, where they re-assign you to another platoon that is a few weeks behind your own platoon. This will give you the chance to re-do lessons and practice your skills before progressing. But once you’ve been back squadded, you have to stay with that platoon until you march out.

So aside from being discharged from the Army (usually for disciplinary or medical reasons), you will stay at Kapooka until you pass. Naturally, there is a percentage of people who go to Kapooka, but it becomes evident that they’re just not suited to the Army. This group of people is a tiny, tiny minority, and I think you’d be hard-pressed to find one. These days, pretty much anyone can get in, and it’s up to the Corporals at Kapooka to train them.

And the last question for this post is: What’s a Holding Platoon?

A holding platoon is an “administrative” platoon, where recruits are assigned while they’re waiting for something to happen. This could be anything from arriving early, and needing to wait until more of your new platoon arrive. It could be that you’re being back squadded, but there’s no new platoon for you to go to right now. Or it could be that you were injured, and you need somewhere to “be” while you’re recovering.

And lastly, you might go to a holding platoon AFTER you’ve completed your training, and you’re waiting for your IET course to start. Recruits could be in holding platoon for a couple of days or a couple of months. It all depends on why you’re there and what the hold up is.

So if you have any more specific questions, ask away!