Following family footsteps in serving country and community

It goes without saying, Victoria Police hosts a diverse workforce. Our members, despite fronting what is already a challenging career, somehow in their spare moments continue to achieve great things. 

Leading Senior Constable Rod Charman always wanted to join Victoria Police ever since he was in school. Now, he’s an Operational Safety Tactical Training (OSTT) instructor in Mildura with 22 years of experience under his belt.   

Given his robust resume, we of course, had to ask him a few questions.  

QUESTIONS 

• Tell us about your role at Vic Pol (job, loc, tenure)  

At present I am an Operational Safety Tactical Training (OSTT) instructor at a regional OSTT unit in Mildura and have been instructing on and off since 2005. I was formally the acting Officer In Charge (OIC) at Warrnambool OSTT in 2009/2010 and was uniform general duties either side of that. I was 5 years on the van at Hamilton as my first station, 3 ½ years at Warrnambool OSTT, 5 ½ years back at Hamilton, 2 years at Mildura (2016-2018), 12 months at Ouyen (2018 into 2019), 2019 and 2020 at Mildura. In 2021 I took 12 months off on a Continual Full Time Service (CFTS) contract and was mostly in Adelaide with Army. 2022 to present with Mildura OSTT. 

• Tell us about your role in the Army Reserve (job, loc, tenure)  

I am a rifleman (Infantry) with Army and enlisted in 1992 in Mildura (8/7 RVR). I took some time away in 1997-2000 before re-enlisting January 2000, back at Mildura. I stepped back into my rifleman role and acting 2IC before being promoted in 2000 and 2001 to Corporal.   

I then posted to Warrnambool 8/7 RVR after joining VicPol and was a section commander there. In 2009 I was promoted to Sergeant and was platoon Sergeant and acting depot commander until 2013.  

In terms of operations, I deployed to Malaysia in 2004-05 and was posted to Operation Sumatra Assist after the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. In 2013, I deployed to Solomon Islands on Op ANODE Rotation 30 as the last rotation in country.  

I then went inactive in late 2013 until taking on a role with 10/27 RSAR in Mount Gambier SA as platoon Sergeant and remote depot commander for regional depots across SA.  

In 2018, I was acting CSM A Company 10/27 RSAR. In 2019 I was posted to Adelaide Universities Regiment as an instructor on Subject 2 Corporal (RAINF) courses where I am still posted.

In 2021 I took time away from VicPol to undertake CFTS or SERVOP C as the course manager for Sub 2 Cpl RAINF Mod 2 course, which is the field phase of the course. Am now SERCAT 5 and assisting with instructing on ADF Permanent Complex and Dismounted Manoeuvre Safety Supervisor Course for Corporals to fulfill their employment obligations. I completed Subject 1 Warrant Officer in 2023 and am awaiting panelling on a Sub 2 WO hopefully later this year with prosects for promotion at the end of the year.  

• What inspired you to join the Army?  

Both my maternal and paternal Grandfathers were my inspiration for joining the Army, but I felt that the Reserves was the best fit for me and have enjoyed most of the exercises and deployments I have been involved in. My maternal Grandfather was a POW during WW2, being captured on Crete by the Germans in 1941 and spent the remainder of the war in captivity. My paternal Grandfather was WIA in Nth Africa in 1940 and repatriated to Australia and took no further part in the war, but was very passionate about his service. My maternal Great Grandfather served in WW1 with the 22nd Battalion AIF in France and was the battalion bugler. 

• What inspired you to join Vic Pol? 

I had always wanted to join VicPol since being at school and was an avid collector of Police Life centrefold posters, having a few on my walls as a young teenager. My uncles best mate was also a member and he was of great assistance in joining. I left my joining until I was a bit older as I felt I may have been a bit naïve as a young bloke just out of school, which was of great benefit. 

• Is your (Vic Pol) unit/dpt supportive of your service?  

I have a really good relationship with my unit manager and my service and we work together to ensure we can maintain service delivery as we are a smaller OSTT unit that travels across WD6 to deliver training. 

