6th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment 6th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( 6 RAR ) is a motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army . It was originally raised in Brisbane , Queensland , on 6 June 1965 and has since then served in a number of overseas deployments and conflicts including South Vietnam , East Timor , Iraq and Afghanistan . During the Vietnam War the battalion earned a Presidential Unit Citation from the United States , when members from ‘ D ’ Company participated in the Battle of Long Tan on 18 – 19 August 1966 . The battalion is currently based at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane and forms part of the 7th Brigade . History . Formation . 6 RAR was raised on 6 June 1965 at Alamein Barracks at Enoggera in Brisbane , Queensland , when a cadre of officers and non - commissioned officer s ( NCOs ) and two rifle companies were transferred from 2 RAR to form the nucleus of the new battalion . The battalion was then brought up to full strength when an intake of 250 national service men marched - in in September 1965 . The battalion ' s complement of platoon commanders was rounded out shortly after this with the arrival of six Scheyville graduates . The battalion ’ s first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Colin Townsend , DSO , while Warrant Officer 1 George Chinn , DCM , came from SAS Campbell Barracks in Perth as the battalion ’ s first regimental sergeant major . It was initially assigned to the 6th Task Force ( which was later to become 6th Brigade ) . In early 1966 , 6 RAR received orders to deploy to Vietnam as part of the expansion of Australia ' s forces there . In order to prepare for this , the battalion undertook lead - up training at the Jungle Training Centre at Canungra and then at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area before the advance party flew out for Saigon on 31 May 1966 . Vietnam War . First tour . 6 RAR served two tours to Vietnam as part of Australia ' s commitment to the Vietnam War . The first tour was between June 1966 and June 1967 and the second tour was between May 1969 and May 1970 . 6 RAR departed for its first tour of Vietnam in May 1966 on , arriving at Vung Tau in time to celebrate the battalion ' s first birthday before moving to Nui Dat , in Phuoc Tuy province , where they joined 5 RAR as part of the 1st Australian Task Force ( 1 ATF ) . Initial operations focused upon securing the task force base . After this was achieved 1 ATF began patrolling operations throughout the province in an effort to undermine the operations of the Viet Cong ( VC ) and North Vietnamese Army ( NVA ) units that were operating in Phuoc Tuy . Using tactics that the Australians had developed during the Malayan Emergency 1 ATF focused upon reducing the enemy ’ s contact with the local population to deny them of their main source of sustainment and reinforcement ; this was completed by carrying out cordon and search , and search and destroy operations . During this time 6 RAR carried out two major operations . The first operation was codenamed " Enoggera " and was focused upon clearing the village of Long Phuoc , while the second operation , " Hobart " , was a search and destroy mission carried out over the course of five days . Several VC camps were destroyed in these operations and numerous caches of weapons and supplies uncovered , while 36 enemy casualties were inflicted . Between 16 and 18 August 1966 , 6 RAR undertook Operation Smithfield , which was later to become known as the Battle of Long Tan . The battle began on the evening of 16 August when the Task Force base was attacked by a VC force using mortars and recoilless rifle s . The next day ' B ' Company was sent out to clear the area to the east of the base , before they were replaced by ' D ' Company on the morning of 18 August . While performing a sweep through a rubber plantation , ' D ' Company was contacted by a regimental - sized VC force and they were soon under attack from three sides . Under a torrential downpour and a thick mist that blanketed the plantation , the battle raged for over three hours as the 108 men from ' D ' Company fought for their lives against a force estimated to be up to 2 , 500 men . As the rest of the battalion mobilised to relieve the beleaguered ' D ' Company , a patrol from ' B ' Company were the first reinforcements to arrive . As the battle continued , a relief force from ' A ' Company arrived at a critical moment , on board seven M113 armoured personnel carrier s from 3 Troop , 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron and launched an attack on a VC battalion that had been forming up to launch an attack aimed at ' D ' Company ' s rear . Enemy casualties as a result of this attack were heavy , having come at their flank , and as a result the VC units were forced to retire , leaving the Australians in command of the battlefield . The extent of the Australian victory was not known until the following day , however , when 245 bodies of dead enemy soldiers were counted in the plantation and the