Water discipline - Jack Hayes

Submitted by Editorial team on

Extract from interview with Pip Oldham, 9 May 2009

Reproduced with permission of Jack Hayes

4 Troop Commander Jack Hayes recalls coping with 'water discipline' during SAS operations in Vietnam.

We were constantly under water discipline. I used to have a stone in my mouth all day, I used to walk all day with a stone in my mouth and I would sip, not drink. We’d have a good drink at night before we’d go to bed. I drank tea a lot, I’d drink black tea with sugar but I’d have a good mug of tea before I went to bed at night and then in the morning I might have a half cup of tea for breakfast. And then I’d sip during the day, but not a lot of water. Because we were great believers in everybody's independence. If someone wanted to carry a lot of water, and drink a lot of water, that was their problem. They had to carry it. We weren't going to carry it for them.

Reference

Vietnam War Oral History Project, Manatu Taonga Ministry for Culture & Heritage

How to cite this page: ' Water discipline - Jack Hayes ', URL: https://vietnamwar.govt.nz/audio/water-discipline-jack-hayes, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 10-Dec-2020