Soldier sailors in river search DPR/TV/1005

A platoon of Australian soldiers in South Vietnam has turned sailor for its latest task - patrolling the vast waterways and mangrove swamps to the south and west of Phuoc Tuy Province. They are members of the Defence and Employment Platoon, 1st Australian Task Force, who are navigating the massive Saigon River Delta in the endless task of tracking down the Viet Cong and cutting off his supplies. The platoon uses four assault rafts fitted with 40 horsepower outboard motors, and crewed by engineers from the 1st Field Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers. Men of the platoon wear flak jackets and helmets while aboard the rafts. Guns point constantly from the assault craft towards the river banks, to provide instant reaction in case of ambush from the land - which is a constant threat. The Australians concentrate on Vietnamese shipping using the waterways, for the Viet Cong often use river craft to infiltrate weapons, ammunition and other supplies for operations in and around Phuoc Tuy Province. Searches are also carried out in mangrove swamps for cached equipment en route to the enemy, but the main targets for search are vessels using the waterway branches which cut deep along the Province boundaries. These are a known route for enemy re-supply. Working on these amphibious operations, the platoon is rapidly proving itself one of the most versatile small units in the 1st Australian Task Force. (Also identified: Sappers at tiller of craft - Spr Michael Dumm of Croydon, Vic; L/Cpl Merton Lee of Launceston, Tas, both of 1 Fd Sqn; 2nd Lieutenant Bob Sutton of Box Hill, Vic. Commander of D and E Platoon; Pte Nigel James of Salisbury, SA; Pte Stan Dickson of Newton, NSW; Pte Ian Jamieson of Hampstead Gardens, SA; Cpl Con Aldous of Landsborough, Qld; Pte Ned Dixon of Lake Grace, WA).