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CONSCRIPTS AND REGULARS
and villagers in the province had been achieved. One company commander felt that search and destroy operations were the most successful method of countering the enemy. He felt: There is no doubt that the ATF achieved its aim in Phuoc Tuy through constant, unremitting search and destroy patrolling operations, tedious and often unrewarding though they seemed at the time. Nevertheless at the time we kept 'Charlie' on the move and off balance. At the end of the tour the Commanding Officer distributed a volume called Lessons Learnt from Operations in Vietnam. It sought to consolidate the experience gained by the battalion during its tour of operational service in Vietnam in such a manner as to be available to all members of the rank of sergeant and above who served with the unit during the period. Twentynine chapters were written on subjects as diverse as 'Sentries and passwords' (by Lieutenant Colonel Smith), 'Administration in the field' (Major Peter Leeson) and 'Navigation in Phuoc Tuy Province' (Lieutenant Noel Reeves). The publication was carefully studied prior to the battalion's second tour of Vietnam. Colonel Smith paid particular regard to the weapons with which the battalion had been issued. He wrote a careful comparison of the performance of our weapons and compared them with those used by the Viet Cong. He found the self–loading rifle an excellent weapon with good penetrating capability. It did not need its carrying handle. While the M16 rifle was not as hard–hitting, it was an ideal weapon for the forward scout. The Fl sub–machine gun was a disappointment because of its poor penetrating power. He rated the self–loading rifle and the AK47 to be 'on balance, about even', taking into account the AK47's lighter weight and automatic fire capability. The M16 and AK47 were also about even, although the AK47 was better balanced. He rated the M60 as 'greatly superior to anything encountered in the enemy arsenal'. He felt it was time to review the old catch–cry of the rifle being the soldier's best friend – an M60 or an M72 was a better friend. At the end of the tour, Major Trouc, the Province Chief of Phuoc Tuy, presented the battalion with a lacquer work picture called Running Horses. Major Trouc had been wounded in his shoulder by the Viet Cong in Baria during Tet. This painting is now kept in the Officers' Mess of 5/7 RAR. Over 1180 men served with 7 RAR on this tour of duty. There was a high turnover of non–commissioned officers during the tour. Although the unit had run two non–commissioned officer promotion courses in Australia in 1966–7, there was a need for a further non–commissioned officer course to be run in Vietnam. It was conducted by the Regimental Sergeant Major, company sergeant majors and selected sergeant instructors over six weeks for 58 soldiers. The syllabus was adapted for conditions in Vietnam. Seventy–three per cent of the students passed this course.