The bod with the giggle hat is more than likely the Unit's duty driver who has been tasked with picking up these unit members after their week long Rest and Convalescence (R & C) stay at the centre.
The bods with the slouch hats, Artillery hat badges and Artillery white lanyards, would be on their way back to the unit and work, after a week of living like normal people for a change.
The Australian Army had use of this old French Villa (probably leased it) and it was the site of a great week away from it all being treated like Royalty (in a contextual sort of way), sleeping between real sheets in real beds that were serviced by a maid, not wearing muddied and stained green clothes, having real meals that were not based on Rat. packs, and in general, enjoying motel style of accommodation that was far from the norm of life in a shared 16x16 tent. Even hot and cold running water! Units rotated their members through this centre on a week long cycle when allocations and work loads allowed and this was a much sought after break from the routine and greatly appreciated.
Another opportunity to rat through my slides brings up this one of me (seated) enjoying a sip of something along with one of the 1 Platoon boys (Thommo) who is no longer with us. (As an aside, his brother Maurrie was in 87 but because of the military's ethic of not posting brothers within any units, Tiny was posted to 1 Platoon instead, across the other side of the Transport Compound).
That newspaper would have been a couple of days old by the time we got it but it was still a link with reality.
R and R was the next step and that was usually taken out of country, Hong Kong, Bangkok or even Sydney if anyone really wanted to come home for a week and then go back. Very few Aussies that I know took this option, most opting for one of the Asian ports.
These two week long jaunts were the equivalent of annual leave I suppose, as in the early days of our posting we very rarely got weekends off.
We did make up for it all when we eventually got home though as I remember being accredited with all the Aussie public holidays we had missed, plus all the Vietnamese public and religious holidays we had worked through and even Ho Chi Mihn's birthday was included in that lot. Once I got home I had around three months leave before driving all the way from Brisbane to Sydney to be informed that I was posted to a Brisbane unit and to turn round and drive back again.
Don't you just love bureaucracy.
I must say these last couple of weeks have been quite interesting for me as I have had a chance to go through hundreds of old photos I have hoarded away over the years. No-one here (family) is really interested so I hope that they don't bore too many of you lot.
Regards
Glen
Regards
Glen