Australian 'hearts and minds' initiatives in Phuoc Tuy Province provided medical aid and infrastructure to secure local support. While the projects earned Australians goodwill, they failed to bolster the popularity of the South Vietnamese government. Cultural barriers and the intensifying conflict ultimately limited the program's long-term success.
United States (US) and Australian forces in Vietnam sought victory against the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army on the battlefield, but also through engagement with local people. Known as 'winning hearts and minds', this approach involved earning the support of the people on whom the Vietcong, in particular, depended for sustenance and shelter.
However, popular support for the South Vietnamese government was meant to be a rallying point for those opposed to communism, but it was actually very low. Few South Vietnamese gave their loyalty to a corrupt and incompetent regime whose military forces had proved unable to defend them. The task of winning hearts and minds was therefore difficult.
By mid-1967, a small team within the 1st Australian Task Force (1TF), the 1st Civil Affairs Unit, conducted civil action. Their tasks included:
- agricultural assistance for farmers
- construction work, such as building schools
- dental and medical aid for local people.
In the early days of 1965, the 1ATF base at Nui Dat was being established, and the area around it was cleared of both civilians and the Vietcong, whom the civilians were suspected of supporting. Base operations took precedence over civil assistance to the local population.
By late 1966, civic action was gaining momentum. Some Australian units were formally identified with the Vietnamese villages where they would undertake projects.
Early projects involved practical measures, such as distributing medical and dental aid.
Vietnamese villagers were consulted about the types of projects they wanted and were assured that the Australians were there to help them. The fact that the Nui Dat base was located in the middle of Phuoc Tuy Province gave villagers a sense that the presence was, if not permanent, at least long-term. This lent some confidence to the civic action projects.
While highlighting the fact that the Australian presence in Phuoc Tuy could be a positive for the province's inhabitants, credit for civic action was also intended to flow to the South Vietnamese government. However, any kudos gained was invariably directed at those who carried out the work: the Australian soldiers. While this may have earned the Australians a degree of goodwill, it did little to boost support for a government whose representatives were rarely seen and which contributed little to the welfare of its people.
The South Vietnamese government provided its own civic action activities, known as the Revolutionary Development program. The program was funded by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Under the program, teams would assist villagers with public works while also ensuring that Vietcong infrastructure was removed.
Most of the program's activities were carried out before the Australian civic action projects were fully developed. A member of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) who reported on the US program noted that the team were met with limited enthusiasm. However, some programs were highly regarded, mostly those related to infant care, such as midwifery and baby and child care.
By the latter years of the war, several substantial projects were underway in Phuoc Tuy province.
In 1969, renovations were carried out at Ba Ria Hospital.
In 1970, the Civil Affairs Unit constructed a school in the village of Bau Pram. Work to improve other schools in the province continued throughout the program's life.
Windmills made in Australia were installed in villages and hamlets across Phuoc Tuy Province.
Houses were built for South Vietnamese soldiers and their families, and agricultural projects were also carried out.
Australia's 17th Construction Squadron became involved in training Vietnamese apprentices, and Australian civilian agencies contributed to development in South Vietnam by donating cash and materials.
Civil action, based on good intentions and having resulted in the provision of some effective projects, contributed to gaining the support of people in Phuoc Tuy Province. But these activities were compromised by:
- the realities of military operations
- a misunderstanding of the local culture, people and their needs
- the unpopularity of the South Vietnamese government.
However dedicated the Australians were to the task, the obstacles to success in a bloody guerrilla war were ultimately too great to overcome. The withdrawal of Australian forces in 1972 meant the end of such projects.