Hawaiian field firing DPR/TV/1538

Australian soldiers have been taken from their traditional jungle environment into the wide open spaces for rugged training exercises in Hawaii this week. Training with the American Army has introduced them to conventional warfare, a significant departure from training at home. But for the Australians, a platoon of 40 taking part in an exchange programme with the United States Army, the change has meant tough assignments on windswept and chilly training grounds more than two miles above sea level. Operations with the American 25th Infantry Division are being held on volcanic Hawaii Island, biggest and most easterly of the Hawaiian chain, more than one hundred miles from Honolulu. Training has involved live firing from defended positions on the lava plateaus. Battle simulation, with all its typical noises, has been the keyword and, for the Australians, training has become almost realistic. But adventures in Hawaii are rapidly drawing to a close. The Australian platoon returns to its temporary base at Schofield Barracks, Honolulu, on November 19 1972 to prepare for its return to Australia three days later. Also identified: Lieutenant Wally Arndt of Chermside, Qld; 217749 Sergeant Trevor Robert Whitton of Orange, NSW; Lieutenant Colonel Earnest B. Wilson, CO of the 1st/27th Infantry Battalion; Corporal Allan Roach of Sydney, NSW.