Gun-toting grim reapers and cartoon phantoms are among more than 20 images the military has scrapped under its new ban on soldiers’ use of death-style logos.
Examples of the banned imagery that had been used by sub-units on items such as patches and T-shirts was revealed in an answer to questions on notice from a Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Senate Standing Committee hearing.
The questions were on which logos were banned, what had been used to replace them, how much was the cost of replacement and which units had been affected.
Defence said no unit logos, emblems or badges had been removed but that some imagery associated with sub-units had been scrapped.
Defence provided examples of logos that had been scrapped but declined to provide the full list. Among the examples that also appeared to fall under the ban was some memorabilia in the form of a Spartan helmet and a shield.
Defence declined to provide a detailed costing of any buyback of stock featuring the banned imagery, but it did reveal that in one case, $2490 of non-public moneys derived from unit canteen sales was allocated to Delta Company of 4/3 Royal NSW Regiment’s soldiers club to help them with a new sub-unit logo.
The most common imagery scrapped appeared to be the grim reaper and Spartan-style logos. Among those affected were a sub-unit of 1st Brigade, which lost its gun-toting, grinning black reaper on a red background.
One sub-unit from 3rd Brigade had to replace its armed phantom cartoon character. A grim reaper from 3 Squadron, 2 Cavalry was also canned.
A sub-unit of the army’s 6th Brigade was forced to remove an armed phantom and concerns appear to have been raised about a gold Spartan helmet that looked to be part of unit memorabilia.
Soldiers from 7th brigade had to remove a skull imposed over crossed rifles; a mortar platoon scrapped a ram’s skull with the caption “Death Down Range” and 5 Aviation Regiment lost a skull wearing a bandana imposed over a hammer and spanner.
A 6th Aviation regiment sub-unit lost a Viking image with the caption Berserkers and one from HQ 2nd Division had spartan imagery featuring a spartan helmet removed.
The Royal Military College Australia’s army recruit training centre had a masked Phantom head dropped. The Combined Arms Training Centre lost its “grim reaper rising from a World War I tank” and a punisher badge showing a skull.
Questions about the unit logs had been asked by Liberal senator James McGrath and independent senator Fraser Anning at the hearing in February.
The ban had been introduced in April last year by then chief of army, now Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Angus Campbell. General Campbell, in ordering the ban, said that such symbols were at odds with army values. “Such symbology is never presented as ill-intentioned and plays to much of modern culture,’’ he said. “But it is always ill-considered and implicitly encourages the inculcation of a hubris and general disregard for the most serious responsibility of our profession, the legitimate and discriminate taking of life.”
Officers were ordered to take immediate action to remove symbols within their command.
Medal of Gallantry recipient Justin Huggett, a former soldier, panned the decision in a social media post directed at General Campbell.
In the post Mr Huggett, decorated for action against the Taliban in Afghanistan, said the decision denigrated the morale of the enlisted and combat power.
RORY CALLINAN The Australian APRIL 3, 2019
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