Embroidered cloth badge : Bushman Scout, 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit

Green cotton shield-shaped badge hand embroidered in satin and stem stiches. The badge is edged in black and bears a diagonal yellow band running from top right to bottom left, superimposed with a red hopping kangaroo and black lettering, 'BUSHMAN SCOUT'.

Between 1963 and 1973 nearly 160,000 enemy troops (Viet Cong and their supporters) defected to the South Vietnamese forces and their allies, often encouraged propaganda leaflet drops, offers of cash or land. Captured sick or wounded soldiers were also encouraged to defect after they had been given medical treatment. This propaganda program was known as Chieu Hoi (Open Arms).

From 1966 a small number of defectors who had come to strongly identify themselves as being allied with the ideology of the Free World Forces were trained at Da Nang by the US Marines, as scouts with counterintelligence duties. They were nicknamed Kit Carson Scouts.

Australia also used a small number of these men who were trained by 1st Australian Reinforcement Unit (1 ARU). They were known as Bushmaster Scouts and wore a distinctive patch like the one shown here.

This patch was collected by 38823 Corporal Peter Wayne Aitken while he was serving with 1 ARU in 1970-71. He had previously served with 7th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment between April 1967 and March 1968.