surrounding areas . It is believed that many more were also removed during the battle . Seventeen men from 6 RAR were killed , along with one from the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron , during the fighting around Long Tan and later ' D ' Company was awarded a US Presidential Unit Citation by the then President Lyndon B . Johnson . While the men of ' D ' Company received this honour , the role of the other 6 RAR men in this battle should not be understated , nor should the contributions of the various Australian , New Zealand and American artillery units , as well as the bravery of the RAAF helicopter crews that flew through weather that would normally have grounded them to resupply the infantry on the ground . Following this 6 RAR continued to conduct patrolling and security operations throughout Phuoc Tuy as 1 ATF took on a larger role in the province . 6 RAR undertook a further seventeen operations , before being relieved by 2 RAR in May 1967 . Having celebrated the battalion ' s second birthday on voyage back to Australia on HMAS " Sydney " , 6 RAR arrived back in Brisbane on 14 June . Second tour . The Battalion returned to Vietnam for its second tour of duty on 19 May 1969 , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel David Butler . Relieving 4 RAR , the battalion was re - designated as 6 RAR / NZ ( ANZAC ) due to the fact that there were two New Zealand rifle companies attached to them at this time , along with two mortar sections and two sections of assault pioneers . The main focus of 6 RAR ' s second tour was pacification operations , which essentially involved conducting operations designed to help create a situation of internal stability in order to allow the South Vietnamese government to take more control of the situation in the country . 6 RAR / NZ ( ANZAC ) carried out its first operation in this program between 30 May and 1 July 1969 when it launched Operation Lavarack . This operation involved the establishment of a number of fire support and patrol bases to the north of the main Task Force base at Nui Dat , from where company sized patrols commenced large - scale reconnaissance - in - force missions . Lavarack proved to be very successful and the battalion was involved in some 85 contacts with the VC during this time , resulting in over 102 VC killed and at least 22 wounded . Over the course of the rest of the tour , 6 RAR conducted a further fourteen operations , and as they began to dominate their area of operations they were increasingly called upon to provide support to a number civil community reconstruction projects and assist in the training of local South Vietnamese forces . As a result of the battalion ' s efforts , by the end of their tour the enemy presence in their area of operations had been so badly weakened that they were forced to operate in small groups only , engaging the Australians in combat only when it was necessary to survive . On 18 August 1969 , the battalion conducted a ceremony on the site of the Battle of Long Tan to dedicate a memorial ( known as the Long Tan Cross ) to the engagement . 6 RAR ’ s last operation of the war was Operation Townsville , which was conducted between 23 March and 24 April 1970 . A search and destroy mission that was carried out in the north - eastern regions of Phuoc Tuy province , the operation resulted in a huge coup for the Australians when they captured the operational signals codes and one - time cipher pad s used by the VC headquarters in charge of the Ba Long province . In May 1970 , 6 RAR was relieved by 2 RAR and returned to Australia shortly afterwards . Australia ' s commitment to the Vietnam War came to an end before the battalion was called upon to deploy for a third tour . Total 6 RAR casualties for both tours were 61 killed and at least 148 wounded . Balanced against this , in its second tour the battalion was credited with having killed 60 VC , wounded at least another 64 and captured a further 51 . Members from the battalion received the following decorations : two DSOs , seven MCs , three DCMs , six MMs , three BEMs , one QC , and 23 MIDs . 1972 – 1999 . The battalion was based in Singapore between August 1971 and December 1973 as part of the airportable 28 ANZUK Brigade – a mixed British / Australian / New Zealand force that succeeded the " 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade Group " in providing a presence in defence of neutral Malaysia and Singapore . Within this formation , 6 RAR served as a rapid reaction force to meet Australia ' s Southeast Asia Treaty Organization obligations . The battalion was based first around Selarang and then later at Kangaw Barracks and Nee Soon ; it had two commanding officers during this time : Lieutenant Colonel David Drabsch and then Lieutenant Colonel John Healy . In September 1974 , having returned to Enoggera from Singapore , 6 RAR briefly raised an airborne capability but this was only short - lived . That same year , the battalion also provided assistance to the civil community in response to Cyclone Tracy , undertaking clean up tasks in Darwin . ' D ' Company