Fifty years gone and the Challenge for the next Fifty: Arte Et Marte

106 Fd Wksp RAEME was established on the 1st November 1968 as a response to improve the battle worthiness and damage recovery of the fighting equipment of the 1st Australian Task Force operating from their forward operational base at Nui Dat in Phuoc Tuy Province of South Vietnam (SVN).

The Workshop’s high reputation earned in the SVN operational theatre between 1968 and 1971 was founded in the strength, conviction, sacrifice and successful performance of the regular soldiers and national servicemen who manned the Unit during those years.

Most of the Unit's soldiers were from the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RAEME) but these men were supported by soldiers from the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps (RAAOC), the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC), the Australian Army Catering Corps (AACC) and other miscellaneous Army Corps personnel from time to time.

After Vietnam, the Workshop had to endure disbandment then reinstatement as well as substantial organisational and role changes. Regardless, it is proud of what it has achieved in its first fifty years. The high performance traits developed by 106 during its foundation years in SVN have been adopted as the standards for the current workshop - now a RAEME sub-unit formally designated as 106 Fd Wksp 7CSSB (the RAEME services component of the 7^th Combat Services Support Battalion).

Wherever 106 has been based, in SVN or in Australian locations, its defined repair and support responsibilities have always been executed with a lot of heart and sweat to meet exacting standards.

The Workshop’s 50^th birthday will fall on the 1^st November 2018 just before the usual annual stand-down period. In 2019 106 will undergo a further organizational upgrade to its personnel strength and will move into expanded/new base facilities. These changes will better cater for the repair and maintenance demands of 7 Bde units’ equipments as they take on additional light armoured vehicles, a new wheeled vehicle fleet, main battle tanks, new generation weapons and a wider range of electronic/digital equipment.

The men and women of 106 have the task ahead of them in the next half century to build on the excellence achieved in the previous 50 years. They are up to the challenge.

Footnote:

On 27 April 2018, at a SGM of the 106 Fd Wksp RAEME Association Inc, a Special Resolution to ‘wind up’ the Association by the end of 2018 was CARRIED by the attending members. On wind up, the 106 website will continue - with its management transferred to the RAEME Association Queensland (RAQ). The OC 106 Fd Wksp 7CSSB has an extra-curricular role as the RAEME Head of Corps (HOC) Representative South East Queensland; in this HOC role, they serve as a representative on the RAQ’s Committee.