HMAS Sydney
HMAS Sydney (former aircraft carrier) with trucks strapped to the flight deck en route to SVN.
Nearly 50 years after HMAS Sydney sailed for South Vietnam with 1RAR embarked, ACSACS is holding a half-day (1-5pm) seminar on Tuesday 24 March 2015 to explore the question: "Was the Navy Ready for Vietnam? Lessons and Legacies 50 Years On". This gathering of scholars and former naval personnel will examine the events of April and May 1965 when the Australian Government decided to commit combat forces to the Vietnam Conflict and directed the Navy to convey the troops and all their supplies to the port of Vung Tau in South Vietnam in May 1965. The seminar will focus on training and logistics, operational plans and practical challenges, and the wider social and political pressures that shaped the Navy's readiness for the most unpopular war in the nation's history. The seminar is free.