The Team Australian Army Advisers in Vietnam by Ian McNeill.

McNeill served with the AATTV during 1965-66 in Vietnam.
However, this is the history for the full time the AATTV served in Vietnam.
Written by one who was there! A Pictorial Volume ' The Team in Pictures ' was also published.

Brief History

The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) began arriving in Saigon, South Vietnam on 2 July 1962. The thirty officers that made up “the team” were sent to Vietnam in a training and advisory capacity, as part of the US Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV). Members served 12- or 18-month tours of duty. They were sent to Vietnam singly or in drafts, as the unit did not exist outside Vietnam.

AATTV members operated with the South Vietnamese Army, Montagnards, Territorial Forces, and other local units. Attached to units or battalions as trainers, advisers, and occasionally leaders, team members usually worked in the field, accompanying units on operations. They worked with various groups from the United States, such as the US Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency. AATTV was increased to eighty personnel in June 1964 and to one hundred in January 1965.

The Team reached peak strength in August 1970, comprising almost 130 members. As part of an overall reduction of Australian commitment, the size of the team was decreased gradually from March 1971, before a complete withdrawal in December 1972. Members of the AATTV were rarely together as a single unit, apart for ceremonial occasions, such as ANZAC Day.

Members operated as individuals, in pairs, or occasionally in groups of no more than ten. Their role in Vietnam was to train and advise South Vietnamese units in their fight against the Northern Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong. As a result of their unique deployment, team members worked across most of South Vietnam. Although primarily deployed in the field, AATTV undertook some work at Nui Dat at the Jungle Warfare Training Centre, established in June 1970. In addition to the training centre, mobile training teams operated outside of Phuoc Tuy, throughout South Vietnam. The team often acted as advisors during combat and sometimes made decisions on artillery or fire support. They also took on the role of leading the South Vietnamese or Montagnards in battle. AATTV remained in Vietnam after the 1st Australian Task Force (1ATF) was withdrawn in 1972. It was stationed in Phuoc Tuy province and focused on training. It also assisted with training Cambodian soldiers of the Forces Armées Nationales Khmer.

AATTV was withdrawn from active service on 18 December 1972.