• What does service mean to you?  

To me service means giving back to my community, whether it is in green or blue, and I have a philosophy that the right person in the right place at the right time can possibly change the world and I feel at times I have been able to achieve that for someone in the community. 

• How do you fit in your ADF service, while working at Vic Pol?  

I manage my reserve service through the paid leave provided and where appropriate, with LWOP. As my commitment at the moment is through block activities, I need to plan ahead and make sure my office is prepared for my absence. If I was part of a normal unit, I could manage that much easier as it would be weekend and night commitments which in my VicPol role is easy as we work office hours. 

• Why have you chosen both service in the Army and a career at Vic Pol? Why both?  

I felt that both had offerings similar to each other, particularly as a rifleman and general duties VicPol member, the skills interchange and confrontation is not a surprise and having the ability to improvise and adapt to changing circumstances has taught greater resilience to adversity at times. There are times where this isn’t possible, but that is an individual circumstance to the particular job being faced with. 

• What do you feel, are your greatest achievements in each role?  

My greatest achievements to date with Army would be improving a soldiers skills during instructing on Subject 2 Corporal Course and seeing that person being promoted and going on to lead soldiers in their respective units.  

In VicPol it would be on a similar pathway in improving a members operational safety and communications skills and reflecting on personal experience to add context to the learnings being provided. I have a 1% rule with OSTT, that if I can influence 1% of a class, I have achieved success. OSTT is the hardest topic to deliver and VicPol members are the hardest to instruct as there are a myriad of personalities and beliefs of being better that delivery can be a struggle. If I can assist at least one person a course or even a week, I have had a win. 

• What is the most unique thing (e.g. operation, activity, role) that you've experienced in the Army?  

On one exercise in Mildura, I was acting platoon commander when I was woken by one of the soldiers as they had observed a car load of hoons at the Mildura Airport trying to break into the hire car depot. I observed the crew through night vision and saw that they had made entry into the compound and were stealing fuel. I grabbed one of the section commanders who was a VicPol member too and we formulated an arrest plan and took our respective sections over and confronted the group, arresting one after his mate fled the scene. It was a funny incident as the bloke we arrested had got himself caught in concertina barbed wire and was arrested quite quickly. 

• Do your skills in the Army help you at VP? Vice versa?  

My Army and VicPol skills are interchangeable as they work together. As an instructor with both, it is merely an extension of the roles, changing uniforms. From General Duties into being a Platoon Sergeant in a rifle platoon/company, confrontation, giving orders and communicating go hand in hand. It also helps with the DFACA or DACC taskings and also with communication with diverse communities much like Solomon Islands and Malaysia. 

• What are the perks of working at VP and being an Army Reservist? e.g. mil leave and skills?  

The main perks is the leave opportunities and the recognition of prior learning. My Army skills are certainly interchangeable with OSTT with regard to defensive tactics and firearms instruction and running the ranges too. I also get recognised for Police Remembrance Day to lead the colour party and provide SME for uniforms and medal wearing for my senior bosses. 

THIS OR THAT

• Cams or police uniform? Cams are more relaxed, but the blue turns heads. I have received recognition from the public with thanks when in cams but nothing when in blue LOL. 

• Who's got the better kit? Army has the better kit by far and most don’t whinge about wearing it either. 

• Marked/police vehicles or green vehicles? Marked police vehicles at times as there are a lot of restrictions re green fleet, but armoured vehicles are fun to ride in. 

• Kapooka/Basic Training or the VP Academy? I was fortunate to avoid Kapooka with basic training, only doing a 2 week recruit course in the 90’s at Puckapunyal. The academy was quite relaxed but still had some discipline throughout the training. Not sure if I would like the academy now with it being reported to be so relaxed. 

• 10 days out field or a week of night shifts on the van? 10 days out field every time. More allowances and flexibility and no domestics or drunken yobbo’s out field, until we hit the mess after the exercise.  

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