conference proceedings - Australian Army

PRePARING ARMOuReD uNITS FOR OVeRSeAS SeRVICe
A tank has a crew of four, an APC two. An addition to both for many operations were
the mini-teams, usually two sappers from the engineer Field Squadron who searched
for concealed mines and warned the crew commanders. Usually, they were carried on
the point vehicles only, or in the case of the tanks on an ARV until they were needed.
Their help was invaluable and since they were exposed at the front of both tanks and
carriers, they suffered many casualties.
Collective Training
Because the crewman’s basic training and Individual employment Training had already
been done somewhere else it might be thought that the squadrons had no further
responsibilities here. It was not the case. The Armoured Corps expansion—like the
infantry—had been so rapid that some tasks were left to units to pick up. We certainly
ran our own crew commander’s courses to make up the shortfall, and in any case,
individual refresher training in areas of skill, like shooting, is always necessary. But
our main responsibility was to progressively train people through crew, section (in the
case of cavalry), troop, and finally squadron level drills, tactics, and procedures to fit
them for their task in Vietnam. It is fair to say that doctrine always lagged behind actual
practice in Vietnam. The Army did not have a well-developed system for gathering
lessons from Vietnam and disseminating them to those preparing to go there. The process
improved over time but only because individuals passed information back, mostly in
the form of personal correspondence. There was no system for ‘capturing’ information
from individuals who had loads of experience and were on the point of repatriating to
Australia. However, one initiative that helped immeasurably was that every OC went
up there for an orientation visit of about ten days before finally deploying for a year.
That single experience enabled him to focus training in Australia more cogently than
normal peacetime training, where the effort has to be spread over a greater number of
possible scenarios.
The old adage about armoured skills is that you must be able to MOVe, SHOOT,
and COMMuNICATe. If only it was that simple. I would add a further three qualities
immediately. You need to be able to See, SuRVIVe, and MAINTAIN, 18 and I could
add others. Counterinsurgency, or Low Intensity Operations as it is sometimes called,
has traditionally been a most demanding type of conflict. In Vietnam, troops were
18. This has contemporary relevance of a special dimension. A tank or APC has to be able to fight around
the clock. The night fighting capability of the Leopard I has been allowed to lapse. To be operationally
compatible with uS, uK, or, say, German armour, in an overseas deployment, it has to be equipped
with passive TI (thermal imaging) sights of two types: gunner’s sight, and a commander’s hunter/killer
sight which can be scanning for future targets while the gunner engages the existing target. Its existing
active-Infra Red equipment makes it highly vulnerable because an enemy vehicle can trace IR to its
source and destroy it.
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