South Perth RSL vice president made the best of conscription

BEING conscripted to serve his country back in the late 1960s was not on Ross Fisher’s wishlist, but the Burswood resident made the best of it.

The South Perth RSL vice president was called up in the lottery to serve at 21 years old and had his 22nd birthday in Vietnam.

“When I was in National Service, that was conscription so I didn’t necessarily want to be in the army at that time,” he said.

“I was in Vietnam as an armoured vehicle driver for 12 months.”

Mr Fisher, who was born in Queensland, said he had been in the Anzac forces twice – in Vietnam, and peacekeeping in Egypt.

“One thing people don’t know about military service is the many postings which may be detrimental to children’s education,” he said.

“You’re not always where you want to be.”

Mr Fisher said although he felt the postings were inconvenient, he had the opportunity to work in the UK on a technical exchange program.

“One of the best things was I did an exchange to the UK … I was in the UK for six months,” he said.

“After I finished National Service, I was discharged and continued being a tradesman. I was a boilermaker from 1971 – 1977.

“When I got married, I joined the Air Force and worked as an aircraft maintenance specialist for 24 years.”

After 26 years of military service, Mr Fisher said it made him think about the different perspectives others have.

“One of the things I did learn is people looking at the same thing in the same situation may not think the same,” he said.