Geoff Shaw describes his service in the Australian Army during the late 1960s. Geoff joined up after seeing recruiters at the Alice Springs show and In 1965, shortly after finishing his training, he was sent to Malaya and Borneo with 4RAR, where he fought during Konfrontasi. While in Malaya, he was chosen to join 2RAR which was then preparing for its deployment to Vietnam. As a result, Geoff received only a few weeks leave before deploying to Vietnam, where he injured his trigger finger and was repatriated after 10 months service. Geoff was then deployed to Vietnam for a second tour with 9RAR, where he served a further 12 months. After his service, Geoff lived rough and drank a great deal, before becoming involved in community organisations in Alice Springs. He believes his Army service and the discipline it taught him helped him in this, but he had to fight for 7 years for his pension and he suffers from service-related health problems including PTSD and diabetes.

• Watch Geoff’s interview at the Alice Springs Yarn Up;
• Return to the Alice Springs Yarn Up page.