Visit by Kerr Committee DPR/TV/1346 Accession Number: F04474

Description

Members of the Kerr Committee, inquiring into the conditions of service of members of the Australian Armed Forces, is currently touring South-East Asia. During the Vietnam phase, the five-man Committee, led by Mr Justice Kerr, visited Headquarters and forward operational bases to talk with combat troops. With Mr Justice Kerr on the Committee are senior service and civilian officers, including the former Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sir John Wilton. Among the bases visited by the Committee, included the Australian Task Force Headquarters at Nui Dat, and the major logistics base for all three Services at Vung Tau. At Vung Tau the Committee made a complete tour of the base, mingling and talking with RAAF and Army personnel on living conditions and their impressions of life in the Forces. The Committee also visited Dong Tam, located in the Delta region of South Vietnam, where a Royal Australian Naval detachment of 46 men is integrated into the 135th United States Army's Assault Helicopter Company. The Company is known as the EMU's (Experimental Military Unit), and the Committee spent some time talking with members of the Australian component. At Nui Dat Kerr Committee members gained first hand experience of how Australian soldiers are briefed before an operation. The Committee also saw a simulated casualty evacuation operation and spoke to soldiers manning various installations within the base. Committee members were on hand when a patrol of the 2nd Special Air Service Squadron returned from a mission. The patrol had been on an eight-day operation, and Mr Justice Kerr led the Committee in a detailed discussion on SAS training, and the actual climatic and tactical situations their members experience in the course of operations in Vietnam. The Committee discussed the personal aspects of active service with a large number of non-commissioned men over lunch at Nui Dat, listening to suggestions and impressions, and asking questions. Throughout the Vietnam tour the Kerr Committee took every opportunity to meet and talk with specialist personnel from all three services. In South Vietnam, the Kerr Committee investigating life in today's Armed Services penetrates deep into the field to study the War as it affects the fighting man. Also identified: 31186 Warrant Officer 2 Harry James Wright of Bendigo, Vic; 64334 Captain Denis Ian Pegg of Townsville, Qld; Corporal Leigh Alvery of Perth, WA; Commissioner E. C. Deverall; Mr Rogers.