Australian Army Training Team Vietnam The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam ( AATTV ) was a specialist unit of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War . Raised in 1962 , the unit was raised solely for service as part of Australia ' s contribution to the war in Vietnam , providing training and assistance to South Vietnamese forces . It is believed to be the most decorated Australian unit to serve in Vietnam with members of the unit receiving over 100 decorations , including four Victoria Cross es , while it was in existence . The unit was disbanded in late 1972 when Australia ended its commitment to the war . History . The unit was raised in 1962 and initially consisted of approximately 30 officers and warrant officer s and was tasked to train units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam ( ARVN ) . The Australian government ' s decision to raise the force was announced on 24 May 1962 and shortly afterwards personnel began concentrating at the Intelligence Centre at Mosman , New South Wales . After initial induction training , the team moved to the Jungle Training Centre at Kokoda Barracks , in Canungra , Queensland , for field training . Initially , the unit was designated the " Australian Army Component – Vietnam " , but on 12 July 1962 , the unit was redesignated the " Australian Army Training Team Vietnam " . At the conclusion of pre - deployment training , the 30 advisors departed Australia from Mascot , New South Wales , aboard a Qantas chater flight on 29 July 1962 . The unit ' s first commanding officer , Colonel Ted Serong , arrived in Saigon on 31 July – the date that is considered the unit ' s " birthday " – and the main body arrived three days later . On arrival , they joined a large group of US advisors and were dispersed across South Vietnam in small groups . Three groups were dispatched to South Vietnam ' s northern provinces , while a fourth was based at the Ranger Training Centre in the south ; a headquarters was established in Saigon . The groups began training the Vietnamese in barracks , providing instruction in " jungle warfare techniques and technical areas such as signals and engineering " , but initially , the team was prevented from actively taking part in combat operations ; this restriction was later lifted , but until this occurred , the advisors deployed on operations as observers only . On 1 June 1963 , Sergeant William Francis Hacking became the AATTV ' s first casualty when he was accidentally killed while on duty in Vietnam . In mid - 1964 , the restriction on the AATTV advisors taking part in combat operations was lifted . The first advisor officially killed in action was Warrant Officer Kevin Conway at the Battle of Nam Dong in July 1964 . With the war escalating the AATTV increased , first to 83 in June and then to approximately 100 personnel – 15 officers and 85 warrant officers – by December . Soon its area of operations stretched from the far south to the Demilitarized Zone ( DMZ ) forming the border between North Vietnam and South Vietnam . After June 1964 , members of the team were involved in many combat operations , often commanding formations of Vietnamese soldiers . Some advisors worked with regular ARVN units and formations – at first mainly infantry , but after 1967 artillery and cavalry units as well – while others , such as Captain Barry Petersen , worked with the Montagnard hill tribes in conjunction with US Special Forces ( USSF ) . A few were attached to Provisional Reconnaissance Units with whom they became involved in the controversial Phoenix Program run by the US Central Intelligence Agency , which was designed to target the Vietcong infrastructure through infiltration , arrest and assassination . Others were attached to the all - Vietnamese Regional and Popular Forces , and the National Field Police Force , or served with the USSF Mobile Strike Force . In mid - 1965 , Australia ' s involvement in the war increased as the government committed a full infantry battalion , the 1st Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment . Early the following year , this was expanded as the 1st Australian Task Force ( 1 ATF ) was established , operating in its own area of operations in Phuoc Tuy province . But despite the concentration of Australian forces , the AATTV members remained dispersed , often serving with only one other advisor , either Australian or American . Thus , due to its small size and widespread area of operations , it was rare for the entire AATTV to be in the same place at the same time ; this usually occurred only on ANZAC Day – the only other occasion the whole unit paraded together was when it received the Meritorious Unit Commendation from the Commander of the US Forces in Vietnam in 1970 . That year , as the Australians and Americans prepared to withdraw , a process of " Vietnamization " began , and the AATTV established a jungle training centre in Phuoc Tuy province . In November 1970 , the unit ' s strength peaked at 227 , at which time the team was expanded with an intake of corporal s . In 1971 , the 1 ATF combat units were withdrawn and the AATTV ' s role reverted to their original role , of training only . As the final 1 ATF units left the country in early 1972 the AATTV , having been reduced to around 70 personnel , remained in Phuoc Tuy to provide training and advisory assistance to the ARVN and to training Cambodian soldiers of Force Armée Nationale Khmère ( FANK ) . The last Australians left Vietnam in mid - December 1972 – the AATTV left on 18 December – following the election of the Whitlam Labor government . The AATTV had the longest tour of duty of any Australian unit in Vietnam , serving a total of ten years , four months and sixteen days . The unit also had the distinction of being the first Australian unit committed to Vietnam and the last to be withdrawn . Over the course of its service , a total of 1 , 000 men served with the unit , consisting of 990 Australians and 10 New Zealanders . The AATTV was Australia ' s most decorated unit of the war , including all four Victoria Cross es awarded during