was reorganised as a parachute company group in early 1980 and continued in this role until November 1983 . As a result of Australian Defence Force shortcomings that were highlighted in the wake of the 1987 Fijian coups d ' état , the battalion was trained in the amphibious role . In April 1989 , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel David Mead , the battalion took part in the combined arms Exercise Caltrop Force in California , during which it undertook amphibious operations in US Marine AAVP7 s . Later , in February 1992 , 6 RAR began conversion to a motorised organisation and added a Ready Reserve company later the same year . It reverted to an integrated - regular / reserve battalion in February 1997 and trialed the experimental Army 21 organisation . East Timor 2000 . On Anzac Day 2000 6 RAR relieved 5 / 7 RAR at Balibo in East Timor , commencing a six - month tour of duty on the western border as part of Operation Taniger . Heavy rain in March had resulted in widespread flooding throughout the border region which had continued into May , however , by June the rivers had subsided and reports of incursions across the border from West Timor by pro - Indonesian militias were received , prompting 6 RAR to conduct extensive patrol operations throughout their tactical area of operations . Through a program of intensive active patrolling and tracking , surveillance , blocking and other security operations the battalion came to dominate the western border regions . However , during May and June there were a number of attacks on 6 RAR ' s positions . Over the course of the deployment the battalion was involved in nine separate contacts , with a number of 6 RAR personnel being wounded . In one of these incidents , Sergeant David Hawkings was awarded the DSM following an attack on ‘ B ’ Company ’ s base at Aidabasalala on 21 June 2000 . As a result of these and attacks on other UN personnel including the attack that resulted in the death of a New Zealand soldier on 24 July , in 6 August RAR began a number of high - tempo operations to counter the activities of the militia in their area of operations . On 2 August , following intelligence reports that indicated that the militia were once again tracking the Australians , trackers found signs of further militia infiltration near Maliana . A platoon from ‘ A ’ Company , along with a number of troopers from the SASR were sent out to investigate , conducting a patrol about six kilometres from Maliana . Further signs of infiltration were found by the lead section and as the scouts tracked the footprints of the militiamen through a dried creek bed they discovered some empty food packets and old cigarette butts , confirming the presence of militia in the area . As the platoon harboured up for a short halt , a sentry on one of the machine guns that had been sited for all round defence spotted a group of three militiamen patrolling along the creek bed and interpreting this as an act of aggression under the ROE governing the deployment he opened fire , hitting the lead militiaman with about twenty rounds from the LSW , killing him . As the sentry began to engage a second target , a large of volume of fire began to pour in on the Australian position as a previously unseen group of militia joined in the engagement , returning fire while the first group began to withdraw . In an effort to cut off their withdrawal , the Australian platoon launched a quick attack on the militia positions , however , they were unable to prevent the militia from escaping . After the engagement , a second dead militiaman was discovered . Four days later , on 6 August 2000 , 6 RAR was involved in two more contacts , the first near Batugade and the second once again near Maliana . As a result of these contacts three militiamen were wounded , one of whom was captured . After this the militia turned their focus to other areas of operations , focusing mainly on the New Zealand area , where on 10 August , four Nepalese soldiers were wounded in two separate incidents , one of whom eventually died of his wounds . Contacts with the militia continued throughout the deployment , however , as a result of the offensive carried out by 6 RAR , the battalion was able to maintain the tactical initiative and prevented the militia from achieving their stated aims of forcing the UN to withdraw from the country . Before they were relieved by 1 RAR in October 2000 , the battalion also assisted in helping with the evacuation of UN and other personnel from Atambua in West Timor , as well as undertaking a host of CIMIC operations . Recent operations . East Timor . 