National Serviceman

[I.C.D (Ian)]

G'Day All,
How many National Serviceman do we have out their and what year did you service and were did you start your service (3RTB Singleton) and do you still know your service number ,I served with RAAOC in Denman .
I was with 7/7/71 intake service number 2797977 ,With 3000 other Nasho from all over Australia went to Canberra in September for the National Service Memorial carried the 1971 banner what a day
Ian C

[Colin_Fraser]

Be a few I suppose.
September 1971, 2RTB (Pucka) 3802091 .
Ended up in 6th Signal Regiment.

[snowyskiesau]

I met a few conscientious objectors at No 1 MCE (nashos will know what this is ) in the early 1970's if that counts. I was in the RAAF at the time.

[Lismore Bloke (Paul)]

I was in 3TB Singleton. The 1972 election that Gough Whitlam won was held just after we had finished basic training. I was due to go to Bandiana for corps training when we were given the choice of continuing or leaving. I decided to leave. Some of it was good, some not so good. I had a lot of respect for the NCO's who had seen service in Vietnam. The 2nd Lieutenants on the other hand were very much a mixed bag. I still remember the army number. A couple of green hankies are about all that remain of those days.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

1975 went in to RAAF.

Service Number A229023

Edinburgh S.A, then Wagga.

Suprising how my service number just rolls off the tongue by memory and I haven't even thought about it for over 20 years

[I.C.D (Ian)]

Originally Posted by Lismore Bloke

I was in 3TB Singleton. The 1972 election that Gough Whitlam won was held just after we had finished basic training. I was due to go to Bandiana for corps training when we were given the choice of continuing or leaving. I decided to leave. Some of it was good, some not so good. I had a lot of respect for the NCO's who had seen service in Vietnam. The 2nd Lieutenants on the other hand were very much a mixed bag. I still remember the army number. A couple of green hankies are about all that remain of those days.

G,Day Paul
We had a dipstick for a 2ND lieutenant too I did hear later that the platoon Sargent punch his light out at the end of the intake piss up .I take it if you were going to Bandiana you would have been in RAAOC the Ordnance corp
Ian C

[JohnG (John)]

Joined the RAN Reserve in 1968, my number was called out and I elected to go full time in the RAN in 1969, served on Attack Class Patrol Boats out of Cairns as a Bofors gunner, volunteered to do Helicopter Door Gunner training, was enroute to Vietnam when the ship was turned around and we were discharged, stayed on in the RAN Reserve until 1982.

Service number was A100545, won't ever forget that, lol.

Cheers

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by JohnG

Joined the RAN Reserve in 1968, my number was called out and I elected to go full time in the RAN in 1969, served on Attack Class Patrol Boats out of Cairns as a Bofors gunner, volunteered to do Helicopter Door Gunner training, was enroute to Vietnam when the ship was turned around and we were discharged, stayed on in the RAN Reserve until 1982.

Service number was A100545, won't ever forget that, lol.

Cheers

Hi John
I did NST back in 1955 with RAAF at Amberly A214061 I was later in the CMF 2/84032 RAASC

From 1970 to 1985 I did all the Cairns Communications Refits on the Attack class patrol boats working out of the PBF. I later set up the electronics workshop at HMAS Cairns and then did the fit-outs on all the Fremantles. We probably saw each other from time to time. I must go near to the record for a chunder, From the bridge over the stern without a drop on the ship! It was a pretty rough day!

Barry

[JohnG (John)]

Can understand that Barry , lot on guys had that trouble, they bounced around a bit, lol, was lucky, haven't been seasick in my life. Firing the Bofors was interesting at times, prefered the .5 Brownings.

Served on HMAS Archer, Bayonet and Advance.

Cheers

[Lismore Bloke (Paul)]

Originally Posted by I.C.D

G,Day Paul
We had a dipstick for a 2ND lieutenant too I did hear later that the platoon Sargent punch his light out at the end of the intake piss up .I take it if you were going to Bandiana you would have been in RAAOC the Ordnance corp
Ian C

Yes Ian, RAAOC at Bandiana was where I was supposed to go. God the officers and NCO's at Singleton were a mixed lot. Some were blokes we instinctively respected enormously and some of our ideas about what we would do if we ever saw live action was quickly corrected by their accounts of what it was really like. Even raw recruits like us could see through the dipsticks. One NCO was gay and he had a couple of other NCO's scout around the new recruits for likely prospects. Our experienced NCO's warned us about them. Anyone with a sheltered upbringing grew up pretty quickly there. Cheers, Paul.

