Magoo,
You obviously didn't read the cabinet papers released 30 years after Australia's committment to Vietnam. Although I don't dispute your recollection of your Scheyville experiences your reasons for our entry into the war are a reflection of the propaganda and outright lies of the time. The Viet. Vets Association had a great paper posted on this topic on their website but it strangely disappeared. In a nutshell, Australia's enthusiasm in rushing to Vietnam to kill people had more to do with Indonesia that anything else.
Also I recently challenged the Australian Defence Association who erroneously claim that only "volunteers" were sent to Vietnam (apparently historians say this is true, being there doesn't seem to count). I am detecting a bit of historical revisionism creeping into the record.

I thought Stephen Bartons article okay. I went through Scheyville 1969 and it was tough but I thought the staff (NCOs, Captains and Majors) were excellent trainers and I sure learnt a lot about myself, teamwork, management and strategy (and military stuff!). Also made some great mates. I later got thrown into Indochina with Americans and Laotians and my views and politics grew up quick, but no regrets on Scheyville.