AUSTRALIANS trained with semi-automatic weapons and were prepared for an enemy attack in a deployment the government later declared was a peacekeeping mission, a second veteran has declared.

Bill Brown, who served in Malaysia at Air Base Butterworth in the 1970s, has come forward to throw his support behind a push for a public inquiry into the deployment.

Last week, Les Ray called for the mission to be regarded as one with an enemy threat, rather than peacekeeping.

By classing the deployment as one to keep the peace, Mr Ray and his company have been denied repatriation entitlements.

Mr Brown, a Brassall resident, recalled the increasingly tense situation at Air Base Butterworth and neighbouring towns towards the end of his deployment.

"There seemed to be more communist terrorists coming out of the bushes," he said.

"The threat was always there."

Mr Brown served as a ground radio technician between September of 1972 and April 1975.

He agreed with Mr Ray's call for an inquiry into the matter.

While he did not discharge a weapon in war and was never fired upon, Mr Brown recalled feeling on-edge with the abrasive conduct of armed guards at the base.

"It was an enjoyable time in Malaysia but you had to be very careful," he said.

"In general, it wasn't too bad because you got used to the security threat."

Last week, Mr Ray argued Rifle Company Butterworth was almost on a war footing during his deployment in Malaysia.

The company was tasked to protect RAAF assets at Air Base Butterworth.

"From a personal perspective, our preparation and our level of readiness in 1974 were equal to those servicemen who served in South Vietnam, and the conditions we experienced and the task we performed clearly indicates that we were operationally deployed," he said.

Member for Blair Shayne Neumann said he would discuss the matter with the opposition's defence personnel and veterans' affairs spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth.