Series number

AWM293

Series title

Records of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) 1962-1972

Date series created

January 2002

Series contents date range

1962 - 1972

Extent

6 metres

Access conditions

Subject to the Australian Archives Act (1983)

Agency controlling

Department of Defence

Custodial Agency

Australian War Memorial

Function and provenance

The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) was the first Australian force deployed to Vietnam. The first 30 men arrived in August 1962, and were dispersed throughout the provinces of South Vietnam. Initially, their role was to train the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in jungle warfare methods, however they were not to accompany them on combat missions. By 1964 however, there were 83 AATTV advisers deployed, and their role expanded to include leading their trainees into combat. Usually working alone or with an American adviser, AATTV members trained regular ARVN units, special forces or irregular units, while others were involved with the US Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) covert operations.

The experience of the team members was quite different from the more common experience of Australian troops in Phuoc Tuy Province. The advisers worked apart from their fellow countrymen for the most part, and saw action throughout many areas of South Vietnam. The AATTV remained in Vietnam until December 1972 when it was among the very last Australian troops to leave. During those ten years, its members served with high distinction earning four Victoria Crosses and a US Presidential Unit Citation. The AATTV remains the most highly decorated unit in the history of Australian armed forces.

The AATTV created their files to document their activities, to record events, and to enable efficient retrieval for future reference. They were required to report on their activities in a command structure that was quite complicated. National and operational command of the AATTV was the responsibility of Headquarters Australian Force Vietnam (HQ AFV), while overall operational control was held by United States Military Assistance Command Vietnam (USMACV). In turn the advisers reported to either a Senior Corps Adviser or a Province Senior Adviser, while those working with the CIA reported to that organisation. The AATTV’s main headquarters was in Saigon, with a secondary headquarters at Da Nang. The small administrative staff at these two centres raised many of the files in this series as well as received and filed incoming reports from advisers all over the country.  Up until mid 1970, all files from HQ AATTV were forwarded to the Directorate of Infantry back in Australia.  It was suggested in an August 1971 report by HQ AFV Historian Lt Col Morison, that these records should be recovered by the Military History Section of Army Headquarters (AHQ) (AWM276, R707/1/1, f 25A).  It is not known whether this occurred, however it most likely did.

The AATTV’s records were eventually forwarded to the Department of Defence (Army) archives.  In 1984 and 1991 they were transferred to the custody of the AWM as part of two large consignments of records, accessioned as OW84/5 and OW91/6 respectively. Circa 1992 most of these records were incorporated into series AWM100. In November 2001, the AATTV records in OW84/5, OW91/6 and AWM100 were removed to form this series, AWM293. Arrangement and description of the series commenced in December 2001 and was completed by April 2002.

Content

Subjects addressed by the records:

Combat experiences: including general monthly reports and combat after-action reports.

Intelligence: including information gathered on the activities of enemy units gathered by themselves and by other units.

Training: reports on the progress of training at the various training centres as well as lecture notes and visual teaching aids.

Personnel: including transfers, promotions, postings and assessments of personnel.

General: including routine administration, accounting files and social functions such as official visits.

System of arrangement and control

The system of arrangement and control is the original Department of the Army filing system, as used when the records were created.

 

Registered files

Registered items have a three-part item number conforming with the Department of the Army registry classification of correspondence catalogue.  The first number represents the primary topic of the item, the second and third numbers refine the topic further.  Item numbers are preceded by the letter ‘R’, although this was sometimes omitted or overlooked.

Non registered files

Non registered items (not having registered items numbers), were given imposed numbers by the Australian War Memorial (AWM), beginning at 1 and continuing serially.  They are single numbers, not two or three-part numbers like the registered items.  They retain their original titles.  Where no title was found, the AWM has imposed one that best describes the item’s contents.  All imposed information is enclosed in square brackets.        

Using the series

Each item is recorded on the RecordSearch database which researchers can access via the internet. Further assistance in finding relevant information may be gained from related series of records (click on Series Links at the bottom of this page).

                                                                         

Sources

AWM276, R707/1/1, Histories - General – Report of Historian AFV

McNeill, Ian 1984, The Team: Australian Army advisers in Vietnam, 1962-1972, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, QLD.

Dennis, Peter ... [et al.] 1995, The Oxford companion to Australian military history, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.