HMAS Sydney February 1970

Troops of 5RAR 2nd Tour can been seen 'winding down' aboard HMAS Sydney as it heads for Australia with a sailing time of 10—14 days.
Only a small number of veterans sailed home and the remainder flew home in chartered commercial airliners and could arrive back in Australia in as little as 10—12 hours. The wounded were the unluckiest of all. For them it was a three day flight in an RAAF C130 Aircraft.
The transition home for Australian soldiers after war is vastly different depending on the method of transport. In earlier conflicts, such as World War II and the Vietnam War, troops often returned by sea—a journey that took weeks and provided a psychological buffer between battlefield intensity and civilian life. The slow voyage allowed time for gradual reintegration, with soldiers adjusting to the idea of home before actually arriving.
By contrast, modern air travel compresses that process into mere hours. Australian soldiers can be in a combat zone one day and back in their home country the next, with little time to process their experiences. This abrupt transition can be jarring, as it denies them the decompression period that a sea voyage once provided. The mental toll of shifting instantly from survival mode to civilian expectations can be overwhelming, and no support structures were available for the Vietnam veteran during that period.

^[1]When 5 RAR (both tours of duty) was being transported on the 'Vung Tau Ferry' her escorts were:

♦ April 1966 from Australia to Vung Tau: HMAS Melbourne, HMAS Vampire and HMAS Yarra.

♦ April-May 1967 from Vung Tau to Sydney: HMAS Vampire.

♦ February 1969 Fremantle to Vung Tau: HMAS Derwent.

♦ February-March 1970 from Vung Tau to Sydney: HMAS Yarra.