Once conscripted many decided to transfer to the regular army and went on to experience tours of duty in South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the United States. Many served and trained with allied armies on exchange postings. Some served in combat roles while others were involved in peacekeeping duties. Their experiences confirmed the adage that there are things in life that money simply cannot buy.

Today we have young servicemen and women upholding the finest traditions of our armed services in hostile combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and peacekeeping duties in a host of other nations around the world. Manpower shortages have burdened them and their families with a heavy load and constant disruption to ‘normality’.

Whilst they do not have to face the traitors who mocked and attacked our Vietnam Veterans on their return from active duty they do have to contend with a somewhat apathetic nation in regard to their service to freedom.

Recruitment for our armed forces has been difficult in recent years. There are many reasons for this including an abundance of jobs in a booming economy over the past decade, changing social attitudes among Generation Y, and the lack of any perceived threat to our freedom.

The Australian Defence Force has introduced changes into its training and operational strategies to reflect changing social attitudes. However it must continue to demand a high level of personal and group discipline to allow it to operate effectively in a hostile environment. Many would argue that this is not necessarily a bad thing for recruits from Generation Y.

If the current economic climate makes the Defence Force a more viable option for young school leavers then this is not necessarily a bad thing. From my personal experience as a Vietnam conscript it will be a win-win situation. Our over-stretched Defence Forces will have a pool of well educated and highly motivated young Australians available for service. The new recruits will learn new skills, develop personal discipline and acquire leadership skills not available in any other environment.

It often takes some sort of adversity to bring the best out of a nation and its people. Our past experience indicates that whenever Australians are confronted with adversity they adapt and conquer it and are far better off for the experience.

The appeasers who support the option of abandoning America in Iraq and Afghanistan will undoubtedly be the first to squeal if we ever experience another ‘Bali’ on Australian soil. They will fill letters columns blaming John Howard, write opinion pieces on our lack of national intelligence capability, and bemoan the tax increases necessary to pay for an independent defence capability.

They will undoubtedly have all the answers after the event.

The decision to fight the war against global terrorism in countries that harbour fanatical Islamic terrorists is correct. From a strategic perspective it is not the size of the force we commit to the war but the symbolism it evokes with our American ally.

Whilst the force we are providing to fight terrorism is regarded as token by some commentators it has exposed our lack of defence capability for sustained operations and placed great stress on our diggers.

Soldiers are now having to rotate through these combat zones on a regular basis. For six months of the year we require them leave their families to fight in hostile foreign countries. They then return, unsung and unhonoured and try to return to a normal life with their spouses and children as they train and prepare for their next tour of duty.

While they are back here they read daily reports of the hero status afforded to David Hicks by left-wing appeasers.

No such glory exists for our diggers. No welcome home parades, no medal presentations. They reality of the war against Islamic fanatics committed to the destruction of our freedom is such that they can’t be identified in public. They also know the enemy they are fighting in Afghanistan is already embedded in our society. They only have to read the hate-filled rantings of extremist Muftis in Sydney mosques to understand this.

Our military commitments to Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and the Solomons combined with the difficulties of meeting our recruiting targets are exacting a heavy toll on our servicemen and women. Maybe if we paid less attention to traitors such as David Hicks and a little more to our unsung heroes we might assist in easing some of this stress for them and their families.