Language training in Vietnam DPR/TV/455

Twenty nine Australian soldiers in Vietnam have become the first graduates of an experimental school set up to train fluent interpreters. At the same school, Vietnamese soldiers studied English. Commander of the Task Force, Brigadier O.D. Jackson and the Phuoc Tuy province chief, Colonel Le Van Dat, met the students and spoke with the top graduates, Vietnamese soldier Troung Ngoc Hoan and Private Michael Dempsey of Liverpool, NSW. During the graduation parade, all students received a certificate presented by Lieutenant Ken Jorgenson of Cooma, NSW. Lieutenant Jorgenson was the chief Australian instructor during the course. After the parade Troung Ngoc Hoan addressed the parade in English and he was followed by Private Dempsey, who also addressed the parade, this time in Vietnamese. The students studied in pairs and will work together in future interrogations of Vietnamese civilians or Viet Cong as part of the Task Force. Success of the course will be gauged on the effectiveness of these "team interrogations" during future operations. Identified personnel: WO2 Tony Monahan of Randwick NSW using cine camera.