6 RAR returned to East Timor in November 2003 as part of Operation Citadel , taking over as AUSBATT IX from 1 RAR . The task force consisted of just two rifle companies plus an armoured personnel carrier troop from the 2nd / 14th Light Horse Regiment , a troop of Blackhawk helicopters from the 5th Aviation Regiment , an engineering troop from the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment , a CIMIC team from the 1st Field Regiment and a surgical team from the 2nd Health Support Battalion . The threat level in the country at the time was considerably less than the last time that 6 RAR units had deployed there , however , due to a decrease in the number of troops deployed and an expansion of the area in which they were required to operate , meant that the companies had to maintain a very high operational tempo throughout the seven - month tour . During this time they were largely deployed in AO Matilda , in the Bobonaro district , although they also had to cover the Liquica , Ermera , Ainaro , Cova Lima and Oecussi districts . This area had a population of over 400 , 000 people and had previously been covered by three full battalions . This rotation was the last deployment under Operation Citadel . It was also the longest , a factor which led to the rotation of the force three months in . Advanced elements from ' D ' Company deployed first , arriving ahead of the take over time in October . They were then followed by ' C ' Company and then finally ' A ' Company . Later in the deployment , as the other national forces that were deployed in Timor were drawn down , the battalion task force incorporated a Fijian company , leading to the battalion being renamed the WESTBATT . The force was commanded initially by Lieutenant Colonel Glen Babington and then later , in 2004 , by Lieutenant Colonel Shane Caughey . Due to the size of the area in which they were operating , a system of forward operating bases was established at Moleana , Aidabaleten and Gleno . From these bases the task force undertook a range of tasks including a mixture of highly visible peacekeeping operations , as well as less visible , clandestine surveillance tasks along the border . In June 2004 the AUSBATT / WESTBATT was withdrawn from East Timor and 6 RAR returned to Australia . In November 2006 , elements of 6 RAR were deployed to Timor Leste ( as East Timor had become ) as part of Operation Astute . This time they deployed alongside a platoon from 4 RAR , a company from 1 RAR , and ' G ' Company which was a battery from the 16th Air Defence Regiment that had been re - roled as an infantry company . Iraq . Elements of 6 RAR have deployed to Iraq three times as part of the SECDET based in Baghdad . The first deployment was from ' A ' Company as part of SECDET 6 in 2004 , followed by elements from ' C ' Company which deployed on SECDET 7 in 2004 – 05 . The last rotation was SECDET 12 , which was based around elements from ' D ' Company and deployed from September 2007 to March 2008 . A motorised combat team from 6 RAR was also deployed to Southern Iraq in support of Overwatch Battle Group West 4 , OBG ( W ) 4 from 4 November 2007 to June 2008 . The deployment was led by the 2nd / 14th Light Horse Regiment and operated in two different provinces . Afghanistan . The battalion deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Slipper in 2010 , with 6 RAR forming the basis of a 750 - strong combined arms battle group consisting of infantry , engineers , cavalry , artillery and logistic elements drawn from the Brisbane - based 7th Brigade , known as the 1st Mentoring Task Force ( MTF - 1 ) . Based at Forward Operation Base Ripley outside of Tarin Kowt , it was involved in counter - insurgency operations in Uruzgan province in conjunction United States , Dutch and other coalition forces , operating from a number of patrol bases in the Mirabad , Baluchi and Chora valleys . Initially commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jason Blain , the task force arrived in late January 2010 and was tasked with partnering the 4th Brigade , 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army . Blain subsequently handed over command to Lieutenant Colonel Mark Jennings on 21 June . MTF - 1 operated throughout the province , with their area of operations extended west into the Tangi Valley following the Dutch withdrawal in August . Elements of the task force were later involved in heavy fighting at Derapet in Deh Rahwod on 24 August 2010 . During an eight - month deployment , the task force conducted over 1 , 700 patrols involving more than 560 small - arms fire incidents , and located over 100 improvised explosive devices ( IEDs ) and more than 250 weapons and explosives caches . Involved in sustained operations , MTF - 1 suffered nearly 40 battle casualties , including six killed in action , the majority from IEDs . Returning to Australia in October and November 2010 , it was later awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation ( MUC ) in 2011 Queen ' s Birthday Honours . On 20 November 2010 , MTF - 1 marched through Brisbane ' s central business district along with other deployed units from the 7th Brigade , as the returning soldiers were officially welcomed home in the biggest such parade since the end of the Vietnam War . On 1 November 2012 Corporal Daniel Keighran from 6RAR was awarded Australia ' s 99th Victoria Cross for his actions in Afghanistan during the Battle of Derapet on 24 August 2010 . His award was the first to a member of the Royal Australian Regiment . Current structure . 6 RAR currently consists of :