Tony Ey is eminently qualified to write this, which is not just his own story, but a rare insight into the discrete world of elite naval special forces. It is a good read for anyone interested in naval special forces or equally military history in general.
The RAN Clearance Divers (RAN CD) are one of the world's elite 'special forces' units but like many of their ilk they have kept a very low profile. So here is a bit of scene setting... The Branch was formed in the Cold War based on the wartime experiences. The term 'clearance diver' refers to their role of clearing mines which was honed in WW2. The successful clearing of newly liberated ports as the Allies swept across Northern Europe after D-Day was one of many incredible successes which are forgotten today. As is often the case, there is no correlation between the bravery and self-sacrifice required for the job and the popular recognition it receives. In those days bomb disposal experts were recognised as heroes to an extent far greater than today because the threat of being blown up by an unexploded bomb was very real in people's minds. It wasn't happening in distant lands like Afghanistan, but in the homes of Europe and northern Australia. The fear of surviving an air raid only to be blown to pieces days later by the 'dud' buried under your house scared the living %^&$# out of people. But the successes were by definition quiet and out of sight, and the history books are far better at remembering loud bangs than they are at remembering silence. From the earliest days of the war the task of disposing of bombs always featured Naval Officers, many of whom were Australian. In fact several Aussies stick out among the bravest and most accomplished of this rare breed.
Defusing a ticking bomb is the stuff of Hollywood thrillers, and doing it for real must have been incomprehensibly more nerve-racking than even the best Hollywood director can capture. Imagine it for a moment, digging down through the mud to a live bomb and then trying to defuse it, all the time knowing that the enemy is expecting you to try to do this. Many bombs had multiple fuses which were detonated in different ways, or designed to trick the bomb disposal expert into removing the wrong part. Now imagine doing it underwater, wearing a claustrophobic diving suit and doing it all by feel because there is zero visibility. And on top of all that, some of the mines are so dangerous that even thei inventors don't now how to defuse them! Welcome to the world of the Clearance Diver.
This is the heritage of the unit Tony Ey joined up to. But he also joined up at a time when things were changing, albeit slowly and subtly. To start with the RAN Clearance Divers were deployed to Vietnam where they worked closely with Americans (Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD), SEALs...). The Australians who went to Vietnam were there because the government sent them, but in the anti-war mood of the times the burden of the unpopular war was unfairly thrust upon each man's shoulders. They were not welcomed back as heroes. Today the popular attitude has rebalanced and there are now even phoney Vietnam veterans. In particular the were very few RAN Clearance Divers in Vietnam. Tony Ey was one of those few.
Tony's stories about Vietnam are fascinating and often humorous. They are also primary historical source, straight from the horse's mouth. Reading his account you are transported back to those times, and may have to pinch yourself to snap out of sharing his sense of nostaligia. Reading other accounts and talking to veterans (as I have) you come to appreciate that experiences of Vietnam were a mixed bag, and that each tale is very much a personal one. But it part of a shared history too, and a very noble one. Tony's service n Vietnam involved a lot of feeling around in the murky tropical waters, making-safe mines laid by Vietnamese 'Sapper swimmers'. Just like the heroics of WW2. Whatever side you are on in a war, EOD (as bomb disposal was by then widely termed) is a noble endeavour which transcends allegiances.
Being a frogman has a strong element of shared community also, and Clearance Divers are both frogmen and bomb disposal experts. This goes back to WW2 when the Italian Navy Frogmen (they invented it!) were respected by their friends and enemies alike, to the point of personal friendships. Of course the sense of community is strongest between allies and the RAN Clearance Divers became close friends of the US Navy SEALs. Throughout the 1970s the RAN CDs evolved into a SEAL-like unit which drew upon experiences in Vietnam and ongoing relationship with the SEALs. They also worked closely with the US Navy EOD teams and Tony served several years with them on exchange. The US Navy was large enough to separate the roles of SEALs, beach recce (by Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) at the time) and mine clearance into separate units. In the RAN men like Tony Ey had to do all of these tasks. And the RAN CDs also excelled at ship attacks with limpet mines themselves. Tony lived through all this and his insights on the tactics are amazing.
Tony left the branch at about the same time that the RAN CDs were getting into the maritime counter-terrorism role. That, as he says in his book, is another story altogether!
FYI I have interviewed Tony Ey for my own as-yet-unpublished non-fiction book so I already had some inklings of these stories before I bought his book. He has been incredibly helpful and patient and is also very active in the Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diver's Association. But, and I cannot stress this enough, I am writing this review because I think that you should read the book. I have read it from cover to cover, and I know that I'll go back to it.