Infantry: December 25, 2002

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The Australian prime minister promised to add 310 troops to Australia's commando force. This will take about 18 months to implement. To get that many new commandos, the armed forces will have to recruit 2-3000 more troops. This is because only about eight percent of those who volunteer for commando duty can qualify. The army is determined not to lower standards for commandos, pointing out that it was the high standard of training and leadership that made the commandos so successful in Afghanistan. Australia is also raising other rapid reaction forces in response to the death of nearly a hundred Australians in a Bali, Indonesia terrorist attack, and the discovery of terrorist activity among its own Moslem population.