Conscription and the birthday ballot during the Vietnam War

Compulsory military training

In view of the deteriorating strategic situation and foreseeable future requirements, an effective strength of 33,000 is required to provide a larger regular field force to carry out cold war tasks ...

[Cabinet memorandum, National Archives of Australia]

Australia reintroduced compulsory military training through national service in November 1964. Minister for the Army Jim Forbes argued for its reintroduction. He claimed national service was the only way to boost the Army's numbers.

The need to grow the Army was mainly in response to Australia's involvement in the Indonesian Confrontation and concerns about war with Indonesia in New Guinea. Added to this were 'emerging threats' from communism in Asia and Australia's overseas commitment to Cold War allies.

Tensions were increasing between the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) by May 1965. The United States (US) supported South Vietnam's government against North Vietnam's socialist government. As an ally of the US, Australia had sent an initial commitment of military advisors to Vietnam in 1962.

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Initial response

The Army did not support National Service. Instead, it argued the need for skilled tradesmen and officers, not:

... the ragtag selection of semi-trained men it had come to expect from national service.

[Mark Dapin, The Nashos' War]

Australians generally supported national service. Public opinion polls showed widespread support for the policy. Some parents hoped it might instil discipline in their sons and teach them valuable life skills.

For some young men:

It was a chance to bury the disappointment of work and return to the safety of school, and the raucous comfort of a mob of men their own age, dealing cards, passing footballs, camping out and chasing skirt, while they learned to use weapons, drive vehicles, read signals and fight.

[Mark Dapin, The Nashos' War]

At the time, the Australian media portrayed national service positively. People generally praised army life and national service.

Birthday ballot

Between 1965 and 1972, most 20-year-old Australian men were required to register for the National Service Scheme. The scheme was administered by the Department of Labour and National Service (DLNS).

This birthday ballot functioned like a lottery. Numbered marbles or wooden ballot balls were placed in a hand-spun barrel. A predetermined number of balls were drawn, and the men whose birthdates matched the drawn numbers were liable for national service.

The selection process involved a public ceremony for the initial draw, followed by private draws to select for the remaining dates.

The birthdates included in each ballot were kept secret until 1970.

Across 16 ballots, held from 10 March 1965 to 22 September 1972, more than 1,000 birthdates were drawn, with each ballot selecting between 60 and 133 dates. Eligible birthdates ranged from 1 January 1945 to 30 December 1952.

Those whose birthdates were drawn were then called up for a fitness check. They faced up to 5 years of Army service, including 2 years of continuous full-time service in the Regular Army, followed by 3 years of part-time duty in the Army Reserve.

The appendix to the official history of the Vietnam War lists all birthdates drawn in National Service ballots.

While on full-time duty, national servicemen could be called for 'special overseas service,' which included combat assignments in Vietnam. Some Nashos also served in Borneo, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Singapore.

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Deferments and exemptions

Men called up for national service could apply for a temporary deferment of up to 12 months. They could reapply after the deferment period ended. Temporary deferments could be approved for:

• apprentices and trainees
• full-time students
• farm workers, on the grounds of 'exceptional hardship or compassion'.

The following people could apply for indefinite deferments:

• married men
• part-time members of the Citizen Military Forces
• men assessed as being a security risk
• men with a criminal record.

An exemption was granted to:

• men who failed their medical fitness checks
• diplomats
• members of the Regular Army
• members of religious orders, religious ministers and theology students
• conscientious objectors who successfully proved their claims under Section 29A of the National Service Act 1971 (Cth).

Aboriginal men could volunteer for national service but did not have to register for the birthday ballot. Torres Strait Islanders were not mentioned under the National Service Act.

The 'Nashos'

National servicemen had to be:

• literate (able to read and write)
• physically and mentally fit
• taller than 5 feet 2 inches (157 cm).

Nashos came from all parts of Australia, cities and the bush. But national servicemen of this era did not 'represent a true cross-section of Australian society'. Few First Nations men served until after 1967 because they were exempt until recognised as Australian citizens. Migrants without a certificate of naturalisation did not serve under the scheme.

Patrick O'Hara: a Nasho's story

Patrick O'Hara's birthday was drawn in the ballot in September 1966. So he was called up for national service and joined the Army. After completing military training in Australia, he was deployed to Vietnam as a signalman with the 4th Field Regiment. After serving his time in the National Service Scheme, Patrick became a school teacher.

Listen to Patrick's thoughts about the birthday ballot in an oral history interview.

Different roles

National servicemen were trained as soldiers and officers. Many never left Australia for their national service. Those who did go to Vietnam served alongside Regular Army soldiers in various corps, including:

• armoured
• artillery
• catering
• engineers
• infantry
• medical and other specialist corps.

Nashos also fought in the Battle of Long Tan and the Tet Offensive.

