Operation HARDIHOOD was conducted to clear the proposed 1 Australian Task Force Area at Nui Dat. north of Baria, in Phuoc Tuy Province and included the deployment of the Task Force in its operational base. It further included the movement of the Battalion from Brisbane to its deployment in the base area as a part of the First Australian Task Force.

The Advance Party had flown to Bien Hoa, an American Base, to take over stores and equipments from the First Battalion which had been under the operational command of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, United States Army, during its tour of duty from June 65 until it returned to Australia in early June 66.

With each successive flight into Saigon, troops were moved by US C123 and RAAF Caribou aircraft to the First Australian Logistic Support Group at Vung Tau. Vung Tau. a popular seaside resort, was a key base for the Free World Military Assistance Forces with airfield and port facilities. On the "Back Beach", a sandy coastal strip to the east of the town,the Battalion underwent acclimatisation and operational training.

HQ ALSG Vung Tau 1966	6 RAR Lines Vung Tau - 1966

The whole Battalion had arrived by 9th June. After the necessary reconnaissances were completed, orders to move to Nui Dat were given. On the 14th of June, 1966, a heli-borne redeployment was made to the south of the rubber plantation which was to be our home for the next twelve months. The Fifth Battalion which had been operating in the area for some three weeks secured the landing zone for the assault.

Deployment to Nui Dat	Rain and Mud