7th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment The 7th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 7 RAR ) is a regular infantry battalion of the Australian Army . It was originally raised in 1965 as part of Australia ' s commitment to the Vietnam War and it eventually served two tours in Vietnam in 1967 and 1971 . In 1973 , following Australia ' s withdrawal from the conflict , the battalion was amalgamated with the 5th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment to form the 5th / 7th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 5 / 7 RAR ) . These two units remained linked until 2007 , during which time they served together in the mechanised infantry role in East Timor and Iraq . In December 2006 – early January 2007 , 5 / 7 RAR was delinked and 7 RAR was re - raised . In January 2009 , 7 RAR achieved operational status , a year ahead of schedule . It is currently part of the 1st Brigade and is based at RAAF Base Edinburgh in Adelaide . History . Formation . In late 1964 , the South Vietnamese government requested increased military assistance from Australia to help stop the spread of communism in Vietnam . Following talks with the United States in early 1965 , the Australian government decided to increase its commitment to the war in Vietnam , offering to send an infantry battalion to bolster the team of advisors that had been in South Vietnam since 1962 . In order to meet this requirement , the decision was made to expand the Royal Australian Regiment , the Australian Army ' s regular infantry force , to nine battalion s by 1965 , using experienced regulars and national servicemen . As a part of this expansion , the 7th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment , was raised on 1 September 1965 at Puckapunyal in Victoria , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Eric Smith . The battalion drew the majority of its experienced personnel from the 3rd Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 3 RAR ) , which had been serving in Malaysia as part of Australia ' s involvement in the Indonesia – Malaysia confrontation . The rest of 7 RAR ' s personnel were national serviceman from the second intake . Due to the large numbers of national servicemen that the battalion received from the outset , upon formation 7 RAR ' s average age was estimated at only 22 years . A number of these national servicemen went on to command sections as non commissioned officer s or platoon s as newly commissioned subaltern s . At this time the battalion adopted a pig as its mascot , following an observation by the commanding officer about the state of the soldiers ' mess at Puckapunyal . In June 1966 , after the battalion had completed a series of intensive training exercises , 7 RAR was considered operationally deployable . At this time , 100 men were transferred from the battalion to units serving in Vietnam , to provide reinforcements . After this , further training was undertaken at the Jungle Training Centre at Canungra , Queensland and later in the year , 7 RAR took part in " Exercise Barra Winga " around Shoalwater Bay . Vietnam . First tour . In April 1967 , 7 RAR embarked upon HMAS " Sydney " , bound for South Vietnam . Upon arrival they relieved the 5th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 5 RAR ) . By this time , the single Australian battalion that had originally been committed had been replaced by the 1st Australian Task Force ( 1 ATF ) , consisting of two infantry battalions and various supporting units , based in Phuoc Tuy Province . Upon arrival the battalion joined the 6th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 6 RAR ) at 1 ATF ' s base at Nui Dat , however , the following month 6 RAR was replaced by the 2nd Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 2 RAR ) and it was with 2 RAR that the battalion served out its first year long tour of duty in South Vietnam . Over the course of those 12 months , 7 RAR took part in 26 battalion - level operations , as well as numerous small unit actions . Initially 7 RAR undertook security operations around Nui Dat as well as carrying out a few search and destroy taskings at a local level , however , their first major operation saw them take up a blocking position near Xuyen Moc in support of US and South Vietnamese forces who advanced through the May Tao mountains in an effort to locate the 275th Regiment ( Viet Cong ) and drive them towards 7 RAR ' s position . Ultimately , however , this operation failed as the VC unit was not located . In August 1967 the battalion was tasked to undertake an independent search and destroy operation to the north - west of Nui Dat , in the Hat Dich area . This operation , codenamed Operation Ballarat , led to the Battle of Suoi Chau Pha when ' A ' Company , under Major Ewart O ' Donnell fought an encounter battle with a reinforced Viet Cong company from the 3rd Battalion , 274th Regiment . Five Australians were killed during the fighting , while another died of wounds later , and 19 others were wounded . It is believed that the Viet Cong suffered over 200 casualties in the battle , largely from supporting artillery and mortars . Throughout August and September 7 RAR took part in resettlement operations around Xa Bang . Later in September , the battalion lost a large number of its national servicemen who , having completed their two year obligation , were rotated back to Australia for discharge . The following month they took part in an Australian , US and South Vietnamese operation called " Santa Fe " which was launched in the May Tao Secret Zone in an attempt to find the Viet Cong ' s 5th Division . After this they undertook search and destroy operations around Nui Dat , however contact with the Viet Cong during this time was limited . In December 1967 , 1 ATF was expanded to a brigade - group with the arrival of a third infantry battalion , 3 RAR , and a quantity of Centurion tank s . Between 24 January and 1 March 1968 , 7 RAR deployed to Bien Hoa – Long Khanh border along with 2 RAR and subsequently took part in Operation Coburg during the Tet Offensive . On 9 April 1968 , 7 RAR was relieved by 1 RAR and subsequently rotated back to Australia . Upon arrival in Sydney , the battalion was welcomed home by a large crowd and conducted a march through the streets . Throughout their deployment over 1 , 180 men had served in the battalion ' s ranks , of whom 16 had been killed and 124 wounded . Members of the battalion received the following decorations : one Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) , two Members of Order of the British Empire ( MBEs ) , two Military Cross