Citizen Soldier 

At least we had real firearms back then love the SLR

This was fascinating. I joined 2 Div. Intelligence Company at Randwick in 1983. I'd already had military experience in another Commonwealth country overseas, but I was impressed with the professionalism and dedication of all the reservists. We shared our barracks with the Preventative Medicine Company who were also called on for a lot of practical work in outback communities and the near Pacific region. They also had close research ties to UNSW in malaria control. Just up the street from us was 177 Air Despatch Company. Although the units still exist, they have been consolidated in regular army Barracks. Our drill hall on Carrington Rd is now a block of "executive units", same with 117 A/D Coy on Frenchman's Road....

06/12/2121 All Australians SHOULD put up their hand to serve in one of the military reserves, Army, Navy, Airforce. It will give them experiences/skills not available else, as well as helping defend Australia, if necessary. My service (74 to about 84) gave me flights, in a hercybird, a caribou and well as a huey; still wonderful memories, also working with the Indigenous peoples of the NT who were ALSO in the ARes..

Excellent view of what the CMF and later Army Reserve is all about - and still is today. For many, the fact that the training was haphazard was down to budgets and thus restructuring. During the 80s some years we were restricted to 25 days a year and you can't do much with that. But many in my unit went on to full time service, and there were even Reserve unit deployments overseas in the 90s. I'd like to see a version 20 years on in the 90s.

I was in the Navy Reserve for nine years (in the 60's). Travelled to USA, NZ & PNG, experience I would never had at age 20+. Worked in a bank full time and got accelerated promotion because of my Reserve training and later led me to a successful career in private enterprise (film industry). Socially, I made heaps of friends which I still have today and they're reliable and true. The Reserve taught me to understand relationships and how to work with others outside my normal circle of friends which made me a better person and employer. And when it came to war (Vietnam) I had a better understanding of what was or was not happening and that gave me the opportunity to protect my family. One thing I have kept in the back of my mind for nearly 50 years. It's volunteers, and only volunteers that have kept our country safe, that have fought our wars (justified or otherwise) and given every single Australian the way of life they enjoy today. We should salute our Reserve forces as again (in 2014) they support our military forces in the middle east and Europe. God Bless them all.

Well this was a "blast from the past". The unit featured in this film, 1/15 RNSWL was my first unit although I joined some 12 years after this film was made (when I joined the CMF had become the Army Reserve). Great to see footage of the "Parramatta Lancers" from the decade before mine. @ Barry Turnbull - I get exactly what you mean. I still remember names and faces of some of the guys I did my recruit course with at Ingleburn in 1985. I'd like to add a few comments about what Redgumtv said though. Gough Whitlam was not responsible for ending our involvement in Vietnam, he merely took the credit for it. The previous government had made the decision to withdraw Australian forces and it was in place when the change of government occurred. Whitlam was in the right place at the right time to collect all the praise. And as for the Vietnam War being "universally hated by every free thinking Australian", I've known many Vietnam veterans, my father and uncle and nearly every one of my instructors and Officers in the Reserves and their families. Some of them hated it, some of them enjoyed it and some of them were ambivalent. Despite the common belief to the contrary, many "Nashos" actually did want to go to Vietnam and while some regretted it later, others did not. In some cases, the parents of those "Nashos" believed their sons were doing the right thing because they themselves still had memories of Korea and WW2 and sincerely believed the communists were a serious threat.

i was one of these guys and it was a great time, gave me the skills to go on and join the regular army, made some great friends and although a while back and many memories are now gone i remember these days with fondness and achievement

Thanks for uploading ... the SLR firing practice segment was ''shot'' at Anzac Rifle Range in Malabar, Sydney, which was then part of 2nd Military District until 1988.

Many of the faces in this film are sadly no longer with us. Regiment and association still going strong. These same vehicles are maintained by former members, now Regimental Museum volunteers. www.lancers.org.au/

I joined 25RQR in the late 1980 when I was a university student. I went full time in the early 2000s. My most memorable postings have been as cadre staff at reserve units. Best part time of my life.

I'd count the two years ( '62 -'64 ) I spent in the CMF were some of the best of my youth...layer on a 40mm Bofors out of Haberfield in Sydney....as good as sex !

Join the Infantry in the Regular Army, lads...no sitting around the campfire at night time there! Gotta love the bush hats and the lanyards, too. 😆

Before WW2 it was called The Militia and after WW2 the CMF (C is for Citizens). The regulars were the PMF (P is Permanent) and both groups were in the Australian Military Force (AMF). The Army Reserve came later in the 1980's I think. Military really mean Army but now its sometimes incorrectly refers to the whole ADF by ignorant people including MP's.

"....havyaseenmebelt?"....."whereyaleftit!".......LUV IT....sooooooo OZ like !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No punctuation.....words all run together......:):):):)....my Mum is turning in her grave.... :):)

This brought back a lot of good memories. My service was done arse backwards when compared to some of these blokes, but I wouldn't change any of it. I left home and joined the RAAF in '64, served my 6 yrs and elected out for a break...that lasted about 18 months and then joined the Regular Army. I spent my time wearing that lovely yellow lanyard, first at Armoured Centre (Pucka) and later on as a Cav Crew Cdr with B Sqn, 4 Cav Regt. When that time was up, I moved to SA and joined the Army Reserve, again as a CCC with 3/9 SAMR...then I let some silly bugger talk me into becoming an officer.

