Australian officers lose medals after war crimes inquiry

Australia has stripped senior defence commanders of military honours over alleged war crimes committed under their watch in Afghanistan.

In parliament on Thursday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said they would lose their distinguished service medals, as recommended by a landmark inquiry which alleged there was an unchecked "warrior culture" within parts of the force.

The Brereton Report, released in 2020, found "credible evidence" that elite Australian soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the war in Afghanistan.

“This will always be a matter of national shame,” Mr Marles said.

"At the same time... [this is] a demonstration to the Australian people and to the world, that Australia is a country which holds itself accountable."

He would not confirm how many officers are affected, but local media say it is less than ten.

Marles also stressed that the vast majority of Australian defence personnel who were deployed to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021 had given "sacred service" and praised those who helped expose the alleged wrongdoing.

The decision does not affect those under investigation for war crimes themselves, including Australia's most decorated living solider, Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith.

He denies any wrongdoing but in a high-profile defamation case last year was found - on the balance of probabilities - to have murdered four unarmed prisoners. He has not faced criminal charges over the allegations.

The civil trial was the first time a court has ever assessed accusations of war crimes by Australian forces.

Local media report that dozens of Australian soldiers are also being investigated for their roles in alleged war crimes. But so far charges have only been laid against one, former SAS trooper Oliver Schulz.

Former justice Paul Brereton found there was no credible information that officers high up the command chain knew of the alleged war crimes, but he said troop, squadron and task group commanders "bear moral command responsibility and accountability" for what happened under their watch.

They could not "in good conscience" retain their distinguished service medals - awarded for exceptional leadership in warlike operations - he said.

The issue of command accountability has been a vexing one for veterans.

Some have said they feel officers are being unfairly punished for others’ wrongdoing, but a government-commissioned report in May found "there is ongoing anger and bitter resentment" that their senior officers have not "publicly accepted some responsibility for policies or decisions that contributed to the misconduct".

Responding to the decision to strip the officers' medals, opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie, himself a former SAS soldier, said Australia must “learn from this tragic and bitter chapter in our military history".

"Our soldiers must tell the truth and those in leadership must seek it out. If both our soldiers and our leaders had done so, we might not be in this place today," he said.