es ( MCs ) , two Distinguished Conduct Medal s ( DCMs ) , three Military Medal s ( MMs ) and 14 Mentions in Despatches ( MIDs ) . Second tour . Following 7 RAR ' s return to Australia it was based at Finschhafen Lines , at Holsworthy , New South Wales . It was there , on 6 October 1968 , that the battalion finally received its Queen ' s and Regimental Colours in a ceremony presided over by the Governor of New South Wales , Sir Roden Cutler . Following this the battalion undertook further training in preparation for its second tour of duty in South Vietnam , which came in early 1970 . They arrived in country in February under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Grey , replacing 5 RAR . They arrived amidst an effort to pacify Phuoc Tuy . This effort involved 7 RAR in almost continuous operations , in an attempt to keep the Viet Cong off balance and separate them from the civilian population . During April and May 1970 , 7 RAR took part in the task force level Operation Concrete which took place around Xuyen Moc with the aim of destroying the Viet Cong ' s D 445th Battalion . The battalion ' s role in " Concrete " was to operate in the Tan Ru region , carrying out a reconnaissance - in - force followed by ambush operations . Only three companies were available for wider operations , however , as ' C ' Company was detached to provide training to the ARVN 18th Division , although it undertook local patrols and ambushes . Instead of being inserted by helicopter , the decision was made for the companies to deploy on foot and by Armoured Personnel Carrier . On 20 April , one of ' B ' Company ' s platoons contacted a small Viet Cong force and engaged them in a brief firefight that left one VC dead . Two days later , in concert with artillery and Centurion tanks , ' B ' Company was involved in capturing a bunker complex . Throughout June 1970 and February 1971 , 1 ATF undertook a four - phased pacification operation known as " Cung Chung " in concert with South Vietnamese forces . This involved extensive patrolling , ambush and cordon and search operations . During one such operation on the night of 30 December 1970 Headquarters ' B ' Company , 7 RAR and four APCs from 3rd Cavalry Regiment were contacted by a large group of Viet Cong . The communists assaulted the Australians four times before being repelled by heavy fire from the M113s . The following morning a clearing patrol found 21 bodies and a large quantity of weapons and ammunition . Intelligence later assessed that a company from VC D445 Battalion had been destroyed . On 25 February 1971 , 3 RAR relieved 7 RAR , and the battalion returned to Sydney , arriving there on 10 March 1971 . This was the battalion ' s last tour of Vietnam . For its second tour , members of 7 RAR received the following decorations : one DSO , two MBEs , two MCs , two MMs , 5 MIDs and one British Empire Medal . Casualties included 17 killed and 89 wounded , many of them caused by mines lifted by the Viet Cong from the controversial barrier minefield laid previously by the Australians at Dat Do . Over the course of its two deployments , over 2 , 400 men served with 7 RAR of which 33 men killed and 220 wounded . Amalgamation . Upon return to Australia the battalion commenced the process of reforming under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ian Mackay , in preparation for an expected third tour of South Vietnam in mid - 1972 . However , in December 1971 , 1 ATF was withdrawn from Vietnam as part of a phased withdrawal of Australian personnel from the country . This decision , coupled with the subsequent abolition of conscription following the election of the Whitlam government and a shift in Australian defence policy towards an emphasis on the defence of mainland Australia , resulted in the need to reduce the size of the Australian Army . In order to implement this it was decided to amalgamate a number of infantry battalions . 7 RAR was one of these , and on 3 December 1973 the battalion was linked with 5 RAR to form 5th / 7th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment at a ceremony conducted at Tobruk Lines , Holsworthy . The battalion ' s last commanding officer , Lieutenant Colonel Paul Greenhalgh , who had assumed command of 7 RAR on 19 March 1973 , became the first commanding officer of the new battalion . Re - raised . In 2006 , the Australian prime minister , John Howard , announced that there would be an expansion of the Australian regular infantry by two battalions , as part of the Hardened and Networked Army plan . As part of this , a second mechanised infantry battalion was raised by de - linking 5 / 7 RAR to become the 5th Battalion and 7th Battalion . On 5 December 2006 , the 5th / 7th Battalion was formally de - linked , restoring the 7th Battalion to the order of battle . In January 2007 , 7 RAR was officially re - raised in Darwin . At this same time , ' B ' Company , 5 / 7 RAR , which was serving in Afghanistan as part of Operation Slipper at the time was re - assigned to 7 RAR . During the course of its deployment to Afghanistan , members of 7 RAR received the following decorations : one Distinguished Service Cross , three Medals for Gallantry , four Distinguished Service Medals , one Conspicuous Service Medal , three Commendations for Gallantry , one Medal of the Order of Australia , two Commendations for Distinguished Service , and one United States Army Commendation Medal . At the same time , in Australia , the battalion receiving new intakes of soldiers and began an intensive training program which saw the battalion certified as " operationally deployable " in January 2009 , well before the planned date of 2010 . Between November 2012 and June 2013 , 7 RAR was deployed to Afghanistan , forming the basis of a combined arms group tasked with training the Afghan National Army ' s 4th Brigade . Current composition . 7 RAR currently consists of : Pipes and Drums . In 1969 , following the formation of the Australian Army Band Corps , infantry units serving in Vietnam found themselves without stretcher bearers , who tended to come from unit bands . To solve this problem , the Army directed the regular battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment to form new bands ; to avoid competing directly with the new band corps , it was decided that these new bands would be either pipes and drums , bugle and drums or fife and drums . The 7th Battalion decided to form a pipe band . This was then passed to the 5th / 7th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment on its formation in 1973 . Battle honours . 7 RAR currently holds the following battle honour s :