[I.C.D (Ian)]

Originally Posted by Lismore Bloke

Yes Ian, RAAOC at Bandiana was where I was supposed to go. God the officers and NCO's at Singleton were a mixed lot. Some were blokes we instinctively respected enormously and some of our ideas about what we would do if we ever saw live action was quickly corrected by their accounts of what it was really like. Even raw recruits like us could see through the dipsticks. One NCO was gay and he had a couple of other NCO's scout around the new recruits for likely prospects. Our experienced NCO's warned us about them. Anyone with a sheltered upbringing grew up pretty quickly there. Cheers, Paul.

G'Day Paul,
After Bandiana i was posted to 2MARS(second Mobil Ammunition Repair Section )attached to 2CAD (Second Central Ammunition Depot).based at Myambat Denman .Their were three of us in my unit a NCO and two non comms. Our job was to be up at the front fusing and defusing booms and checking all the ammunition for the artillery as well as boom disposel . Once you play with the unknown you look at life in a diffident way ,but I am still here and reaching old age the way we should
Ian C

[Jeffkop (Jeff)]

A126047 here, RAAF in 1978. 1RTU, then School of Radio Laverton Vic ... 486 Sqn Richmond NSW, then 35 Sqn Townsville NTH QLD.

Learnt heaps, but lost my life as I knew it

No -one happier than me doin burnouts on my dress cap in the carpark at Amberley on 20th July 1984 !!!

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by Jeffkop

A126047 here, RAAF in 1978. 1RTU, then School of Radio Laverton Vic ... 486 Sqn Richmond NSW, then 35 Sqn Townsville NTH QLD.

Learnt heaps, but lost my life as I knew it

No -one happier than me doin burnouts on my dress cap in the carpark at Amberley on 20th July 1984 !!!

Hi
I spent 2 weeks with 48? Squadron at Willliamtown in1974. They were supposed to be giving me some instruction on the APX72 IFF which I had never seen but was scheduled to install it on HMAS Orion and Otama. After the first day I took over the IFF repairs and did the instruction. I got a personal tour over "Hub cap". I stayed in the senior officers quarters had a great time.

Other service establishments I spent time at, Bulimba Barracks in Brisbane for a week. Hmas Albatross a few two week periods, Manus Island two weeks, Belconnen about 6 weeks. Simpson in Melbourne three weeks. two six week courses at Flinders, Lived in the wardroom. A couple of weekends in Darwin. Submarine escape course at Portsmouth. All as a civvy. I got around a lot of places in 25 years

Barry

[Jeffkop (Jeff)]

Originally Posted by Barrykgerdes

Hi
I spent 2 weeks with 48? Squadron at Willliamtown in1974. They were supposed to be giving me some instruction on the APX72 IFF which I had never seen but was scheduled to install it on HMAS Orion and Otama. After the first day I took over the IFF repairs and did the instruction. I got a personal tour over "Hub cap". I stayed in the senior officers quarters had a great time.

Other service establishments I spent time at, Bulimba Barracks in Brisbane for a week. Hmas Albatross a few two week periods, Manus Island two weeks, Belconnen about 6 weeks. Simpson in Melbourne three weeks. two six week courses at Flinders, Lived in the wardroom. A couple of weekends in Darwin. Submarine escape course at Portsmouth. All as a civvy. I got around a lot of places in 25 years

Barry

Hi Barry ... probably 77 sqn, would have been mirage's in those days, now Hornets ... APX72, Same IFF the C130 used and probably most military aircraft in that time. Its one of the bits of kit that I didnt get to work on, that and the DMEA but I repaired those as a civvy (before DMEA was phased out ) after I got out. Do you remember the size of the box that held the delay line in the APX72 test set ... could store 6 14" RCOS's in it I reckon. C130's, Caribou, Boeing 707, Iroqios were my babies.

In 1989 I worked for the only division in the world Honeywell had repairing general aviation aircraft. Another guy I knew well in the airforce worked there as well (well it was on his advise that Honeywell head hunted me) In the end because of our combined experience with military aircraft Honeywell gradually abandoned the general aviation work for the much more lucrative defence work. We repaired the upgraded C130 autopilot, F111 ring laser gyros, I designed test equipment for the F111 nav simulator and repaired 3 models of Data General mainframes that the RAAF used as for the raw radar processing system for all the CRU units. Also once a year I had to run a maintenance course that about 20 people from the different CRU units attended.
We built the Rugged Tactical Computer for the army, basically a 386 in a bully proof box that the army used in the field to calculate a firing solution for artillery. I also designed equipment that the navy used to provide the data necessary to change the very restrictive flight envelope that the sikorsky helicoptor had when it was introduced into our forces as the seahawk (navy) and blackhawk (army). This involved many trips to East Sale.

