The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, recently completed Exercise Short Gallop in Eastern Malaya - the first major warm-up by Australian, British and New Zealand soldiers in preparation for the five nation Exercise Bersatu Padu next month. The ten day exercise culminated in a helicopter assault on a known enemy position within thick jungle undergrowth. The Australians attacked a strongly defended bunker system where the enemy role was played by British Commandos and New Zealand troops. Prior to the final assault, helicopters were used to secure a fire support base for artillery support of searching and clearing operations by infantrymen. Once the search of the bunker system had been completed the soldiers were soon engaged in clearing the camp of simulated booby traps and unexploded mines. Another training aspect of the exercise was the constant provision of water, rations, stores, fuel and ammunition to the eight hindred and fifty troops who took part. Despite evidence of elephants, tigers and pigs in the exercise area, the only natural hazard encountered by troops were snakes ranging from coral snakes in the coastal areas to cobras inland. Also identified: Private Phil Alsford of Mount Druitt, NSW; Lieutenant Noel Trevor of Sydney, NSW; Sergeant Keith Burnett of Sydney, NSW; Major Trevor Wilkinson of Canberra, ACT.
Preparations for the forthcoming five nation exercise, code-named Bersatu Padu, have started with a Battalion group exercise in Malaya for Singapore based troops. Centering around movement, deployment
Pushing artillery pieces can be an uphill job, but gunners of 108 Field Battery, Royal Australian Artillery, in Singapore have learnt to take it all in their stride. Since the Battery arrived in Singa
Two RAAF Mirage jet fighter squadrons at the RAAF base at Butterworth are in readiness for the operational phase of the five-nation military exercise Bersatu Padu. Nos. 3 and 75 Squadrons will play a
In South Vietnam, soldiers of the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, have uncovered and destroyed a secret enemy command bunker system. The bunkers, virtually invisible from the air, were in th
Australian troops in Vietnam are again using a special technique to deny the Viet Cong bunker complexes after they have been discovered. Each bunker is seeded with CS2 Crystals which makes them uninha
The Malaysian based 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade has just completed a rugged jungle exercise, code named "Carnivorous" in West Malaysia. The exercise was held in the Batu Pahat area of Johore St
