Series number

AWM314

Series title

Records of 1 Australian Civil Affairs Unit (1 Aust CA Unit)

Date series created

December 2002

Series contents date range

1944 - 1972 (predominantly 1967 - 1971)

Extent

13.2 metres

Access conditions

Subject to the Australian Archives Act (1983)

Agency controlling

Department of Defence

Custodial Agency

Australian War Memorial

Function and provenance

1 Australian Civil Affairs Unit (1 Aust CA Unit) was raised in April 1967 and deployed to South Vietnam in June of that year.  The majority of the unit was stationed in Phuoc Tuy Province except for a small component at Phan Rang Airbase.   Despite being subordinate to Headquarters, Australian Force Vietnam, 1 CA Unit was often placed under the operational command of 1 Australian Task Force, to support its military operations (see Smith, p 231 and McNeill and Ekins, pp 189-90).  Their mission was to win the support of the local population for the Government of South Vietnam and to obtain the goodwill and cooperation of the locals toward the Australian military forces in the province.  Efforts in winning this support were a key component in the concept of  ‘pacification’.

To accomplish their mission, the unit conducted a variety of projects to assist the population of Phuoc Tuy.  ‘Headed by a Lieutenant Colonel rank, the unit consisted of a headquarters/administration group plus operational detachments with specific responsibilities:’ (Smith, p233)

Engineer detachment - constructed buildings and windmills.

Medical detachment - provided medical and dental care to the local population.

Education detachment - Advised on building of new schools, provided educational materials and ran English language classes.

Liaison detachment - Vietnamese language specialists who liaised with the local population and officials, as well as providing interpreter services.

Agricultural detachment - Advised and provided material assistance for agricultural projects including crops and livestock.

The unit remained in South Vietnam until November 1971 when they were withdrawn as part of the general Australian disengagement from the conflict.

1 Aust CA Unit created their files to document their activities, to record events, and to enable efficient retrieval for future reference. They were also required to report on their activities to HQ 1 ATF. The files were created and maintained by the unit’s administrative clerks.

Following their withdrawal from Vietnam at the end of 1971, 1 Aust CA Unit’s records were eventually sent to Army Headquarters ‘Q’ Store in Canberra (July 1973), and then in December of that year to the Army’s (Directorate of Operations and Plans) archives. They remained there until 1984 when, along with a large consignment of other records, they were transferred to the Australian War Memorial. This consignment covered not only Vietnam, but previous conflicts as well. The whole consignment was accessioned as OW84/5, with the Vietnam portion designated OW84/5E. Within OW84/5E were the 1 Aust CA Unit records. Between 1992 and 1998 these records were registered on the National Archives databases as part of series AWM100. In December 2002 the CA Unit records were redesignated as series AWM314 and their description enhanced.  This task was completed in July 2003.

Contents

The main subjects covered by this series are,

Unit administrative records

Project files (a file was usually raised for each and every project)

Training/education pamphlets

Technical files relating to machinery etc.

System of arrangement and control

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

Registered files

The registered items have a three-part file 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. Most file numbers are preceded by the letter ‘R’, although this was sometimes omitted or overlooked.  Many files are prefixed as R176 which is the Army classification for civil defence.  It appears they used this classification rather than creating a new one for civil affairs or civic action. 1 Aust CA Unit also apparently experimented with several other non regulation systems for classifying and numbering their files using such prefixes as ADM (Administrative), CA (Civil Affairs), V (Vung Tau), PR (Phan Rang), and S (Saigon).  Because of the confusion and disorganisation of these multiple systems, only those that were prefixed with either R, ADM or CA have been designated as ‘registered files’.  All others were treated as ‘unregistered files’.

Unregistered files

Unregistered files (not having registered file numbers), were given imposed control item 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 files. They retain their original titles. Where no title was found, the AWM has imposed one that best describes the file’s contents. All imposed information is enclosed in square brackets.

Using the series

The items in this series are predominantly paper files. There are however some exceptions, being booklets on various study subjects, and some photographs. A significant portion of the series are files documenting each project the unit took on.  Each project was given a project number which usually appears on the file cover somewhere.  There is also much duplication of project files throughout the series, with many projects having two files raised.

Each item in this series 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

AWM administrative file, AWM314 Series dossier

McNeill, Ian and Ekins, Ashley  2003, On the offensive: the Australian Army in the Vietnam War, January 1967-June 1968, Allen and Unwin (in association with the Australian War Memorial), Crow’s Nest, NSW.

Smith, Barry 2002, ‘The role and impact of civil affairs in South Vietnam, 1965-1971’, in The Chief of Army’s Military History Conference: the Australian Army and the Vietnam War, 1962-1972, Army History Unit, Department of Defence, Canberra.