All that seems a distant memory now, really does feel like a long time ago in one dimension and yet only just the other day in another.

Good yakking to you.

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by Jeffkop

Hi Barry ... probably 77 sqn, would have been mirage's in those days, now Hornets ... APX72, Same IFF the C130 used and probably most military aircraft in that time. Its one of the bits of kit that I didnt get to work on, that and the DMEA but I repaired those as a civvy (before DMEA was phased out ) after I got out. Do you remember the size of the box that held the delay line in the APX72 test set ... could store 6 14" RCOS's in it I reckon. C130's, Caribou, Boeing 707, Iroqios were my babies.


Good yakking to you.

Hi Jeff

The radio repair squadron was 48_ something I thought it was 486 but they were at Richmond. I only went to Ricmond once to show them how to make a voice scrambler how to work. Ended up getting a couple of the guys there a trip to cairns and a ride on one of my Fremantles for a demo. (only time they ever worked properly!)

I knew what IFF was but it was normally done by the radar section. I did coms although I did get most of the too difficult radar problems to resolve. The only APX test sets I ever had was the in-line field tester and a "yellow" box test set (UPX-6? clone) that I can't remember the name of, borrowed from MODN. I could never get the inline unit to do anything but I had limited facilities in my "workshop" at Scott Lithgow dockyard.

I had some fun with a couple of Mirages back in 1982?. The Cairns hardour board decided to give us the old dredge "Trinty Bay" for target practice. It was taken out to deep water and the, then, un-commissioned Warnambool was the control "ship". The captain of HMAS Cairns was the master. I was stuck with manning the radios so I had to control the bombing runs. They hit the target but could not sink it with their "practice" bombs so we laid a demolition charge. Saw myself many times on the Local TV news.

I have many more "War-ees" as we used to call our recollections from my experiences with the dept of defence. Particularly the "near misses" that no one ever lets on about!

Barry

[JohnG (John)]

Hi Barry

Don't know whether you are aware of it, the Attack Class Patrol Boat, HMAS Advance is one of the museum ship at the Sydney Maritime Museum.

Cheers

[The_Cat (Jeremy)]

Absolutely Excellent luck too all in this thread.

I think I still have my draft card but like all lotteries I missed out on being called up !!

Ex Dept. of Supply (WRE Salisbury, Night Vision Group )

Talk about the reserves: Spent many days getting sea sick on the Banks (206) and the Attack.

Jeremy.

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by JohnG

Hi Barry

Don't know whether you are aware of it, the Attack Class Patrol Boat, HMAS Advance is one of the museum ship at the Sydney Maritime Museum.

Cheers

Yes as is also the Vampire and the Onslow all ships I have worked extensively on and had sea time on

Barry

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by The_Cat

Absolutely Excellent luck too all in this thread.

I think I still have my draft card but like all lotteries I missed out on being called up !!

Ex Dept. of Supply (WRE Salisbury, Night Vision Group )

Talk about the reserves: Spent many days getting sea sick on the Banks (206) and the Attack.

Jeremy.

I am not sure if it was the Banks but I was offered a ride on it or its sister Bass (They had a nickname but I can't remember it) with some "commandos" training in JB until I found out what I was going to be "the captured person". I gave it a miss!

Another trip I declined was a trip to Hobart as radio operator on the yacht (I forget its name) that the navy chartered for the Sydnery Hobart some years ago.

Another time in JB I had HMAS Queenbough doing circles for me around a marker keeping a fixed distance while I invented a way to calibrated the HF Direction finder without going to sea. I took my son along for the trip and he was entertained by the crew while I did the readings and generated a calibtration chart by mathmatics.

The "war-ees" keep rolling on. I was once asked to write all my experiences down for a book.

Incidently I did a course on a radio over at Salisbury in the 1980's

Barry

[JohnG (John)]

Originally Posted by The_Cat

Absolutely Excellent luck too all in this thread.

I think I still have my draft card but like all lotteries I missed out on being called up !!

Ex Dept. of Supply (WRE Salisbury, Night Vision Group )

Talk about the reserves: Spent many days getting sea sick on the Banks (206) and the Attack.

Jeremy.

Ah the Banks and the Bass, lol, quite a pair they were.

Last time I saw Banks she was laid up alongside the outer wharf at Ulladulla a couple of years ago, I believe that she had a major fire and was being refitted as a cruise vessel, painted green and white.

Cheers