Vietnamese interpreters introduction to military skills DPR/TV/500

Interpreters are almost as important as rifles to the Australian Army in Vietnam, where interrogation of villagers and Vietcong suspects can mean the difference between clean victories and fruitless searches for the enemy. To ensure a continuing record of sucess, the 1st Australian Task Force has added to its ranks nine Vietnamese interpreters. The young men, all former university students, recently completed a three month English course conducted by the Royal Australian Army Educational Corps. The school was the first of its kind to be held at a military establishment. Australian troops also learning to become interpreters attended lectures with the Vietnamese, and lived with them for the duration of the course. Using this method, they soon found that each group learned the language of the other more readily than would be possible using conventional methods. After graduation, the young Vietnamese were taught basic military skills so they could accompany the Australians on operations without being a hazard rather than a help. The job of preparing them for their new lives as "Diggers" was handled by men of "C" Company 6 RAR headed by company Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer John Vagg of Gaythorne, Brisbane. First came their introduction to the Australian self-loading rifle, which they soon learned to service, with the assistance of instructors Pte. John Wright, of Cranbourne, Victoria and Sergeant Les Turner, of Stafford Heights, Brisbane. Before the course introducing them to the army, the interpreters were issued with Australian field gear, everything from pneumatic mattresses to individual shelters. When they "shot it out" with harmless targets on their first rifle practice, the students were carefully supervised by Warrant Officer Vagg and Pte. Reg Lilywhite, of Redcliffe. Private Lilywhite later continued the course with lessons in fieldcraft, during which he demonstrated the importance of silent hand signals. The role of hand grenades and smoke grenades, and the correct way of throwing them, was explained by Sergeant Turner. It was tough going all the way for the men, who only a few months before had been students with a very limited knowledge of the English language and who knew nothing about soldiering. But the hard work paid off and now they are qualified to join their new found Australian mates in the war against the Viet Cong.