From The Australian June 2, 2023 Readers have their say on the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation decision. Welcome to the column where you provide the content. Greg Sheridan weighed in on the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case loss, suggesting it...
Investigation
Media Release: Veterans Condemn CDF Proposal to Strip Soldiers of Distinguished Service Medals awarded in the Afghanistan War
Senior Veteran leaders (are calling on the federal government to reject outright the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) General Angus Campbell’s second attempt to strip awards for distinguished and conspicuous service on warlike operations from soldiers who served the...
Opinion: Responsibility for failure rests at the top
The obscene business which is war has many rules. Command responsibility, also now called the Yamashita Principle, is that obligation of all commanders to ensure their troops fight within those rules. Failure to do so is considered an omission mode of individual...
Opinion: The time for talk is over action is required
Irrespective of your views of Jacqui Lambie, if you have any concern whatsoever about the ability of the Australian Defence Force to protect Australia, then you should watch this five-minute delivery to the Senate. Although she is not the most accomplished...
Media Statement – ADSO Calls for Due Process and Presumption of Innocence
Yesterday the Australian Special Air Services Association, the Commando Association and the Returned and Services League of Australia issued a joint statement calling on the Federal Government to direct the CDF to respect the presumption of innocence for soldiers...
Officers escape punishment for SAS soldier ‘crimes’
The Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, has shelved any punishment for seven senior army officers who failed to prevent war crimes on their watch in Afghanistan, and has exonerated a further 21, saying they should “learn from their...
War crimes inquiry: ‘Misguided warrior culture’: ADF chief Angus Campbell’s full statement
“Today, the Australian Defence Force is rightly held to account for allegations of grave misconduct by some members of our Special Forces community during operations in Afghanistan. Before turning to the Inspector-General’s report, it’s important to note that over the...
SAS just wants the truth. We do not have a callous disregard for human life.
For the first time in the history of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment, and after much internal deliberation, a small group of soldiers has made the collective decision to step out from the shadows to remind our country what they are, and what they are not....
Opinion – Yamashita’s Shadow Falls on the ADF
If, as widely alleged in leaks and reports, investigators have drawn admissions that SAS members committed war crimes in Afghanistan, the offenders need to be punished to the full extent of the law. But what of their superiors? As Australia endorses the 'Yamashita...
Opinion: Apportioning Blame
The ADF Inspector General’s report was a long time in gestation, and reveals a culture in some ADF personnel that is as bad if not worse than .... While individuals remain responsible for the consequences of their actions, ultimate command responsibility is borne at...