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Some well-known national servicemen

Some well-known Australians served in Vietnam as national servicemen.

Normie Rowe

Pop singer Normie Rowe was called up for national service in 1968. Rowe had several top 10 hit songs and was named Australia's King of Pop in 1968. After training at Puckapunyal, Victoria, Rowe was sent to Vietnam. He served with A Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, as a crew commander of an armoured personnel carrier.

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Peter Brock and Dick Johnson

Racing car drivers Dick Johnson and Peter Brock joined the Australian Army in 1965 as national servicemen. They completed their national service in Australia and were both stationed near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. Brock was an ambulance driver, and Dick Johnson was a mechanic. They didn't know each other then, but later became motor racing rivals.

Doug Walters

When 20-year-old test cricketer Doug Walters became a national serviceman in 1966, people already compared him to cricketing legend Sir Donald Bradman. Walters stayed in Australia after training and continued playing test cricket.

Conscientious objectors

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Conscientious objectors strongly oppose military service. At least 1,000 men applied to be recognised as conscientious objectors under section 29A(1) of the National Service Act.

Conscientious objectors had to fund their claim in court. Once their case came before the court, the media could publish their names. If the court rejected their claim, they had to report for national service. If they did not present or refused to comply with court orders, the Act allowed fines or imprisonment. Those whose claims were unsuccessful had to serve their national service time.

John Zarb

John Zarb, a Melbourne postman, was jailed after he refused to comply with his national service call-up papers.

The court sentenced Zarb to 2 years in Melbourne's Pentridge Prison. His case became the focus of anti-war protests. Hundreds of people wrote to him, marched in the streets and held vigils outside his jail.

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Simon Townsend

Simon Townsend is a former journalist and television presenter. He is remembered for the 1980s children's show Simon Townsend's Wonder World.

Townsend applied for conscientious objector status in 1965. The authorities refused this in 1966 and also rejected an appeal that same year. Townsend refused to obey orders to present himself for an army medical examination in late 1966, so the court fined him in 1967. He served one month in Long Bay Correctional Centre in 1967 for refusing to attend the army medical. He opted to go to jail instead of paying a $32 court fine.

In May 1967, Townsend received call-up papers requiring him to report to the Army for national service. When he refused, he was taken into custody by the Australian Army. After refusing to obey Army orders, Townsend was court-martialled and sentenced to 28 days' detention at Holsworthy Barracks.

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William White

William White was a Sydney school teacher and conscientious objector.

In November 1965, White was the first person to apply for an exemption from national service on conscientious grounds. He objected on moral grounds to killing and also thought the government did not have a right to compel citizens to fight in a war.

In July 1966, after the government rejected his exemption application, White refused to comply with his call-up papers. The NSW Department of Education dismissed him from his teaching job because employers could be fined for employing a person who refused to enlist.

A magistrate committed White into the Army's custody, and he was arrested by police in November 1966. White refused to obey Army orders. He was court-martialled and sentenced to 21 days detention at Holsworthy Barracks.

On 23 December 1966, White was finally exempted from national service on the grounds of conscientious objection and released from the Army.

In a later interview with ABC, White questioned whether the Australian Government was right in supporting the war in Vietnam.

End of conscription

Under Labor, there will be no Australian troops in Vietnam after June 1970.

[Gough Whitlam, 1969 election policy speech]

Opposition leader Gough Whitlam opposed national service and Australia's involvement in the Vietnam conflict. He made national service a central policy of the Labor Party's platform in 1972. In the lead-up to the federal election, he said:

We will abolish conscription forewith. It must be done not just because a volunteer army means a better army, but because we profoundly believe that it is intolerable that a free nation at peace and under no threat should cull by lottery the best of its youth to provide defence on the cheap.

[Australian Labor Party policy statement, 1972]

The US and Australia had already begun to withdraw combat troops from Vietnam in 1968. In the early 1970s, the public protest movement was at its height. The Australian public was tiring of the war in Vietnam.

In 1971, the Federal Cabinet made a secret decision to 'accelerate' the withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam. The cabinet minute was dated 26 July.

The Battle of Nui Le, the last battle involving Australian troops, occurred in September 1971. Four days later, Minister for the Army Andrew Peacock announced no national servicemen would be required to go to Vietnam if they did not want to go. Other soldiers began returning home to Australia that year.

On 5 December 1972, Gough Whitlam became Australia's new prime minister. One of his government's first decisions was to end national service. The National Service Termination Act 1973 (Cth) was passed on 21 June 1973.

Learning activities

• Why was compulsory military training reintroduced during the Vietnam War?
• What impact did national service have on Australian society?
• Learn about Private Errol Noack, one of Australia's first conscripts and the first to be killed in Vietnam.
• Listen to oral histories of national servicemen.
• Read a secret memorandum recommending the introduction of conscription.
• Examine Vietnam Moratorium posters.