Cadet training in the 21st century
- deansimpson7
- 3 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The world has shifted in many exciting and unexpected ways – and so, too, has Salvation Army cadet training. In the wake of COVID, Officer Formation has become more flexible, more dispersed and more deeply formative than ever before, intentionally aligned with the realities of 21st-century leadership. CAPTAIN KYLIE HERRING, Leader Officer Formation at Eva Burrows College, reflects on how this evolving approach is equipping cadets for ministry in a complex and ever-changing world.
In a range of sectors, COVID is now referred to as ‘the great disruptor’.
COVID forever altered how we approach and think about many things, including how we deliver adult education.
Amid global uncertainty and impending 2020 lockdowns, International Headquarters (IHQ) approved a shift to a dispersed model of cadet training for the Australia Territory.
Cadets who had travelled interstate to Eva Burrows College in Melbourne for residential training returned to their home states to be closer to their support networks while we all waited to see what the future might hold as the pandemic took its course.
As we adapted to new ways of conducting meetings and new ways of learning online, the dispersed model was approved to continue as a pilot in our territory. This new approach to cadet training (Officer Formation) continued into 2022 and will remain in place until the end of 2027.
In Officer Formation, the ‘work’ of a cadet is to attend to growth and development across three formation areas: Personal and Spiritual – ‘Being’; Mission and Ministry – ‘Doing’; and Education and Theological – ‘Knowing’. This emphasis has not changed in our new model, but the practical implementation has.
In our dispersed model of training, cadets are on placement all over the territory. This year, we have cadets in the Western Australia, South Australia/Northern Territory, NSW/ACT, Queensland and Victoria Divisions. Cadets typically undertake three days of practical ministry at their corps (two days during the week, plus Sundays).
Thursdays are set aside for Officer Formation learning. This typically includes participation in online small groups, a theological formation discussion, and engagement in scheduled non-accredited learning required for Salvation Army officer training.
This non-accredited learning includes the suite of mandatory learning required by the organisation, as well as topics such as Salvation Army Distinctives, Grief and Loss, Managing Change, Mental Health First Aid, Trauma-Informed Care, and Introduction to Community Development.
READ MORE: When officer training was fast and furious
Cadets also participate in immersion experiences, including short placements each year at social and community mission expressions and centres, a week-long First Nations immersion led by the ATSI Engagement Team, a holiness immersion, and mid-year residentials focused on personal and spiritual formation.
Cadets may have one or two study days in their week to attend Higher Education classes, complete their reading and assessments, and prepare for any Sunday commitments. These are important elements of cadet ‘work’, and it can be quite an adjustment for cadets as they come to appreciate that ‘being’ and ‘knowing’ are aspects of formation that require their time and attention, to the extent that they are scheduled into their week!
For a number of years, cadet training has been individualised as cadets come to college with diverse educational backgrounds and practical ministry experience. Some cadets have completed undergraduate degrees in ministry and/or theology, some have already commenced study, and others have never studied at a higher level before.
For those just starting their learning journey, they will be enrolled in an Advanced Diploma, with those units delivered by Eva Burrows College’s Higher Education Faculty, accredited by the University of Divinity.
“The Officer Formation Team is working hard to ensure we are forming officers – ministers of the gospel – who have spiritual depth ...”
Those who are further along in their education will typically pursue postgraduate studies while ensuring that all required core units for cadets are covered. This includes a range of biblical studies, doctrine and theology, mission, leadership, church history and reflective practice units.
In the mission and ministry area, the ‘doing’, the local corps placement officers become training partners with the Officer Formation Team, providing cadets with a diverse range of learning opportunities, acting as our eyes and ears on the ground, and giving feedback on how they experience our cadets, observing their maturity, their God–self and others’ awareness, their ministry skills and capacities, the posture they bring to learning and growing, and how they are working to integrate their learning into their ministry practice.
The Officer Formation Team sees cadets regularly online, but the placement officers see them in person. They help us ensure there is congruence between how we see and experience the cadets online and how the placement officer and the corps community experience the cadet in person.
A couple of years ago, at a Training Principals’ Conference in Kenya, the Principal of the International College for Officers identified these qualities as essential for leaders in the 21st century: adaptability; self-awareness; flexibility; network thinking; strategic thinking; and the ability to tolerate uncertainty.
As part of our continuous improvement practice in Officer Formation, we revisit our program each year to assess how we provide learning and development opportunities in each of these areas. These competencies are also mapped in our Officer Readiness Profile tool, which is linked to the suite of competency tools already established in our wider organisational structures, with the tool capturing growth in the three formation areas across a seven-year period – four reviews in cadet training, then at three points post-commissioning in their first five years as officers.
The Officer Formation Team is working hard to ensure we are forming officers – ministers of the gospel – who have spiritual depth, who can navigate the challenges of our highly complex cultural era, who know how to join and belong to a community, and who can help others to belong.
We encourage our cadets towards a disciplined focus, helping them discover their own path to living a sacramental life where they notice reminders each day that God is present – even when headlines suggest otherwise.
