

© Hugh
Roberton
RMO 2nd Tour |
 |
I
served as the Regimental Medical Officer (RMO)
of the 5th Battalion on the second tour in
1969/70. Forty years on details have faded but
the following is a general account of my
experiences.
Just as RMO's have done in previous wars, the
RMO in South Viet Nam was responsible for the
health of the 800 men in the battalion. As they
were there because they were fit, we did not
have to manage chronic diseases ( such as heart
problems or diabetes) which would be treated in
a normal medical practice in Australia.
The medical team comprised a Sergeant who ran
the medical centre in Nui Dat and Medical
Assistants. Some "medics" worked in the medical
centre while others were allocated to each
platoon of 30 men to provide first aid
assistance in the field and treat other minor
problems. The base hygiene was overseen by a
Hygiene Sergeant.
A medical record was kept for each soldier at
the medical centre .... all illnesses and
injuries were recorded in this record as well as
the vaccination status; booster injections were
administered as required. The medical record
accompanied the soldier when he changed units
and on his discharge it was filed away at Army
Records. In later years, if the soldier believes
his health has suffered as a result of his
service, he can apply for assistance with
medical treatment or a pension. His medical
record is an important part of the application
process.
Skin problems were common with Tinea being
particularly prevalent. This was the result of
working in a tropical climate without regular
washing and changing of clothes. Clean uniforms
were flown in with the resupply to the men on
patrol every third day. It was usually not
possible to remove boots or clothes at night
while sleeping as the enemy could attack at any
time.
Working in muddy paddy fields or lying or
sitting on the ground could result in an
infestation with Hookworm or other parasites.
Collecting water while on operations had to be
done carefully as there was a good chance of
contamination with amoeba and /or the bacteria
which cause dysentery. All of which could be
very disabling for the soldiers so in some areas
water was resupplied by helicopter.
Diseases with high fever were common ... while
the men could contract the common flu, high
temperatures from infections caused by other
microbes were common and often proved difficult
to diagnose without a blood test. Malaria was
prevalent so it was essential that all personnel
avoided mosquito bites by covering up with long
trousers and shirts after dark and sleeping
under a mosquito net. Each day we were required
to take tablets as prophylaxis against malaria.
Towards the end of the tour I became
increasingly concerned about the condition of
many of the soldiers ... they were underweight
and appeared malnourished. Their condition was
no doubt partly due to exhaustion after a
demanding tour but their diet while on patrol
left much to be desired. The tinned ration pack
which was supplied every three days provided a
balanced diet but after much of it was discarded
because it was heavy or swapped for favourite
tins, it was anything but balanced. On one
occasion I supplied vitamin supplements to the
troops on patrol in an effort to improve their
nutrition ... unfortunately the tablets made the
men so hungry they ate their rations on the
first day and refused to continue with the
supplements !!!!!
On occasions when the battalion was back in
base, in the interest of WHAM ... winning hearts
and minds ... the medical team would do some
MEDCAPS ... medical civil aid projects. We would
take a small team into a village which was
selected by the Australian officer who was
liasing with the Vietnamese local government.
Working through an interpreter with a limited
understanding of things medical, I attempted to
make a medical assessment on each of the
numerous people who queued. We had a good supply
of a palatable cough mixture which was very
popular ... almost everyone I saw was
complaining of "cough"!!! In the absence of good
communication with the patient and basic
investigations, it was not possible to make a
firm diagnosis. As an aside, I used to wonder
how many Viet Cong were in the queue and how
much of what we dispensed was passed on to
them!!!
Air
superiority and the great mobility provided by
the ubiquitous helicopter made a big difference.
When the battalion was on operations, a Fire
Support Base was established in the middle of
the area to be patrolled . The Commanding
Officer and supporting staff including the RMO
moved to the Fire Support Base along with the
artillery battery and mortar platoon. Despite
the RMO being at the Fire Support Base, it was
usual for the wounded to be picked up from the
battlefield and taken directly to the hospital
without the RMO seeing them. Unlike the wounded
soldiers on the Kokoda track who might have had
to be carried for days to reach a basic
hospital, our wounded were often in the hospital
within half an hour of their injury.
Such prompt evacuation meant that soldiers with
serious wounds reaching a well equipped hospital
so soon after their injury had a much better
chance of survival than in previous conflicts.
As some required very large blood transfusions,
there were problems with the blood clotting,
necessitating a lot of research which advanced
the understanding of the processes involved..
The Australian Field Hospital at Vung Tau on the
coast provided very good treatment for our sick
and wounded. The wards were staffed by nurses
from the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps and
medical assistants. Some of the doctors were
serving members while many were specialists from
Australia who spent three months at a time at
the hospital. Pathology services and a blood
bank were also at the hospital. The occasional
complex case was transferred to one of the vast
American Hospitals at Saigon or Long Binh.
The management of wounds was usually staged to
reduce the chance of leaving damaged or
contaminated tissue behind. High velocity
bullets dissipate so much energy when they enter
tissue, that the tissue damage is much more
extensive than just the small entry wound
especially if a bone is struck. All the damaged
tissue must be removed, the wound is packed with
gauze and wrapped up usually in a plaster cast.
A couple of days later, under another
anaesthetic, the wound is again inspected and if
only healthy tissue is seen, the wound can be
sutured closed, if there is still damaged tissue
present, the process can be repeated as many
times as needed until only healthy tissue can be
seen and there is no evidence of infection.
Wounded soldiers were sent back to Australia if
it was thought they would not recover
sufficiently to return to their unit within 30
days. If they needed transport on a stretcher,
they were transported in a specially equipped
C130 Hercules transport aircraft and travelled
by way of Butterworth Air Base in Malaysia where
they were rested and reassessed at the RAAF
Hospital before the long flight back to Sydney.
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