© Jack Bradd
C Company 2nd Tour |
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While posted to the Battle
School in Tully Queensland, I
had the privilege of working
with most of the battalions of
the Royal Australian Regiment.
One incident sticks in my mind;
a scout had come across a large
clump of Wait-a-While*,
the section commander came
forward and directed the scout
to go through the Wait-a-While.
The scout proceeded to cut his
way through with his secateurs,
but about half way through he
must have cut the wrong vine
because he became hopelessly
entangled and stood there not
daring to move. I sat down and
had a smoke while the section
cut their scout out thinking of
my early days as a young
soldier.
One
of the items I was issued with
as a recruit was a clasp knife,
no one showed me how or what to
use it for so it stayed in the
bottom of my trunk, dragged out
occasionally for Kit or DP 1
(Draft Priority 1) checks,
followed by boots up the bum for
the rust covering it (unless you
were lucky enough to be issued
with a 'Pommy' stainless steel
one) then back in the trunk it
would go. No doubt our
grandfathers and fathers made
good use of the clasp knife for
such things as opening ration
tins, baring or cutting wire,
cordage and steel wire rope,
splicing and perhaps cutting the
throats of Germans and Japanese
soldiers.
My introduction to the deep,
dark, dripping hell of the
jungle was in Malaysia and
Borneo. In the latter the jungle
was indeed spelt with a capital
'J'. As lead section of the
platoon on a patrol into Indon
Borneo we froze at a swear word
from up front, we'd been going
for hours and made bugger all
distance in the thick scrub.
The section commander, Jack
Lake, allowed the section to
come forward and we looked in
wonder at the forward scout, it
appears that a branch had swung
back and smacked him on the
face, he did his 'nana', fixed
his bayonet on his
Owen Machine Carbine and
cleared a metre wide path about
100 metres through the scrub.
Covered in sweat he looked back
at us, Jack checked his compass,
shook his head and pointed in
another direction. We all took
turns at scouting and I have
never been so buggered in my
life, there had to be an easier
way of getting through the
scrub, the machetes we were
issued with made too much noise
.
No one knows who started it, or
when, (I don't believe 1 RAR)
but secateurs started appearing
in the battalions, bought,
borrowed or stolen from Mum's
garden ... who cares. I like to
think that one of those
wonderful men called the
Regimental Quarter Master
Sergeant (RQMS) used the 'Old
Boys' net to ensure that every
soldier was issued with a set,
and we were. All of a sudden we,
the Infantryman, had a tool
where we could get through the
thickest of scrub and the second
last sound many of the enemy may
have heard was the soft 'Click'
of the secateurs. The secateurs
had many uses, opening ration
boxes, ammo containers, cutting
hootchie spots, tracks in
harbours, fire positions in
ambushes, positions and
equipment. As I carried
detonating cord and
non-electric detonators
(blasting caps) I used the
secateurs for cutting and
crimping (many years later, in
the Peace Time Army, while doing
a demolitions course my beloved
secateurs were taken off me by
the Ordnance Corps Chief
Instructor (CI) Demolitions,
because he saw me cutting
Det Cord with the secateurs.
(He gave them back at the end of
the course) .
As a section commander I watched
my forward scout's use of the
secateurs and his
M16
and found he had no problems
mainly due to the light weight
of the
M16,
the forward scout initiated
contact or spotted the 'Nogs'
(the Enemy) while using
secateurs in many cases.
My platoon sergeant in 8RAR,
Lofty Wendt, bought a 'Reo'
(Reinforcement) to my section,
as I went over the gear he was
to carry he pointed to the
secateurs and asked 'What are
they for?' I decided to have a
bit of fun, "You're our 'ear
man';. His horrified look made
me explain, "You cut the ears
off the Nogs we kill for
identification". That man would
not carry secateurs while I was
section commander and my arse
still hurts from Lofty's boot.
I still have my issue secateurs
from 5RAR, they are battered and
in poor condition but still
work, I have found a good home
for them.
The clasp knife and the
secateurs have passed into
history, I very much doubt if
they have any use in Iraq or
Afghanistan. I would love to
find out what tool the modern
Aussie Infantryman has picked,
but whatever it is you can bet
the CQMS (Company Quarter Master
Sergeant) will make you sign for
it.
*Wait-A-While
is a vine which grows profusely
in the jungle. When a
soldier becomes entangled in it,
the only way out is to use a
cutting implement, as the more
the soldier turns, the more he
becomes entangled. This
causes great amusement to
onlookers.
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