Employment Training
Other Ranks (Non Technical)
Like all General Entry sailors, Cryptologic Systems (CTS) sailors begin their careers at HMAS CERBERUS at Western Port in Victoria to undergo 11 weeks of common basic training. Here they are trained in all the basic skills that sailors need to prepare themselves for a career at sea and ashore.
After recruit training, CTS sailors complete a two-stage course of operator training. The first stage lasts for 21 weeks and is conducted at the Electronic Warfare Wing of Defence Force School of Signals at Cabarlah, Queensland. It is here that CTS sailors gain their computer operator skills which concentrate on data formatting and database maintenance.
After this, CTS sailors are sub-divided and streamed into one of the CTS sub-categories of Technical Signals (TechSigs) or Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) for further training. TechSig sailors remain at the Electronic Warfare Wing for their phase two training whereas ELINT sailors are posted to RANTEWSS, located on HMAS ALBATROSS at Nowra, NSW to undergo their second phase of training. This phase is of 10 weeks duration where trainees undergo advanced electronic emission analysis technique training.
What happens after CTS training is completed?
As soon as they are qualified, CTS sailors usually begin by applying their skills at RANTEWSS, Nowra. Here they will consolidate their training before posting to sea, and can sometimes be employed on a warship within a couple of months of posting to RANTEWSS.
CTS sailors can expect to be posted to ships at sea or any of the Cryptologic sites in Australia for further training and consolidation.
Continuation training will be in the form of advanced courses and will be linked to promotion and advancement. Currently, some of these courses are conducted outside Australia.
