Douglas John Riding as Flight Lieutenant RAAF Forward Air Controller interviewed by Greg Swanborough for 'The sharp end'

Scene 24 Take 1 Roll 8. His background as a Mirage fighter pilot and that all Forward Air Controllers (FACs) were fighter pilots; FAC pilot had to know the business of a fighter pilot to control fighter bomber operations; he did the training in Australia as a FAC then was posted to the United States 7th Air Force for duty as a FAC; there was no Australian fighter squadron in Vietnam; the only offensive aircraft were the Canberra bombers of 2 Squadron RAAF; the Caribous and C-130s were transport aircraft; Take 2 Roll 8; the meaning and role of FAC especially as applied to Vietnam; the use of tactical airpower as support for the Army; the FAC as a link between Tactical airpower and the Army; the use of phosphorus rockets fired from OV-10 Bronco aircraft to mark targets; preplanning weapons to use; sometimes weapons carried were not suitable for close support if called in without planning; Australian FACs were stationed with the USAF and mainly support US troops; dangerous aspect of FAC work was exposure to small arms fire and the danger of collision from other aircraft; frequent rocket attacks launched on airbase by Viet Cong; there were no strikes on built up areas when he served in Vietnam; the only time this happen was during the Tet offensive in 1968; a Free Fire Zone was an area declared for unrestricted weapons delivery and was rarely declared; during his tour there was none declared because in his area there were timber cutters and farmers and you could never be confident that the people seen would be the enemy; the need of clearance from Army unit and Vietnamese administration to use weapons; he believes he did a valuable job in Vietnam and sees no reason to change his mind; he was not affected in any way on his return from Vietnam and puts this down to being a professional unlike National Servicemen; he believes that for a professional the protest movement was an irritation and nothing more.