Warrnambool Vietnam veteran Brian Mathers reacts to Afghanistan conflict

The Warrnambool resident was 21 when he enlisted in 1969 as a national serviceman.

He became an infantry soldier in New South Wales' Singleton Military Area before joining the 2nd Battalion and leaving for Vietnam in mid-1970.

"I served in a rifle company there, ambushing and doing general soldiering stuff. We actually spent most of the time out in the bush chasing the Viet Cong," he said.

Mr Mathers returned home about 12 months later and was discharged within three weeks.

"I was only in the country for a short time but I knew we were fighting a losing battle," he said.

"When the Saigon fell, about three years after I returned home, it didn't really mean anything to me as we were expecting it anyway. I'd done what I'd been paid to do."

But nearly 50 years later, Mr Mathers said history is repeating itself.

The Taliban took control of the presidential palace in Kabul last Sunday, almost 20 years after being ousted by a US-led military coalition.

After the withdrawal of US and Australian troops, they now control all key cities in the country.

Mr Mathers said when soldiers were first sent to Afghanistan, he and his fellow Vietnam veterans predicted what would take place.

"There were a few of us having a drink when they went over there and we all agreed that it would go for 10 or 15 years, we'd lose 100 to 200 soldiers, and then we'd pull out and it was the same as before," he said.

"Once the Americans and (us) pulled out, it was only a matter of time before they took over again. It really didn't surprise me at all. The only surprising thing was how quickly it happened."

Mr Mathers said there were a lot of parallels drawn between the two wars.

"There was no frontline in either war and you'd go back to your base camp and you weren't safe because they would mortar the base camp," he said.

"Another parallel is the enemy was generally not in uniform. They're all in civilian clothes so they looked like everyone else and you didn't know they were the enemy until they were shooting at you.

"There's also the fact that land mines and booby traps, which they now call an IED (improvised explosive device), were just everywhere. It was like fighting a war with your hands tied behind your back."

Mr Mathers said it was an impossible way to fight.

"It's frustrating (to see history repeat itself)," he said.

"The Australians follow the Americans into these battles, they went into Iraq and Afghanistan, and they just haven't learnt anything in such a long time."

Mr Mathers said images of Afghan civilians scrambling to evacuate western embassies were not new.

"It happened when the Saigon fell and it's happening again now," he said.

"The poor buggers helped the Australians and the Americans, they worked for them and then they sort of just left.

"We had a guy working with us who was a former Viet Cong who came over to our side and when we asked what would happen when we go home he said 'they'll cut my throat'. He expected it then and we can expect it now. It's pretty sad."

Mr Mathers said no one was to blame but the government.

"They decide to go in and and they decided to pull out," he said.

"America wasted trillions of dollars, Australia wasted billions. All of which could have built schools and hospitals."

Mr Mathers said ending a 20-year war was justified but that "the end was always going to be the same".

"All that money we spent trying to train the Afghans but then as soon as we pulled out, there was hardly a shot fired. They did as much as they could but they're fighting IEDs and an enemy who look just like a civilian and pull out their weapons in the dark. They were never going to win," he said.

"But soldiers from Afghanistan shouldn't feel disappointed or disillusioned because they did their job while they were there and this was always going to happen. It's not as though they're at fault so they should be proud of what they did."

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