The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Australian soldiers who go to Vietnam for active service have not said goodbye to their days of training. Training is a constant fact of life with the soldier, whether in Australia or on active service overseas. The aim of the training is to repeatedly remind a soldier of the basic safety rules of weapon handling which he was first taught in his recruit training days. In Vietnam, units with the 1st Australian Task Force at Nui Dat are required to continually conduct "Exercise Lifesaver" during a soldier's 12 months in country. The aim of the exercise is to cut down the number of accidents which lead to death and injury among Australian soldiers. During 1968 five Australian soldiers were killed and 34 wounded in accidents in Vietnam. The soldier's first introduction to Exercise Lifesaver is in the 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit at Nui Dat. It is this unit that the infantry soldier spends his first three weeks in Vietnam. During the life-saver phase of his three weeks at ARU he is reminded again and again of the basic safety rules, shown how carelessness with a loaded gun can cause it to fire, and how rough handling and knocks can make a previously "safe" weapon loaded and dangerous. The procedures to adopt when on sentry are repeated and soldiers are also shown the varied uniforms worn by South Vietnamese units fighting with Australian troops. The rules of engagement which lay down when a soldier may open fire are taught and junior commanders are exercised in the correct briefing of patrols and on sentries. The final phase gives a practical demonstration by re-enacting incidents which, in the past, have caused the death of Australian soldiers. (Also identified: OC 1st Aust Reinforcement Unit Major J. C. S. Hallinan of Ingleburn, NSW; Sgt Bryan Rhodes of Holsworthy, NSW; Cpl Tony Wass of Dover, Tas; WO2 Don Lynch of Cabramatta, NSW; Sgt Vic Johnson of Westport, NZ).
Senior Indonesian Army officers currently visiting Australia, this week gained first-hand knowledge of how the Australian Army operates in the field. The twenty officers from all arms of the Indonesia
Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, The Pacific Islands Regiment, moved into the field in a roar of live ammunition recently, for their annual exercise near Port Moresby. The soldiers are from Taurama Barr
For 120 soldiers of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force their part in Exercise Temple Tower came to a close with a familiarisation trip on one of the Navy's Heavy Landing craft. Two LCHs, HMAS Labuan a
Conducting an artillery sheet in Malaysia is not without its drawbacks as Gunners of Australia's 107 Field Battery discovered during an exercise which has just ended. Code-named Last Journey, the Exer
Townsville, 22 October 1973: The first phase of Exercise Temple Tower ended near Townsville today when soldiers of the Papua New Guinea-based 1st Battalion, The Pacific Islands Regiment, joined in a b
Regular and Citizen Military Force soldiers on a supply exercise on the NSW north coast are using a fishing trawler and a RAAF Dakota to simulate the Maintenance of a 3000 man battle group. The 5 day
