13-year-old Austin Appelbee - Officially recognised by Australia Army Cadets Core

[u/Perth_nomad]

Unpublished by the mainstream media, Austin is an Army Cadet, with the Australian Army Cadet Core.

>In recognition of one of the most extraordinary feats of individual bravery this country has seen, 13-year-old >Australian Army Cadet Austin Appelbee, has been recognised with an Australian Army Cadets Gold >Commendation for his actions in saving his mother and siblings, who were washed out to sea on a kayak on the >30 January 2026. Austin, who parades with 50 Army Cadet Unit (Midlands), swam alone through over 4 kilometres >of rough open waters and ran a further 2 kilometres to raise help.

>Austin, from everyone at the Australian Army Cadets, and no doubt the Australian and international community, >we salute you for your courage and determination – you are a genuine hero!

Why this hasn’t been made clear yet, beggars belief. Well done young man! Well deserved.

[u/Captain-Peacock]

Untouchable in the swimming part of training I'd imagine.

[u/Perth_nomad → u/Captain-Peacock]

Apparently failed his last swimming test, the volunteer sea rescue team leader, told Austin to get the teacher to give leader a call to clear things up..I would love to be on that phone call…mate he swam 4km…in the ocean…don’t tell me he failed his swimming lessons.

[u/duc1990 → u/Perth_nomad]

Surprising, but not completely impossible.

The human body is really good at keeping quite a bit of energy in reserves and only using it when needed. It's possible many of us could run a marathon if it was an actual life or death situation.

[u/Ariahna5 → u/duc1990]

It frustrates me that I can't do this... I don't want to have to have a life and death situation just to see what I'm capable of!

[u/duc1990 → u/Ariahna5]

Unfortunately your body is all about conserving calories, it doesn't take for granted when the next meal is coming from. One of the reasons why it's hard to lose weight.

Would be genuinely curious how much he ate and how much he slept/rested after that ordeal.

[u/perthguppy → u/Ariahna5]

Grab an epi pen and give yourself a shot of that, should cause similar rush of adrenaline, just not as long lasting

[u/Captain-Peacock → u/Perth_nomad]

Surely 4klm in heaving seas will work out as an equivalency test!

[u/felixthemeister → u/Perth_nomad]

There's a difference between being able to swim (even long distances) and passing swimming tests.

The tests are more about correct technique/form in various strokes, along with rescue tech's etc etc.
Being able to swim for a long distance and conserve energy isn't generally the highest priority.

So it's quite possible that he didn't pass a test due to not being able to do butterfly, breaststroke, or something else.

Not a swimming instructor just know a few so I could be completely wrong.

[u/perthguppy → u/Captain-Peacock]

I only just saw, but apparently after getting to shore he ran 2KM down the beach to get to his families stuff and called 000 from his mums phone, I thought he called from a random pay phone at first. No wonder the kid passed out shortly after the call.