the conflict ( awarded to Warrant Officer Kevin Wheatley , Major Peter Badcoe , Warrant Officer Rayene Simpson and Warrant Officer Keith Payne respectively ) . The unit also received the United States Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation . In October 2004 , the Australian Army training contingent in Iraq was renamed the " Australian Army Training Team Iraq " in honour of the AATTV . Unit badge . Although initially the intention was that the AATTV would wear Australian uniforms in order to ensure that Australia ' s contribution was clearly identifiable , due to infrequent resupply AATTV personnel often wore a mixture of uniforms and equipment drawn from a variety of nations including Australia , Britain , the US , and South Vietnam . In 1966 , the AATTV ' s commanding officer , Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Milner , decided that the unit and its far - flung members needed an identifying unit badge . Warrant Officer Laurie Nicholson , who had been temporarily attached to AATTV HQ , was instructed by Milner to come up with designs for his consideration . This instruction included no guidelines except that the design had to include the motto " Persevere " . Nicholson developed a design that incorporated symbolism representing various facets of the AATTV ' s service in Vietnam including the Australian advisory relationship with South Vietnam , the co - operative relationship with the United States Military Assistance Command Vietnam ( USMACV ) , and the people of South Vietnam to whom Australia was providing military support in their fight against communism . To represent the environment , a green background was chosen . For the nexus with the Republic of Vietnam , the red and yellow colours of their national flag were chosen , and for America , the badge was shaped as a shield similar to that of the USMACV badge . Inspiration for the symbol representing the South Vietnamese people was provided by a crossbow – a weapon which was as iconic in Vietnam as the boomerang was in Australia – which an AATTV member , who had been serving with the Nung tribal people , had left at the unit ' s headquarters for safe keeping . These symbols of the indigenous peoples of the two nations were chosen to represent all of the peoples of each nation . The AATTV initials were imprinted on the boomerang at the head of the badge and the motto " Persevere " on a scroll at the base of the badge . Both texts were in red whilst the boomerang and scroll were in yellow . On the shield version , the AATTV unit name on the boomerang was in block higher case text and the motto on the scroll was in heraldic higher case . On unit correspondence , all text was displayed in block higher case . As the boomerang is a ready - to - use weapon , the crossbow was presented loaded so that both symbolised the AATTV and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam as being ready for action . Each item on the badge , each colour , each item of text and the shape of the shield , in combination , are symbolic of Australia ' s military traditions , the individual Australian soldier ' s reputation in combat and , in particular , the AATTV ' s record of valour . In 2013 , the Australian Army History Unit ( AAHU ) undertook a detailed and in - depth investigation , extracting information from Army archives and the memories of former members of the AATTV . The investigation determined that an AATTV shoulder patch was being worn in Vietnam by AATTV members in 1967 , or even as early as late 1966 , having been authorised by the Commander Australian Forces Vietnam in 1967 , and produced initially for the unit in Japan , and then later locally in Vietnam . A beret of " rifle green " colour and a metal hat badge were issued by AATTV and being worn as early as 1970 , or 1971 . The beret and badge were authorised for wear only in Vietnam , but this decision was later changed by an Army authorisation allowing the beret and badge to be worn by AATTV members in Australia while posted to the unit . Following the investigation and publication of the details of this history by the Australian Army History Unit in 2013 , the Chief of the Australian Army , Lieutenant General David Morrison wrote to Nicholson . Enclosing a copy of the 22 - page investigation , Morrision stated in part , " I have reviewed the report provided by the Australian Army History Unit and find that there is sufficient evidence to warrant official recognition of the AATTV Regimental badge " , and " As Chief of Army I am proud to acknowledge and recognise our heritage , on this , the Unit ' s 50th anniversary " . Commanding officers . The following officers commanded the AATTV : Decorations . Members of the AATTV received many decorations for their service and the unit " gained the distinction of being probably the mostly highly decorated unit for its size in the Australian Army " . According to the Australian War Memorial , AATTV personnel received the following decorations : four Victoria Cross es , two Distinguished Service Order s , three Officers of the Order of the British Empire , six Members of the Order of the British Empire , six Military Cross es , 20 Distinguished Conduct Medal s , 15 Military Medal s , four British Empire Medal s , four Queen ' s Commendations for Brave Conduct and 49 Mentions in Despatches . In addition , 245 US and 369 South Vietnamese awards were bestowed on unit members and the unit itself also received two unit citations . Because of the nature of the AATTV ' s work in Vietnam , all members , regardless of their corps , were awarded the Infantry Combat Badge . Casualties . During the 10 years that the unit was deployed to Vietnam , it lost 33 personnel killed and 122 wounded . These members are commemorated by a memorial at Kokoda Barracks at Canungra , Queensland . In 2002 , the AATTV ' s badge and an Australian flag were included on a memorial unveiled in North Carolina , in the United States , dedicated to US special forces that served during the war . The unit was " one of the first groups of foreign soldiers to be honoured on a US war memorial " .