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CONSCRIPTS AND REGULARS
control (1 SAS Squadron, 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit and 106th Field Battery) direct to Phuoc Hai from Nui Dat and to commence the search at 0630 hours. This timing, which was decided by Headquarters 1st Australian Task Force, was substantially after the fishing boats were permitted to leave the village at 0400 hours. The late arrival of the US airmobile company delayed the start by two hours but little of significance, other than several possible draft avoiders, was found in the village. The people did not appear to be as cooperative as those of Hoa Long or Dat Do. To help in the search, many soldiers used the long bolts from artillery ammunition cases as improvised probes. After these three village search operations the Commander of 1st Australian Task Force remarked that the lack of suspicious finds indicated the success of the pacification of the province. He noted that the elections attracted a large turnout, with 90% of registered persons in the province recording their vote. The rate in Xuyen Moc District was almost 100%. However, these turnouts may have been influenced by the strong military presence. OPERATION AINSLIE Operation AINSLIE (named after the mountain in Canberra) was planned as a Task Force operation to relocate villagers in scattered areas to a new village (named Suoi Nghe, meaning 'sweet water') to be constructed for them as part of the operation. A Company preferred to call it Ap Suoi NescafÊ – or the instant village. AINSLIE took place between 31 August and 21 September. The area around Xa Bang, called Slope 30 by the Viet Cong, was the same as that traversed during Operation SOUTHPORT. It was strongly under enemy influence and was a traditional crossing area over Route 2 from the Viet Cong base areas in Hat Dich to Tam Bo and May Tao hill areas, while the many gardens in the area were a source of supply to the enemy. The area was settled by many scattered groups of houses and this fact, together with the hostility of the inhabitants, made 1st Australian Task Force reaction and fire support in the area difficult. The Commanding Officer had advised Brigadier Graham to group these houses into a new village to achieve a measure of control and to restrict Viet Cong access to food supplies. It was therefore decided to resettle the inhabitants of Slope 30 in this Task Force operation which was planned for 31 August to 21 September. The first phase of the operation was to construct a resettlement hamlet. The next phase was the deployment of the main body of the Task Force and the establishment of a fire support base together with the clearance of part of Route 2, while units conducted a census of the inhabitants in their area of operations and evacuated them to the new village. The operation was planned to conclude with a search and destroy