Seventeen Vietnamese People's Army (VPA) personnel honed their ability to survive to fight at sea through combat survivability training at HMAS Cerberus in March.
It was a historic milestone for the Defence Cooperation Program, with the largest-ever contingent of VPA personnel conducting the training at Cerberus' RAN School of Survivability and Ship Safety (RANSSSS).
The tailored course included training in ship-based firefighting, leak-stop repair, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence.
The first Vietnam-tailored combat survivability course was run in 2004, and since that time, 176 Vietnamese personnel have completed the course.
The VPA comprises five services; Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Border Guard.
This course featured predominantly naval personnel and incorporated Vietnamese Coast Guard for the first time, extending the breadth of knowledge learnt on this course across multiple services.
Defence Cooperation Education Officer from the Australian Embassy Vietnam and Laos, Major Nicola Worsley, said the course was very beneficial for Vietnam.
"It allows a contingent to undertake dedicated training, as opposed to smaller groups integrating into mixed courses with Australian Navy trainees," Major Worsley said.
The key to this bespoke approach lies in a capability provided by linguists and interpreters.
'Our instructors have been very impressed with the standard of the VPA members' performance, and we have learnt so much from each other.'
Each contingent is assigned a VPA or Defence Hanoi supporting interpreter, and this year, a new initiative incorporated ADF linguists, who are qualified and assigned to courses through the Defence Force School of Languages.
ADF linguists have translated volumes of course material into Vietnamese, enabling them to deliver instruction, supported by RANSSSS staff.
"The flexibility ADF linguists and supporting interpreters provide means that more personnel can access this training from the VPA side as they don't have to meet the English language requirements," Major Worsley said.
"This also generates opportunities for real-world authentic engagement and language practice, opportunities which can be difficult to come by."
Since 2000, the Defence Cooperation Program has facilitated numerous training opportunities between the ADF and the VPA, including the Vietnamese People's Navy.
This includes English language courses, signals and communications, and even underwater medicine training.
The program aims to develop closer enduring and collaborative defence partnerships that contribute to collective security of the Indo-Pacific and the maintenance of the rules-based order.
Combat survivability instructor Leading Seaman Erin Cox said a rapport had formed between the Vietnamese and Aussie personnel.
"It's been an amazing experience for the instructors here at HMAS Cerberus," Leading Seaman Cox said.
"Our instructors have been very impressed with the standard of the VPA members' performance, and we have learnt so much from each other.
"It has been a great knowledge exchange - sharing different techniques, and discussing best practice in dealing with incidents that may occur when working together at sea."