“As long as a soldier knows why he’s getting mucked around and the reason for it”. How about no farken reason 😂😂😂

It's worth making the point that in 1972 (when this film was made) that Gough Whitlam had just terminated our involvement in the Vietnam war which was universally hated by every free thinking Australian and brought our fighting men home. Those fighting men were blamed for the stupid and idiotic decisions of conservative politicians which took twenty years to overcome. Your film, Citizen Soldier, reflects very clearly this attitude.

"I was in the CMF ; 50% was a waste of time and 50% was bullshit " ha ha ha 😂😂😂😂

Yep. With the exception of the Ferrets and some of the Service Dress, its pretty much what I joined up to in 1984 with 4/19PWLH. One of the shots of the depots looks like "A" SQN HQ at Sale. Loved the comment by the older civvi gent (probably a veteran) when he talked about "Mental Inbreeding". Classic!

I spoke the cut lunch commandos, and now I are one.

This is remarkably good production quality for its age.

Joined 1955, did National service 2nd intake 1956 disc 1983 a wonderful experience, Still with the 41 Bn association supporting their soldiers please visit our website to see what an army reserve Battalion is doing. www41bnassoc.com.au

Army reserve artillery 1985 great times

As soon as wifey-po scrambled down the driveway with hubbie’s ‘cut lunch’, even before he said he was in the ‘CMF’, I knew he was a chalko.

"When a soldier is being mucked around an officer is learning something.................." I don't know who that CO was but that sort of view engineered the first day of the Somme. I joined the CMF in spite of this and remember it being screened. It took me into a 39 year career part / full / part time and I don't for a moment regret it. I made lifelong friends across the country, and along the way good people taught me how to plan, organise, communicate, direct, execute, review......repeat. Skills that have served me well in multiple environments. Having been a soldier I was very conscious NOT to stuff them around.

I realised I'm in for an interesting ride when I was instructed to seek out Seargent so n'so at the Stork Hotel on Elizabeth St to sign up. I wasn't wrong! They called us "draft dodgers"

Have a look at those knob officers with the pipes stuck in the gobs , in units I served, smoking pipes was contrary to SOP's .

It would be interesting if somebody could names to the faces. Who is the journalist?

Just like my days in British TA

awesome to see some black hats! thanks for the upload

Although this doco was made in 1972, - around The Time of our Withdrawal from Vietnam - it's the best one I've yet seen about out Part Time Military. This was more or less me, back in the mid 1980's. Same corps, different regiment. CMF ( Citizens Military Forces ) was renamed Army Reserve. Although I hardly ever saw any Majors there, except during The 'Pre Assault Trooper Phase' when we had a Canadian Major appear before us, in The Classroom to lecture us on Regimental History. And smoking was permitted indoors, not that I smoked - if that happened now, Worksafe or its military equivalent would smash the door off it's hinges in their zeal to prosecute whoever was causing the Global Warming, with his Cancer Stick.

ABSOLUTELY some of the best months of my life ! ! ! I proudly served during 1963 and '64 in 9 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, shooting 40mm BoFors off the cliffs at Malabar, along with FN firing , also at Malabar. Was a #2 Layer, getting to control the traverse and elevation (electrical "T" shape stick) and was the 'shooter', pulling the trigger. (actually sliding both hands down the handles to hooked shaped stops at the end of each grip...pushing against these would activate the firing) What a RUSH for a young fella...with the breech bangin' away beside my right shoulder/head; the Commonwealth Aviation MUSTANG flying by pulling the drogue target, on a very, very long tether...the yelling...the smell of cordite...the smoke...more yelling....clanging of the empties as they ejected...and more yelling...even some cheering as my gun ( "E" for Echo ) was one of two, among many in the battery, that actually hit the target during a shoot ! However, with an anti-aircraft barrage, it was not necessary to strike the target; more to throw him off his attack run by peppering the sky around his flight path ! Naturally a round "up his spout" is fully acceptable !! Out in the bush and the grooty scrub with Vampires, from Pt. Cook, diving at us in training...for them as much as it was for us ! Trundling along in U.S. WW2 2 1/2 ton left hand drive trucks, pulling the cannons thru Sydney suburbs, being waved at by the 'birds'....in those years we were held in high revere ! I saved all I earned, paying for passage on SS CANBERRA to San Francisco, where the rest of my life began. I cherish the memories of that time in the CMF. Thanx, cobbers....have a couple of schooners of KB for me !

I could plated my three months Terrotorial Force Volunteer (New Zealand Army) training way back in 1974, I was then supposed to do one weekend or one day per month, I thought why? That was a big mistake on my part, one of the regrets of my life. I enjoyed those three months and at times re-live those days.

I always wonder after watching your uploads,where and what the featured Aussie's are doing with there time these days.

That person at 11:20 is definitely future prime minister Kevin rudd

Targets down patch out scores. Remember doing that a few times at Swanbourne range in West Australia. Because faced out to sea had to have sentries out at either side of the range boundaries on the beach. The southern boundary was just down from the nudist beach so there were a few volunteers for that post. It was a bastard to shoot at in afternoon as you had the sun in your eyes after a certain time. AH Happy Days.

Ex Charlie company 4RNSWR Merrylands see on Facebook. Mcc

At 12.43 the worst comb-over I've seen in a while.

This was made the year I was born then 17 years later I joined the reserves...same uniform and weapons...

I've never heard of the Civilian Military Forces (CMF).

Brilliant. Really loved seeing this.

Looks like Mal French is in this video