Canberra, 30 April 2020

Two Afghan cadets, Bazmohammd Watandost and Siavash Saduqi, were successfully graduated from Royal Military College RMC-Duntroon Army Officer Commissioning Course 2020 among over 90 cadets from Australia and 6 other countries.

The graduation ceremony convened with attendance of high-ranking Australian military officers amid the COVID-19 restrictions on 28 April 2020 at RMC, Canberra.  The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was represented by Counsellor Mr Balagh at the said ceremony.

Australian Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr, AO, DSC, MVO while awarding graduation certificates to graduands said: “As we move into a challenging global environment, I am proud of the officers and staff for demonstrating a commitment to the service of their nations.”

So far, three Afghan cadets have graduated from Duntroon as part of an 18 months military studies course fully-funded by the Australian Government. 

In 2019, the first two Afghan cadets were graduated from Duntroon which is one of the top military colleges worldwide. Last year also marked the graduation of two Afghan higher military officers from Australian Defence College at the levels of colonel and major respectively.

This year’s Afghan graduated cadets will be replaced by two other Afghans in January 2021. One of them will be the first Afghan female cadets to study at the Australian Royal Military College.